Cabinet has approved an agreement for oil exploration at the South Deep Water Tano Block in the Western Region.
The area, which covers 3,482 square kilometres, is near the Cape Three Points.
Partners in the oil exploration project are the Government of Ghana, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), AGM Petroleum Ghana Limited and Exploration and Production Company Limited (EXPLORCO).
According to the agreement, the Government of Ghana would get a 79 per cent share of the sale of oil and gas from the area.
This comprises 10 per cent royalty, five per cent from domestic gas, 10 per cent from exported gas, 10 per cent carried interest, 15 per cent participatory interest and 35 per cent corporate tax.
A deputy minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Felix Ofosu Kwakye, who briefed journalists on the agreement at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday, said it was the first time that a Ghanaian company, EXPLORCO, the production wing of the GNPC, would be involved in oil exploration in the country.
He underscored the fact that the deal had positioned Ghana to take full advantage of oil exploration.
”It is the highest approval that the country has had from the exploration of oil resources,” Mr Ofosu Kwakye said.
He said it was Cabinet’s expectation that the agreement would pave the way for more favourable terms for the country in the oil and gas industry.
By Musah Yahaya Jafaru, FLAGSTAFF HOUSE
Daily Graphic/graphic.com.gh/Ghana