Petroleum Commission to unbundle contracts to check fronting in upstream industry

The Petroleum Commission has given strong an indication that it would stop fronting in the upstream industry and has taken steps to unbundle existing contracts.

Acting Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille Jr, made this known while addressing a business meeting with investors in Norway.

Mr Faibille said the move is to ensure that as many companies participate in bidding for project contracts for the right selections to be made.

“We seek to have every company that has the needed competency to bid for contracts and win something,” he said. Mr Faibille said the Commission was prepared to freeze the contracts of companies found to be fronting.

His comments come as Norwegian firm, Aker, gets set to begin oil exploration in Ghana.

Country Manager for Aker Energy, Jan Helge Skoken, who also addressed the meeting said the company was ready to carry out its project in Ghana.

“As we speak we are operational. We have more than 100 people located in Oslo and in Accra. We are building up the organization in Ghana. The project is moving towards realization”, Mr. Skoken assured.

In June this year, Aker Energy Ghana AS, a subsidiary of Aker Energy ASA a Norwegian Holding company got approval from the government to take over Hess Ghana stake in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block.

Director of Africa and Midstream at Norwegian Energy Partner (NORWEP), Gulbrand Wangen was hopeful of a profitable collaboration between Norway and Ghana as far oil and gas are concerned.

He promised NORWEP’s assistance to facilitate and support partnerships between Ghanaian and Norwegian firms.

The Petroleum Commission is currently in Norway with a delegation of 40 Ghanaian emerging companies in the oil and gas sector on a trade mission.

The trade mission coincides with the 2018 Offshore Northern Seas Conference which is being held in Norway’s oil city Stavanger under the theme – Innovate.