The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has accused the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and its subsidiary Explorco of engaging in a “deliberate conspiracy” to cause financial loss to the state through the intended acquisition of additional stakes in the Springfield-operated West Cape Three Points Block 2 (WCTP-2).
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, ACEP’s Executive Director, Mr. Ben Boakye, described the transaction as “the clearest evidence yet of a conspiracy to cause financial loss to the state,” alleging that state officials deliberately withheld critical 2024 appraisal data and instead provided an independent valuer with discredited 2020 secondary data.
According to Mr. Boakye, GNPC and Explorco supplied U.S.-based firm Sewell & Associates with the same dataset from the 2020 Aryeetey Report that had previously led Ghana into a costly arbitration defeat. The 2020 data estimated recoverable reserves at 535 million barrels, a figure the Petroleum Commission (PC) later discredited.
“Sewell itself issued a disclaimer stating that raw geoscience data for the adjacent OCTP Block were not made available, forcing them to rely solely on GNPC’s 14 October 2020 estimate,” Mr. Boakye said. “This means the valuation that justified a payout of over $700 million was based entirely on recycled and discredited 2020 secondary data while 2024 primary appraisal results were deliberately withheld.”
He questioned the motive behind hiding the more recent data, stating: “Why conceal the 2024 appraisal results unless the intention was to inflate the valuation and pay far more than the asset is worth?”
Mr. Boakye described the actions as “an unforgivable breach of public trust” and called for immediate accountability.
“No executive involved in this transaction deserves to remain in post beyond Monday,” he told the Daily Graphic. “Public office is not a refuge for those who gamble with Ghana’s future. Ghanaians deserve better.”
ACEP has urged citizens, civil society, and parliament to demand full disclosure of the 2024 appraisal data and an independent probe into the transaction.
The GNPC and the Ministry of Energy are yet to respond to the allegations at the time of filing this report.