Shell and Chevron have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities in Ghana’s Eastern Keta Basin, Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) CEO Simon Madjie has said.

Brazil’s Petrobras has also expressed interest in the country’s oil acreage and blocks, adding to activity in the petroleum sector.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Mr Madjie said work involving Shell and Chevron was ongoing.

“But what we all know is that at Africa Oil Week, Chevron and Shell signed an MOU to look at work in the Eastern Keta Basin. So that's ongoing.”

He pointed to Petrobras's reported interest as another development in the sector.

“We also saw the interest of Petrobras announced in the newspapers, you know, to really look at some of the acreages and blocks that the country has”.

Mr Madjie placed these developments alongside major investment announcements by companies already operating in Ghana’s oil industry.

He cited plans by the Jubilee partners to invest $2 billion and drill 20 wells in the Jubilee field. He also highlighted a $1.5 billion announcement by ENI and its partners.

“And so there's a lot of activities within that space. I'm sure folks at the Petroleum Commission will give you a lot more technical details.”

His comments outlined both interest in Ghana’s oil blocks and investment plans involving existing operations. However, he deferred questions about the technical details to the Petroleum Commission and the ministry.

Asked specifically about a possible return by ExxonMobil, Mr Madjie acknowledged that talks had taken place. He declined to disclose further information.

“I knew that there were some talks for them to come back. It's not something that can be disclosed now.”

He directed further questions on ExxonMobil to the authorities overseeing the sector.

“So I, I think you leave that entirely to the Minister of Energy and Petroleum Commission.”