Barely two years when US oil and gas supermajor, ExxonMobil, relinquished its 80 per cent stake in the Deepwater Cape Three Point oil block offshore the Republic of Ghana and departed, another oil and gas giant, Lukoil, is on its way out of the West African nation.
According to a report by Reuters on Monday, which was confirmed by sources in Ghana’s petroleum industry, Lukoil is in direct talks with Indian companies to sell its 38 per cent stake in the Pecan field, where the Norwegian energy firm, Aker Energy, holds a 50 per cent participating interest in the block.
Fueltrade, a Ghanaian firm, also has two per cent in the Pecan field while Ghana National Petroleum Corporation holds the remaining 10 per cent.
Seven successful exploration wells and eight appraisal wells on the block have proved a significant resource base as well as offering a high upside, Aker Energy says.
However, the company has been wary of the involvement of Lukoil as a partner in the block due to the Western sanctions on Russia and has said it would wait to see the issue resolved until it files a field development plan.
Aker Energy has completed FEED and prepared a revised Plan of Development for the Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points block, Aker said in August 2022.
Aker said in February that the filing of the development plan “has been delayed due to the uncertainties and risks caused by the war in Ukraine and Lukoil Overseas Ghana Tano Ltd’s 38 per cent interest in the licence, as well as supply chain disruptions and inflation.”
The current deadline for submitting the plan has been extended to April 2023.
Lukoil is directly talking with Indian companies about potentially selling its stake in the Pecan field development because banks do not want to get involved due to the sanctions against Russia, according to Reuters’ sources.
During an Indian energy event earlier last month, Lukoil representatives and Indian firms, including ONGC Videsh, the foreign investment arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), discussed a potential deal, the sources said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com