The petroleum agreement signed by the two parties in this connection will be subject to ratification of the country’s parliament.
Located 92km off the coast of Ghana, the Deepwater Cape Three Points block, spans about 1,482km2 and is contained in water depths ranging from 5,085ft to 9,350ft.
ExxonMobil will be the operator of the offshore block with a stake of 80%, while Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) will own 15% stake.
The remaining stake of 5% will be given to a Ghanaian company selected by ExxonMobil and the Ghanaian government.
ExxonMobil plans to begin exploration activities in the block later in the year. These activities would include acquisition of the block’s seismic data and analysis.
ExxonMobil Exploration president Steve Greenlee said: “The addition of this block reaffirms ExxonMobil’s commitment to pursuing high-quality projects in areas with large resource potential.
“We are excited to partner with the government of Ghana as we employ our significant upstream experience and technological expertise in assessing the exploration opportunities in this block.”
The government of Ghana is expecting an increase in oil exploration in the company following the entry of ExxonMobil, reported Citi Business News.
Ghana Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko was quoted by the publication, as saying: “Exxon Mobil is coming in with the highest standard of safety, financial accounting and all that we need to get done as a country…we have received a lot of expression of interests from other major players; the BP, Shell, Chevron, among others. All of them are now coming to operate in Ghana.”
