Eban and Akoma discoveries result of long-term planning under NPP – Minority

By Eugene Davis

Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, has emphasized that the Akoma and Eban oil discoveries were made under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration, as part of a deliberate reserve replacement strategy.

Speaking at a Minority press conference to set the record straight on ENI’s Eban-Akoma discoveries, Mr. Adomako-Mensah stated that both discoveries were made in the Cape Three Points Block 4 under a Petroleum Agreement with ENI. In accordance with the agreement, ENI duly notified the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum Commission, and GNPC, with the discoveries also reported in the local media.

He described attempts by the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition to attribute these achievements to the Mahama administration as “dishonest, disingenuous, and a distortion of the truth.” The NPP Minority, he said, firmly rejects any such claims.

Key Discoveries:

Akoma-1X Well: Drilled by ENI Ghana in 2019 with approval from the Petroleum Commission. Discovery of gas and condensate announced on 9th May 2019.

Eban-1X Well: Another significant oil discovery by ENI, made in 2021 in the same contract area.

To fulfill its contractual obligations, ENI requested and received approval from the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government to conduct a joint appraisal for both discoveries—now termed the Eban-Akoma Complex—to cut costs and speed up development. This approval was granted on 28th July 2022.

Following a successful appraisal, ENI confirmed the discoveries as commercially viable and formally informed the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, as required by the CTP Block-4 Petroleum Agreement.

Mr. Adomako-Mensah further revealed that between 2018 and 2022, seven (7) discoveries were made from six (6) wells, including two from the Aprokuma-1X Well at the Albian and Cenomanian levels.

The Minority stressed that in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector, only the contractor—in this case, ENI—can declare commerciality, and that such milestones stem from sustained planning over time, not short-term political efforts.

The NPP Minority therefore maintains that credit for the Akoma and Eban discoveries rightly belongs to the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration.