President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Ghana is preparing to commence its first exploration drilling programme in the Voltaian Basin in the first quarter of 2027, as the government intensifies efforts to discover new petroleum reserves and strengthen the country’s long-term energy security.
The President said the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), through its subsidiary, ExploCo, was preparing to drill exploration wells in the basin as part of efforts to replace the reserves being depleted from existing oilfields.
Speaking at the 2026 Petroleum Commission Local Content Conference and Exhibition in Takoradi, President Mahama said expanding exploration was necessary to sustain petroleum production and create new opportunities for investment and economic development.
“Onshore, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, through its subsidiary, Exploco, is preparing to drill its first exploration wells in the Voltaian Basin, with drilling expected to commence in the first quarter of 2027,” he announced.
The planned drilling represents an important step in Ghana’s efforts to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the Voltaian Basin, an onshore sedimentary basin that has been the subject of geological and geophysical studies by GNPC and its subsidiary over several years.
President Mahama said the country needed to accelerate responsible exploration and develop new petroleum prospects to sustain production and reduce dependence on existing producing fields.
He also tasked the Petroleum Commission with intensifying oversight of petroleum operators, particularly those whose exploration activities and agreed work programmes were behind schedule.
“I ask the Petroleum Commission to follow up with license holders whose agreed work programs are behind schedule and to ensure that they meet their obligations,” he said.
The President stressed that Ghana’s petroleum resources must ultimately translate into jobs, business opportunities and lasting improvements in the lives of citizens.
He further directed the Commission to ensure that operators engage communities early, minimise adverse environmental and social impacts, and create opportunities for people in areas where petroleum activities take place.
The Voltaian Basin drilling programme forms part of a broader government strategy to expand exploration beyond Ghana’s established offshore producing fields.
President Mahama disclosed that government was also engaging international oil companies, including ENI, Vitol, Shell, Chevron and Petrobras, on prospective petroleum acreages in the country’s western and eastern sedimentary basins.
He said three memoranda of understanding had been signed on key terms for three blocks, while discussions on other petroleum agreements were continuing.
The government is also pursuing measures to improve the investment environment, including proposed amendments to the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, 2016 (Act 919), aimed at providing better incentives to attract investment into the upstream sector.
President Mahama said the overarching objective was to replace the petroleum reserves being produced, encourage new discoveries and ensure that Ghana continued to benefit from its oil and gas resources.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to responsible exploration, stronger investor confidence and greater participation by Ghanaian businesses and workers in the petroleum industry.
Story: Patrick Asford Boadu
