The appointment of Kadijah Nana Adjoa Amoah as the Country Manager of Aker Energy Ghana Ltd has further reinforced suspicions about the alleged clandestine moves to wrest the juicy oil blocs controlled by Aker Energy into the hands of people connected to the ruling party.
Late last week, the Norwegian-owned Aker Energy AS announced the appointment of Ms. Amoah. Incidentally, she was the Head of Investment and Business Development at the Office of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia.
This appointment has added to the web of top executives of Aker Energy Ghana and its local partners who are closely knit into an intricate web linked to the Jubilee House and the Ken Ofori-Atta-led Finance Ministry.
For instance a curious local partner fixture called Quad Energy which was hurriedly formed in April 2019 is reportedly owned by Joseph Babatunde Ampah, a former Vice-President of the Databank Financial Services Group owned by Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori- Atta. The other partner of Quad Energy is David Adomako who incidentally doubles as a board director of Aker Energy.
There are reports that these two were planted as local partners to Aker to represent some powerful names within the government. When Whatsup News contacted David Adomako in an interview, he admitted that he was contacted to sit on the Board of Aker while sitting at a Café.
Whatsup News can report that Quad Energy was registered on April 10, 2019, just when Energy Minister, Peter Amewu and the Finance Ministry pushed the contentious agreement to Parliament to renegotiate an existing Petroleum Agreement to vary its terms such that it disadvantaged Ghana in its overall stake in the DeepWater Tano and South Deepwater Tano (SDWT) blocs.
In 2013, the agreement for extracting crude oil from particularly the SDWT fields would have seen Ghana benefiting almost about 75% stake (which was held by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation), however, the government’s proposal to Parliament saw a significant drop in Ghana’s stake to less than 30% and a potential loss of US$10 billion.
Interestingly while Ghana’s stake dropped, the bulk will go to AGM/AKER and ‘Fuel Trade’, another local company owned by top NPP men.
Whatsup News is in possession of a copy of the proposal sent to the Ghanaian Parliament in December 2019 for the existing Petroleum Agreement to be renegotiated against the established petroleum and exploration laws of Ghana.
In the document, Energy Minister Peter Amewu and Finance Minister proposed amendments that clearly gave preferential treatment to Aker Energy like allowing Aker to award contracts for petroleum operations “without any further restrictions and or approvals.”
Also, Aker in the amendment pushed by the Akufo Addo administration will have no obligation to make contributions to the local content fund established under the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2016 (Act 919).
This contribution to the local content fund will not apply “…to the Contractor (Aker), its Subcontractors and suppliers for goods, works and services to be used solely in the conduct of Petroleum Operations,” stated the document on the controversial amendments.
Also, unlike it is prescribed in the Petroleum Exploration and Production legislation, requiring fresh application for a petroleum agreement for any new exploration and production rights, Aker will be allowed to establish “a larger Development and Production Area,” all of these perks, while the company enjoys “an obligation on the Minister of Energy to provide reasonable assistance to the Contractor in obtaining licenses, consents and/or authorisations to reduce costs due to delays in obtaining such licenses, consents and/or authorisations.”
Late 2019, the Minority NDC held a press conference that listed a basket list of concessions given Aker in what they described as a “Christmas Present”, including restraining the Minister of Energy’s powers in controlling potential plans by Aker to develop its concession beyond the agreed production area, tax waivers, etc, as Ghana loses billions of dollars and thousands of job losses.
“These amendments have far-reaching consequences and serious implication for Ghana upstream petroleum industry beyond Aker. These amendments will lead to demands from Contractors across the board for review of their current Contract terms in order to achieve parity of treatment,” the Minority statement read.