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Springfield's discovery will increase Ghana's oil revenue – ACEP

By Justice Kofi Bimpeh
ACEP
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The Africa Centre for Energy Policy, ACEP has described the recent oil discovery by Springfield Exploration and Production Limited as a big win for the local oil and gas industry and Ghana as a whole.

Springfield recently made a discovery of more than 1.2 billion barrels of oil in its deep-water drilling off the coast in the Western Region.

The company last month commenced its drilling activity in the West Cape Three Points Block 2 and a little over a month later made a discovery.

Speaking to Citi FM, Senior Policy Analyst at ACEP, Pauline Anaman indicated that the discovery would possibly increase the country’s oil revenues.

“The find by Springfield is very important for us as a country because it will increase our revenue in oil. The other thing is that the find will lead to the development of the field and that will require the acquisition of input from the domestic market so it creates an opportunity for the oil and gas industry. So that is a good thing.

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Springfield is the only indigenous Ghanaian company in the upstream business. So this is something they have under their arms and it will open opportunities for them.”

“For Springfield to do this, it means that Africa is capable of doing this. It further confirms the importance of building the technical competencies of local companies to take advantage of opportunities in upstream oil and gas industries”, she added.

Springfield discovers over 1.2bn barrels of oil offshore Ghana

A Ghanaian Independent energy firm, Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), has discovered more than 1.2 billion barrels of oil in its deepwater drilling off the coast in the Western region.

An official announcement is expected to be made in the coming days, authorities have said.

SEP began exploration in October in the West Cape Three Points Block 2.

The Chief Executive Officer of Springfield, Mr Kevin Okyere, said in a Financial Times report that: “This is great news for Springfield, Ghana and Africa. We are excited about the discovery as it ties into our vision of becoming a leading African upstream player with a global focus. This, for us, means increased opportunities to impact the lives of our people positively with the resources.”

According to him, the feat puts to rest doubts people had about his company. SEP has one of the world’s largest seismic vessel in Ghana which is being used to undertake research.

Springfield had drilled two wells in the past 40 days and made discoveries in both, according to Citinewsroom. According to the company, out of the 1.2bn in proven reserves, 30-35 percent would be recoverable in addition to commercially viable quantities of gas.

Springfield Exploration and Production Limited was incorporated in March 2008 to pursue exploration and production opportunities in Ghana and the West African sub-region. The process of acquiring a block began in 2012, but this was finally awarded by the government of Ghana in March 2016.

From 2016 until now, the company has been building capacity for both upstream and downstream operations with a significant mix of experienced international industry practitioners working alongside their Ghanaian counterparts.