Tullow to acquire EO Group's Ghanaian interests

On Thursday 26th May, Tullow announced that it was going to acquire EO Group's interests in offshore Ghana, for a combined share and cash consideration of $305 million. The acquisition will increase the company's interest in the West Cape Three Points licence by 3.5 per cent to 26.4 per cent and the company's interest in the Jubilee Oil field by 1.75 per cent to 36.5 per cent.

The date of the transaction is 1st December 2010. The agreement is conditional on the receipt of various approvals and assurances, including from the Government of Ghana. Upon completion, an application will be made to the UK Listing Authority and the Irish Stock Exchange for the shares to be admitted to the official list bodies.

Speaking about the deal, Tullow's Chief Executive Aidan Heavey said: “This acquisition represents an excellent opportunity to extend our interest in these high-quality assets in Ghana. Following our exploration and production successes over the last few years, which culminated in First Oil in late 2010, this purchase further demonstrates Tullow's long-term commitment to Ghana and our belief in its significant remaining potential.”

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Ghana plans major infrastructure spending in 2011

The Ghanaian finance ministry has published a summary report on Ghana's 2011 budget, due to be unveiled on Thursday 18th November. The report indicates major infrastructure spending aimed at economic growth and employment.

"There will be significant investments in the areas of agriculture, energy, housing, rail transport, roads and highways," said the report, which gave no indication of the planned spending or its estimated impact on the country's economy.

The report also said that even though Ghana's economy will benefit from its fledgling oil and gas industry the impact in terms of revenue will only contribute “small portions" to the 2011 fiscal year. It estimated about six per cent of total revenue saying, “Ghanaians must therefore continue to focus their attention on the non-oil sectors of the economy which hitherto have been the backbone of the economy."

The report added that most of the spending will focus on the farming sector; completion of several roadwork projects; the rebuilding of the rail network; and the construction of 200,000 new affordable housing units.

Source: Reuters

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Ghana and Iran to work closely together to develop Ghana's oil industry

Ghana's Vice President, John Dramani Mahama, has said that Ghana and Iran should work closely together for the benefit of Ghana's fledgling oil and gas industry. Addressing an Iranian delegation, led by Dr Sadigh Khalilian, Iran's Minister for Jihad Agriculture, Mahama said that Ghana has a lot to learn from Iran's experience in oil production and exploration.

"Considering your immense experience in both on and off-shore oil exploitation, I will suggest that we have an effective partnership that will equip Ghanaians with the technical know-how in oil production," said the Vice President.

The delegation is on a two-day visit to Ghana to discuss co-operation in a number of sectors including agriculture and education. Mahama applauded the Iranian government for its support so far, and said that he hoped that Iran would help develop Ghana's oil and gas sector.

Dr Khalilian said that the Iranian government was keen to hold more bilateral discussions for the benefit of both countries, and added that his government was ready to partner Ghana in the areas of agriculture, health, education and energy and invited both the President and the Vice President to visit Iran to conclude talks.

"We are interested in carrying out a number of collaborations with African countries and we really want Ghana to be one of our major partners," he said.

Source: Ghana Web

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Russia and Belarus to invest $1 billion in Ghana

A delegation of Russian and Belarus businessmen have paid a visit to the Ghanaian Vice President John Dramani Mahama to discuss the possibility of investing $1 billion in to the country's fledgling oil and gas industry, as well as other areas including fertilizer production, security and safety services and heavy duty machinery.

"We want to be part of Ghan a's success story...We shall be ready to invest in the areas of trade, industry and agriculture," said, leader of the delegation, Tkachuk Anatoly.

Anatoly said that all the projects would be initiated under different investment arrangements in partnership with the Ghanaian government, and would generate employment for the Ghanaian people.

Vice President Mahama called for closer collaboration between Russia and Ghana and said that Ghana would benifit from Russian investors. The Vice President also sait that he hopes that Russian businesses will support their Ghanaian counterparts in developing Ghana's transport, education and agriculture sectors.

Source: African Manager

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President Mills assures effective running of oil and gas industry

President John Atta Mills has made an official statement assuring the nation that the Government will ensure effective running of the oil and gas industry for the benefit of all Ghanaians. He emphasised accountability and transparency in the operations of the industry, and gave a pledge that his administration will work to make sure that the oil and gas sector is run fairly and responsibly.

The pledge was prompted by a delegation of Tullow Ghana Limited representatives, led by Dr Idan Heavey, chief executive officer of Tullow Ghana; Pat Pluukett, board chairman; Dai Jones, president and general manager; and Kofi Esson, chief of staff. President Mills said that the government would ensure that the collaboration with Tullow would work to the benefit of the nation and its economy, and applauded Tullow for their expertise and guaranteed full government cooperation.

Dr Heavey said that there was great potential in the oil and gas sector, with prospects for development of ancillary industries. With the arrival of the Kwame Nkrumah Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading, (FPSO) facility at the Jubilee Fields in Takoradi in the Western Region last week, all is set for the production of oil for the last quarter of 2010.

Source: Ghana Web

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