Explorco confident of 2026 Voltaian Basin drilling target

By Ebenezer Chike Adjei NJOKU

Explorco, the exploration subsidiary of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), is confident it will meet its third quarter 2026 drilling target for the Voltaian Basin – citing advanced preparations and strong community support for the flagship frontier exploration project.

Samuel Opoku Arthur, Managing Director-Explorco, said the company remains on course to spud its first well by September 2026, having completed critical preparatory phases with contract awards scheduled for completion by January next year.

He added that vendor pre-qualification is already well advanced, as well as engagements with local communities and traditional authorities ahead of the drilling campaign.

“We are confident in the progress made so far. The Voltaian Basin represents an opportunity for Ghana to build its own operating capability while contributing meaningfully to national energy security,” Mr. Arthur told B&FT.

The Voltaian Basin campaign represents a strategic shift for Ghana’s oil and gas sector, a move away from offshore assets toward the largely neglected onshore frontiers.

The basin covers approximately 103,600 km², spanning about one-third of Ghana’s landmass across the Northern, Savannah, Bono East, Oti and Ashanti Regions.

The project represents a significant departure from Ghana’s historical role as a non-operating partner in its own petroleum blocks. Explorco has been established specifically to develop domestic operating capabilities, with the Voltaian Basin serving as its flagship project for this transition.

At the Africa Oil Week held in Accra last month, President John Mahama put his weight behind the project.

The commitment represents government’s most ambitious domestic upstream project and a critical test of its ability to reverse declining oil production.

Mr. Arthur said the company is proceeding with or without international partners, citing preliminary geological studies indicating “strong presence of hydrocarbons in very commercial quantities” in the basin.

This comes as domestic oil production has endured a period of sustained decline, with existing offshore fields approaching depletion and operational inefficiencies taking a toll.

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has shown that oil production declined consistently since peaking at 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to 48.25 million barrels in 2024. Already, production for first-half 2025 is down 26 percent from the comparable period last year.

The Voltaian Basin project represents the country’s principal near-term prospect for arresting that trend, Mr. Arthur said.

Steps taken

Explorco is targetting contract awards by January 2026 to meet the drilling deadline. The company has completed site selection and initiated environmental and social impact assessments, with baseline studies already underway. An advance team has begun community engagement in affected areas, receiving what Arthur described as a “very encouraging” reception from traditional leaders.

During a recent visit to the Gbewaa Palace, Explorco’s board formally introduced their exploratory plans to the Overlord of Dagbon, Yaa Naa Abukari II, Mr. Arthur noted – adding that the chief expressed support for the campaign, describing this initiative as a “game-changer” for the region’s economic future.

Mr. Arthur noted that community engagement is not a perfunctory exercise. Explorco has initiated baseline environmental and social impact assessments, vendor pre-qualifications and logistical planning in parallel with the stakeholder outreach, he confirmed.

The aim is to synchronise exploration operations with local socio-economic development, reserving significant roles for Ghanaian firms, service providers and community contractors.

Explorco’s strategy is to act as operator of record for the onshore campaign, marking a critical step toward GNPC’s broader ambition of being a standalone upstream operator.

Mr. Arthur emphasised the company’s intention to proceed even without immediate major partners, thereby demonstrating Ghanaian technical capacity and commitment.

“Even if we do not get any partner now, we can do the minimum that will unravel the asset’s true nature,” he stated.

Compared to mature offshore fields such as Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa-Gye Nyame which face natural production decline, the onshore frontier opens a new growth pathway for Ghana’s petroleum sector, he added.

Local content

In addition to exploration planning and community engagement, Explorco’s local value strategy complements its drilling roadmap. The company has developed a three-tier procurement system with

Tier A covering specialised services, most of which are beyond the scope of local  contractors.

There is also Tier B which will be skewed toward local suppliers, with foreign players needing partnerships with domestic players to gain access.

Tier C will be services reserved exclusively for Ghanaian firms; for example logistics, security and catering.

Mr. Arthur stated: “We want our people to work side-by-side with the service providers, not observe from a distance. That is how we build real capacity”.

For the communities affected, areas such as land-use, employment, logistics corridors and socio-economic benefit will be important. Explorco’s dialogue with traditional authorities is designed to ensure “a solid partnership between the company and people of the north”.

The drilling programme and community engagement take place against a backdrop of global oil-price and transition dynamics. While major economies push toward net-zero emissions and renewable energy, Ghana is projecting that hydrocarbons will remain a key contributor to its energy security and economic growth over the next decade.

The company expects outcomes of the first well to define development plans for the basin, the Explorco MD said.

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