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Tullow Oil has warned of lower-than-forecast Ghana production and disappointing crude quality in Guyana. A trading update on 13 November said full-year production from Ghana’s Jubilee field would be around 89,000 b/d, down from 96,000 b/d forecast in the H1 results in July, due to new problems with the FPSO vessel. Tullow cited “topside issues which have constrained water injection and gas handling”, saying water injection would be restored to full capacity by the end of November, while enhancements to the gas handling system were planned for early 2020.

The United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on 23 October withdrew $190m of grant funding to Ghana, the same day the government formally began the process of cancelling a concession agreement between the state-owned Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Power Distribution Services Ghana Ltd (PDS). The cancellation follows controversy over the validity of payment securities provided by PDS as part of the transaction.In a statement on 23 October, the US embassy in Accra said it had been informed of the decision on 19 October and “notes this decision with regret”.

Ghana has one of the higher prices for electricity in the region, with tariffs ranging from $0.05-0.14/kWh for residential consumers and $0.12-0.21/kWh for non-residential consumers. The last substantial tariff increase in 2016 resulted in significant grid migration and the country has become a target for commercial and industrial power developers. This has placed considerable pressure on the government to try to reduce the cost of generation and improve the efficiency of the system rather than raise tariffs further to address the poor financial health of the sector.

Ghanaian independent Springfield Exploration and Production Limited spudded the Afina-1X well on West Cape Three Points Block 2 on 7 October using the Stena Forth drillship. The well will test Cenomanian potential on a similar play fairway to resources discovered by Eni to the east of the block. Springfield said it was the first time an independent African company had drilled in deep water.

The partners in Pan Andean Resources say they remain hopeful of settling the long-standing dispute over rights to Block Tano 2A, which was licensed to the joint venture more than a decade ago. Part of the block was included as Block 1 in a licensing round launched in October 2018. Block 1 was set aside for Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) as part of plans for the state oil company to become an eventual operator.

Only a few months after the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) distribution business was transferred to Power Distribution Services Ghana Ltd (PDS) on 1 March, the government has suspended the concession. “The decision follows the detection of fundamental and material breaches of PDS’ obligation in the provision of payment securities (demand guarantees) for the transaction which have been discovered upon further due diligence,” the Ministry of Information said in a 30 July statement.

Ghanaian explorer Springfield Exploration and Production Limited has signed a contract with Stena Unicon Offshore Services Ghana to use the Stena Forth drillship for two wells on West Cape Three Points (WCTP) Block 2.“The campaign will first target the Oak-1x well, on trend with the Beech discovery made on the Deep Water Tano Cape Three Points Block to the south-west of WCTP Block 2,” Springfield said.

Aker Energy has attracted a $100m investment from Lagos-Based Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) as it prepares to develop the Pecan field on the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) Block. AFC bought $100m of convertible bond notes with a commitment to participate in follow-on fundraising activities. The funds will be used by Aker Energy to finance the Pecan development, and AFC has also received equity warrants with the right to subscribe to shares in Aker Energy in future equity offerings.

German solar-rental company Redavia has begun operating a fifth plant in Ghana. The company has deployed a 90kWp system to supply Movelle Company in Takoradi. The plant will be expanded by a further 84kWp in a second phase. The contract includes installation, maintenance and technical monitoring of the project, which supplies Movelle’s cold storage site. Movelle trades frozen fish in West Africa.

The Ministry of Energy has awarded licences for two oil blocks in the Tano Basin after evaluating bids received in the country’s first licensing round, which launched in October 2018. The companies will now be invited for negotiations on detailed terms, the ministry said. Eni and Vitol were awarded Block WB03. Eni, which will operate the licence, said that beside Vitol the joint venture would include Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and a local company to be identified during the phase of contract finalisation.

The long-awaited 340MW Kpone Independent Power Project at Tema began commercial operations on 10 June. The project is owned by Cenpower Generation Company Ltd and is the first project-financed greenfield thermal plant in Ghana. Development has been challenging, taking more than a decade, and a dispute with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor Group Five Power International meant that the plant had to be commissioned by a specially assembled technical team.

Eni has announced a gas and condensate discovery with the Akoma-1X well on Cape Three Points Block 4, 12km from the Sankofa production hub. The well was drilled by the Maersk Voyager drillship to a total depth of 3,790 metres in a water depth of 350 metres. The well contains an estimated 550-650bcf of gas and 18-20m bbls of condensate, with further upside potential for both gas and oil. The well was the first to be drilled on the block, which was licensed to Eni in 2016.

Operator Aker Energy submitted a development plan to the Ministry of Energy on 28 March for the Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points Block. The Integrated Plan of Development and Operations (PDO) presents an overall plan for a phased development and production of the resources in the contract area, starting with the Pecan field, which was discovered by Hess in 2012. Once the PDO is approved by the Ghanaian authorities, the partners will work towards a final investment decision (FID).

Aker Energy announced on 4 March that it encountered oil in the Pecan South-1A well on the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) Block. A sidetrack will now be drilled to further appraise the volume potential. The Pecan South-1A well was drilled south of the main Pecan field, discovered by Hess in 2012. “The drilling result is another confirmation of the geological model for the area. The discovered resources from the well will further strengthen the robustness of the Pecan field development.

Deputy energy minister responsible for power William Aidoo has said the formal handover of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to a consortium led by the Philippines’ Manila Electricity Company (Meralco) will happen on 1 March. Aidoo was speaking at the Powering Africa Summit in Miami on 26 February. Meralco will hold an initial 30% stake in the consortium alongside Angola’s Aenergia (19%) and Ghanaian companies TG Energy Solutions (18%), Santa Baron Ventures Ghana (13%), GTS Engineering Ghana (10%) and TBK Ghana (10%).