Working as integrated teams to achieve first oil in 2021
Representatives from Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ghana’s Petroleum Commission (PC), Aker Energy and external speakers were gathered in Oslo to share learnings and form the basis for further collaboration and transparent communication to achieve the ambitions for the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block offshore of Ghana.
“The workshop provided all participants with a common understanding on the way we operate in both Ghana and in Norway, and we gained further valuable insight into the business model of Aker Energy,” says Mr. Egbert Failbille, CEO of the Petroleum Commision (PC) in Ghana.
Working towards a submission of the Plan of Development (PoD) for the Pecan project in the DWT/CTP block (also known as the Aker North block), where Aker Energy is the operator, teams from GNPC, PC and Aker Energy came together in week 21 to find a common understanding on the collaboration form and the actions needed to be taken to achieve the ambition of first oil in fourth quarter of 2021. The workshop also included guest speakers from Norwegian governmental bodies and oil services companies to share insight into collaboration forms on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Working in integrated teams
The 4-day workshop was attended by Mr. Failbille and a delegation from the PC, as well as COO James D. Yamoah and a delegation from GNPC. The particpants included a number of people that will work closely, and integrated, with Aker Energy to progress the drilling programme and the preparations for a submission of the PoD.
“We at GNPC are keen to set the ball rolling on Ghana’s next development project on the Aker North block. We are confident that working as an integrated project team will build synergies among partners and stakeholders, as well as enhance capacity for effective development of the DWT/CTP project. The key to achieving success is openness and constant communication between partners and stakeholders”, says Mr. James D. Yamoah, COO of GNPC.
Mr. Yamoah’s message is echoed by the CEO of Aker Energy, Jan Arve Haugan: “We have a firm belief that first oil in 2021 is possible to achieve, but it requires both hard work and transparent communication to reach all critical milestones. It will be adamant to work as an integrated team between Aker Energy, relevant governmental bodies and contractors in the preparations of the drilling and PoD submission and approval, in order to sort out any potential road blocks as we go along.”
Norwegian authorities and suppliers shared learnings
The workshop from Tuesday-Friday in week 21 included an introduction to the business model of Aker BP and a deep-dive into the design and effects of the alliance model Aker BP has implemented, as well as experiences with the collaboration from Aker Solutions, Kvaerner and Maersk Drilling.
Representatives from the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Norad, and the Federation of Norwegian Industries (Norsk Industri) were also invited as speakers, and shared an overview of the Norwegian oil and gas framework, the tripartite collaboration between industry, government and trade unions and helped the workshop participants to understand the parallels between framework conditions in Norway and Ghana.
