Ghana: GNPC Advances Voltaian Basin Exploration Towards TUA-1X Well

Ghana’s Voltaian Basin exploration programme is moving towards a major milestone, with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and its subsidiary GNPC Explorco intensifying preparations to drill the TUA-1X exploratory well at Chegu in the Mion District in the Northern Ghana.

The proposed well will take the exploration programme from seismic data and geological interpretation to testing subsurface conditions, providing new information to assess years of technical work and help determine the direction of further exploration across the basin.

GNPC and GNPC Explorco management visited the proposed well site to review progress and the immediate work programme ahead of drilling. Physical preparations will begin with the construction of a 13.5-kilometre access road to Chegu and a rig pad at the proposed well location, along with other site works required for the safe mobilisation of the drilling rig.

GNPC Explorco Managing Director Sam Opoku-Arthur said the move to site preparation followed extensive subsurface studies to identify and mature the drilling location.

“The next step for us, after all the subsurface work that we did, is to start the construction of the access road and the rig pad and ensure the safe arrival of the rig,” he said.

TUA-1X Well Project Manager at GNPC Explorco Joseph Lartey said engineering designs had been completed, with the next phase covering construction of the access road, preparation of the well site and development of a base camp.

GNPC Chief Executive Kwame Ntow Amoah described the move towards TUA-1X as the culmination of years of work and said it was consistent with the corporation’s historic role in taking on exploration risk to open new areas for investment.

Drawing parallels with GNPC’s early exploration activities offshore Ghana, Ntow Amoah said the corporation was again taking the lead in de-risking a frontier area where investor interest had historically been limited.

“We are taking the lead this time to establish GNPC as the pioneer in opening up the Voltaian Basin,” he said.

A successful TUA-1X well would provide new subsurface information that could be integrated with seismic data already acquired and improve understanding of the basin’s petroleum potential, he said.

Covering about 103,000 square kilometres, the Voltaian Basin is Ghana’s largest sedimentary basin. GNPC expects the drilling programme to progressively reduce exploration risk and provide a technical basis for further investment.

GNPC officials stressed that preparations for drilling should not be interpreted as confirmation that oil or gas has already been discovered in the basin.

Deputy Chief Executive responsible for Finance, Commercial and Administration, Hamis Ussif, said an exploratory well would generate valuable information regardless of whether it encounters hydrocarbons.

“You may hit your target, which is to find oil or gas, or you may not find oil or gas, but you still find data that will be useful for you going forward,” he said.

Ussif also said funding had been provided beyond the current year to support the drilling programme and related activities.

Data obtained from TUA-1X will allow GNPC and GNPC Explorco to compare existing geological interpretations with actual subsurface conditions and inform decisions on subsequent exploration activity across the basin.

Ahead of the site visit, the delegation called on the Chegu Naa, Naa Andani Iddrisu, to brief him on the planned activities and reaffirm continued engagement with the host community.

Naa Andani Iddrisu welcomed the progress and emphasised openness, mutual respect and continued collaboration as exploration activities advance.

The Member of Parliament for Mion, Misbahu Mahama Adams, and the District Chief

Executive, Azindow Hamza Moabaly, also reaffirmed their support for the programme and continued cooperation with GNPC and GNPC Explorco.

The engagement at Chegu followed an earlier meeting with the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya-Naa Yakubu Abukari II, at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi, where traditional leaders were briefed on progress in the basin and preparations for the next phase of exploration.

With years of seismic acquisition and geological and geophysical studies behind the programme, the immediate focus is now on constructing the 13.5-kilometre access road, rig pad and base camp, as well as completing other site-preparation works ahead of the mobilisation of the drilling rig.

The outcome of TUA-1X, whether or not hydrocarbons are encountered, is expected to provide additional geological and subsurface information to guide GNPC’s understanding of the Voltaian Basin and subsequent exploration activity.