Ghana is stepping up efforts to revive offshore oil exploration in the Accra-Keta Basin as the government seeks to replenish declining petroleum reserves and attract fresh investment into the country’s underexplored sedimentary basins.
President John Dramani Mahama disclosed the plans at the 2026 Petroleum Commission Local Content Conference in Takoradi, saying the government was in discussions with five international energy companies, including Eni, Vitol, Shell, Chevron and Petrobras, over prospective exploration acreage in Ghana’s eastern and western basins.
The negotiations form part of a broader strategy to expand exploration beyond the Western Basin, where the country’s established oil and gas fields are located, and unlock new prospects in areas that have received limited commercial exploration.
Mahama said three memoranda of understanding had already been signed, setting out key commercial terms for three prospective offshore blocks. Discussions on the terms of additional petroleum agreements are also underway.
The Accra-Keta Basin, which stretches along Ghana’s eastern coastline, is among the government’s priority exploration frontiers, with its deepwater geological structures offering potential opportunities for further petroleum discoveries.
The renewed interest seeks to sustain crude oil production and replace reserves from existing fields, making new discoveries and exploration investment increasingly important to the long-term outlook of the petroleum industry.
The government is also working to resolve regulatory and legal challenges that have delayed petroleum developments.
Mahama said a major legal obstacle affecting the development of the Peckham Field had been cleared, allowing operators to advance plans for its development.
He also disclosed that the government and Tullow Oil had reached an operational understanding following international arbitration, establishing a mutually acceptable roadmap aimed at protecting long-term investments.
Resolving such disputes and improving regulatory certainty are central to the government’s efforts to attract international oil companies into new exploration areas, particularly as investors weigh the commercial and technical risks associated with frontier basins.
Beyond offshore exploration, Ghana is preparing to advance petroleum prospecting in the Voltaian Basin, an inland sedimentary basin that could broaden the country’s resource base.
GNPC subsidiary Exploro is finalising technical arrangements to drill its first exploration wells in the basin by the first quarter of 2027.
The government is also developing community engagement guidelines intended to address environmental concerns and protect local livelihoods as exploration activities move forward.
To improve the country’s competitiveness in attracting exploration capital, the Energy and Finance Ministers have submitted proposed amendments to the Petroleum Exploration and Development Act, 2016 (Act 919), to Cabinet for consideration.
The proposed changes are intended to introduce stronger incentives for international exploration investors.
Ghana’s renewed exploration drive adds to efforts in addressing the long-term sustainability of the petroleum industry by opening new geological frontiers, resolving investment bottlenecks and creating more attractive conditions for international capital.
