An agreement for the start of onshore oil and gas exploration in the Keta Basin of the Volta Region has been finalised, President John Mahama has disclosed.

Swiss African Oil Company - a subsidiary of Swiss African Petroleum AG - and PET Volta Investments have been awarded the exploration and production license for the new block, the President revealed further.

President Mahama made the revelations in an address at a durbar of chiefs at Anlo, Sunday.

“Before Parliament rose, it approved the exploration agreement and so it opens the way for the company to begin oil and gas exploration,” the President said.

He was hopeful the start of exploration activities in the Keta Delta block would create employment for the youth in communities within the basin and the southern Volta area.

The joint venture between Government, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Swiss African Oil Company Limited and PET Volta Investments makes it the first onshore oil exploration deal in the country.

Plans by the current government and past governments for oil exploration in the Keta basin have been on the table for over a decade, however, exploration challenges both onshore and offshore have caused delays.

The Keta Basin is part of the larger Voltaian Basin, which includes onshore areas stretching up to the northern parts of the country. It is the biggest landmass of Ghana, occupying one-third of the whole country.

The Keta Delta block is estimated to cover an area of 3,000 square kilometers.

Some analysts have put expected barrels of oil from the Keta basin area at about hundred million.