The Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II, is upbeat about the massive facelift the Northern Region is about to witness as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) inches closer to drilling an oil and gas exploration well in the Voltaian Basin next year.
The Ya- Na said upon a successful oil and gas find, the Northern Region could become a hub of petroleum production that would attract business and investments from all over the world.
“The prospect of what your successful activities in the Voltaian Basin means to this region and Ghana is not lost on us and remains the basis of our continuous backing of your efforts to ensuring that the natural resources are well harnessed to support developmental activities in host communities and beyond,” he said.
Courtesy
The Overlord of Dagbon was speaking during a courtesy call on him by the Deputy Minister of Energy, Herbert Krapa, and management of the GNPC.
The delegation, which included the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GNPC, Opoku-Ahweneeh Danquah, was in the Northern Region to gather firsthand information on the progress of seismic work underway to find hydrocarbons in commercial quantities there.
The Voltaian Basin spans about 460 communities in 13 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), 10 of which are in the Northern Region, with three others located in the Savanna Region.
The visit was necessitated by the need to thank the Ya-Na and the chiefs and people of the region for their continuous support in providing a conducive environment necessary to advancing the activities of prospecting for hydrocarbons in the onshore sedimentary basin of the Voltaian area.
Ghana had, over the years, conducted regional studies on its own as well as commissioning third-party experts such as Robertson CGG and De-Goyler and Macnaughton to deepen its understanding of Ghana’s sedimentary basins.
For his part, Mr Krapa extended the government’s message of appreciation to the Overload of Dagbon for his unwavering commitment from the outset when
plans of the project were first brought to his attention, and assured him that success of the project would impact positively on the development of the region.
“You have been instrumental in our success so far and our mission here is to consolidate our collaboration by seeking further consultations for the next phase of the project which promises to lead us to a successful discovery and its attendant gains,” the Deputy Minister of Energy stated.
The GNPC boss recounted the Ya-Na’s instrumental role in ensuring that local and stakeholder conditions were right for the successful commencement of work towards the discovery of hydrocarbon potential onshore, an effort in furtherance of the corporation’s quest for commercial operation of its oil and gas resources.
“As the Yoo Naa (Chief of Savelugu), you first received us (GNPC) in your land in 2017 and on our mission to obtain the greatest possible benefits from the development of Ghana’s petroleum resources and we are grateful for the harmonious relationship which has been sustained since then,” Mr Danquah said.
He used the opportunity to court further support for GNPC’s continuous work in the area, highlighting the enormous windfall of opportunities the region stood to gain with the successful drilling of wells in the Voltaian Basin.
Mr Danquah confirmed that interim outcomes from work done on the project so far offered enough impetus to continue with prospecting activities.
“We are likely to begin drilling of the first well on your land in 2024 and success at this will see the Northern Region emerge as a stellar area of development in Ghana and open it up to the rest of the world with opportunities for business and growth,” he said.
According to the GNPC boss, the successful completion of the previous phase paved the way for the current activity and that had pushed the corporation closer to its quest of achieving the goal of drilling a well by the first quarter of 2024.
Mr Danquah said the project would be a game-changer because it would create jobs for the teeming youth and open up the area.
He, therefore, called for continuous support and corporation to enable the GNPC to achieve its objective of discovering hydrocarbons in commercial quantities and the successful drilling of wells in the Voltaian Basin.
Background
The GNPC has been exploring the hydrocarbon prospects of the country’s onshore sedimentary basin (Voltaian Basin) under a reconnaissance licence through a mix of geophysical, geological and geochemical techniques since 2017.
Currently, contractors at the various project sites are making significant progress towards the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities.
At the site at Kpalbe in the North East Gonja District in the Savannah Region, it was observed that the contractors and geological engineers from GNPC were busily undertaking the seismic work.
