On October 15 President Nana Akufo-Addo announced the opening of the country’s first open and competitive round of bidding for energy exploration licences, with three offshore blocks being offered. Previously, Ghana had awarded leases through a closed negotiation process. All of the blocks are located in Ghana’s Central Basin, with the terms of the tender mandating that bidders have the financial capacity and technical expertise to undertake the exploration and extraction. Bidders also have to present a timetable for their exploration and development programme and must detail plans for the equity component and skills transfer to local partners. President Akufo-Addo also announced a review of all licensing agreements covering blocks that were inactive, where concession holders had not undertaken the required exploratory or development work. This move could see a number of blocks re-enter the market, either through competitive bidding or direct negotiations, generating further interest in the upstream […]