AKER ENERGY ABANDONS PLANS TO BUILD FPSO ON GHANA’S OFFSHORE CRUDE FIELD

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy and Mines has revealed that Aker Energy has terminated its agreement with Yinson for the provision of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for oil production offshore Ghana on its concession.

In its reports on the 2021 draft annual budget estimates of the Energy Ministry to Parliament, the reason was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FPSO was to be connected to a subsea production system at 2,400 meters below sea level as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Committees’ Reports, Aker Energy postponed the development of the Deepwater Pecan Oilfield located Offshore Ghana in April 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent fall in oil prices.

Critics are also reading meanings to Aker’s latest move, particularly in the light of the scandal that characterised its securing of the oil field in the first place.

The Akufo Addo administration had caused serious discontent by pushing Parliament to renegotiate a 2013 Petroleum agreement between Ghana and AGM Petroleum/Aker Energy Petroleum. 

The original plan would have seen Ghana’s stake drop from 43 percent to 18 percent of the oil-rich South Deepwater Tano (SDWT) bloc. 

However, when Ghana’s stake dropped, a significant part of it mysteriously went to a questionable and a newly formed “Local Content partner” called Quad Energy partly owned by Joseph Babatunde Ampah.

Document available to Whatsup News shows that Quad Energy was registered on April 10, 2019, and immediately started working just when Energy Minister, Peter Amewu and Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta pushed the contentious agreement to Parliament for renegotiation.

The track-record of Quad Energy has also been proven questionable as the only Quad Energy operating minimally in the oil industry is based in Canada-called Quad Energy S.A.

Policy think-tank IMANI asked in a strongly worded letter dated May 3, 2019, to Energy Minister Peter Amewu: “Who are the specific Ghanaian beneficial owners of this entity that makes it a “local content player?”

IMANI continued to elaborate: “The only Quad Energy active in risky exploration ventures and notable for that reason is Quad Energy S.A, a Canadian junior oil player and occasional Lukoil collaborator. Why is there no background information at all on this company in your memorandum? 

In 2013, the agreement for extracting crude oil from the field would have seen Ghana benefiting almost about 75% stake, however, the government’s proposal to Parliament slashed Ghana’s stake to less than 30% and a potential loss of US$10 billion.

The bulk of the resources from the crude oil field would then go to AGM/AKER and Quad Energy.