Drilling Operations in Jubilee and OCTP Fields Begin
The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has announced the commencement of drilling operations in the Jubilee and Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) fields, following approvals by the Ministry and the Petroleum Commission.
These operations will be undertaken by Tullow Ghana Ltd. and its Jubilee partners, as well as Eni Ghana and its OCTP partners.
The Ministry opines that this development signals renewed investor confidence in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector, as the government implements measures to revitalize the industry after a prolonged period of low activity.
“This new campaign by Eni, together with the recently commenced drilling activity by the Jubilee partners, will sustain oil production and enhance operational efficiencies in the two fields.”
The programme is expected to unlock further value and increase the cumulative oil recovery by up to 7.9 million stock tank barrels (MMstb) and 6.2 MMstb, respectively, by the end of the license periods for the two fields.
The Ministry and the Petroleum Commission are committed to ensuring that the wells are delivered with excellent environmental and safety records, cost discipline, and operational excellence.
In preparation, the Ministry stated that 1,000 fishermen, local leaders, and other relevant stakeholders have been engaged through comprehensive stakeholder engagement programmes.
Schedules
Tullow has contracted the Noble Venturer drillship, which is currently in Ghana’s waters, to drill the JBE-P well—a Jubilee Full Field Development oil producer well in the Jubilee South-East area.
Drilling and completion of the well are expected to take 60 days, with initial production averaging 2,800 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in Q3 2025 and ramping up to 4,500 bopd in 2026. Afterward, the rig will be demobilised for a Special Periodic Survey (SPS) and is expected to return in Q4 2025 to continue Tullow’s two-year programme.
Eni’s new drilling campaign includes the SNKE-1X ST2 well, a side-track of the existing SNKE-1X ST well. This targets a section of the Cenomanian reservoir in the Sankofa field, anticipated to boost oil production from that formation over several years, beginning in Q4 2025.
The Saipem Deep Value Driller (DVD) 7th Generation drillship—a state-of-the-art vessel—has been contracted by Eni to carry out the campaign involving three wells over four to six months.
The rig arrived at its Ghanaian location on May 28, 2025, from its previous site in Côte d’Ivoire, and commenced operations almost immediately—underscoring the government’s and contractors’ commitment to optimizing drilling activities and minimizing costs.
Source: https://opemsuo.com/author/hajara-fuseini/.com/Hajara Fuseini
