Petroleum economist, Dr Theo Acheampong, has stated that the move by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation to increase stakes in Aker's oil blocks is not a bad idea.
He believes the concern of CSO actors such as himself about the deal is the $1.1 billion price tag put on the transaction.
“Aker selling the asset is not the issue per se, it happens…the substantive issue really is at what [GNPC] wants to buy the assets,†the energy expert said Saturday on TV3’s current affairs programme, Key Points.
GNPC is seeking to buy a 37% stake in the Deep Water Tano/Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) operated by Aker Energy Ghana Limited and a 70% stake in the South Deep Water Tano (SDWT) operated by AGM Petroleum Ghana Limited.
Parliament’s Committee on Mines and Energy has approved the deal after Energy Minister Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh took the request to increase stakes in Aker's oil blocks to the Legislature.
The initial $1.65 billion that was being requested was cut down to $1.1 billion by the Committee.
While some CSOs have lauded the deal that is meant to help Ghana take control of its hydrocarbon resources others have criticised it.
Some CSOs are of the view that the $1.1 billion approved to be spent on the deal makes is too high.
Putting a figure to what the deal should have cost the state, Dr Acheampong said half of the approved amount should be enough for the deal.
“I think we are looking probably at half a billion dollars [$500 million] as the net asset value based on various assumptions…but one of the key assumptions is the oil price. And in some of the numbers that we are privy to…they are using about 67 to 65 dollars per barrel and we have had cause to actually challenge those numbers because if you look at some of the projections on the long-term trajectory of oil prices, certainly we should be valuing the assets between 55 to 50 dollars per barrel because 1 dollar [change] per barrel makes a big difference in these valuations,†he said.
Meanwhile, the government says it has contacted Bank of America to run a valuation of the deal in a bid to justify the value-for-money aspect of the transaction.