Public rally govt support for Springfield amidst appraisal drilling

Residents of Western Region are calling on the government to offer robust support to Springfield Exploration and Production Limited, a Ghanaian-owned company, as it advances its work in the country’s oil and gas sector.
This plea was made during a stakeholder engagement session involving Springfield, its partners Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Explorco, and fishermen from six coastal districts in the region.

Springfield’s local ownership praised
At the heart of this appeal is Springfield’s daring move into the upstream oil and gas industry, a field typically dominated by foreign corporations.
Speaking on behalf of the residents, Nana Kweku Amosa, a fisherman from Jomoro, expressed the local community’s admiration for Springfield’s efforts, likening the company’s potential to that of Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote, who received significant government support to build his business empire.
He acknowledged that while he is a fisherman, he appreciates the economic impact of the oil industry, particularly its job creation efforts for the youth.
He contrasted the oil sector with Ghana’s mining industry, noting that there are few, if any, Ghanaian companies operating at the level of international mining giants such as AngloGold Ashanti or Newmont Ghana.
Springfield’s success, he emphasized, would be a significant step toward local ownership in the oil industry.

Deepsea Bollsta Rig arrival announced
During the session, officials from Springfield and its partners briefed the fisherfolk about the arrival of the Deepsea Bollsta Rig, a semi-submersible rig that will be used to appraise the Afina-1x Well, where significant oil discoveries were made in 2019.
The engagement aimed to foster cooperation with the fishermen, urging them to avoid fishing near the rig to prevent accidents that could cost lives and millions of dollars in damages.
The upstream sector is very capital intensive, but as time goes on, businesses will be able to build the financial capacity to operate effectively in the market.

Springfield’s journey and achievements
Springfield Group, an independent African energy company, is involved in trading and transporting hydrocarbons, terminalling and storage, gas stations, and oil exploration.
Since 2008, Springfield Energy has imported refined petroleum products such as gasoline, dual-purpose kerosene, gasoil, naphtha, and jet fuel to Ghana.
The company is now the dominant importer of fuel products into Ghana, with revenues exceeding $1 billion in its trading business alone.
Springfield has consistently reinvested its profits into building and acquiring other businesses within the energy value chain.
It now co-owns gas stations, storage facilities, an oilfield services subsidiary, a haulage company and oil exploration.

The path to exploration
In 2012, Springfield’s founder Kevin Okyere applied for an oil block in Ghana, setting his sights on WCTP2, an oil block with proven reserves.
Kosmos Energy, a Dallas, Texas-based oil company had relinquished WCTP2.
The government awarded the block to Springfield after requiring the company to set up a full-fledged exploration and production (E&P) unit and commit at least $100 million over seven years.
The WCTP2 block is located in a prime position, neighboring major oil projects such as Tullow Oil’s Jubilee field and Eni’s Sankofa-Gye Nyame field.
Springfield invested over $70 million into exploration, leading to significant discoveries at the Afina-1x Well in 2019.

Significant oil discoveries and future prospects
In October 2019, the Afina-1 well made two discoveries, including gas, critical, and light oil, doubling Springfield’s proven oil reserves to 1.5 billion barrels and adding almost 1 trillion cubic feet of gas to the existing discoveries.
The block’s undiscovered potential is estimated at over 3 billion barrels of oil and gas.
The company has contracted Northern Ocean Limited’s Deepsea Bollsta rig to lead the appraisal, marking a significant step towards advancing oil production in the region.
In collaboration with GNPC and its subsidiary Explorco, Springfield aims to finalize the unitization of the Afina and Sankofa fields.

Financial support and recognition
Springfield Group holds an 82% interest and operatorship in the WCTP2 block, which spans 673 square kilometers in the Gulf of Guinea’s Tano Basin.
In June 2023, Springfield signed a $750 million facility with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), which will positively impact the development of the West Cape Three Points Block 2, particularly the unitized Afina-Sankofa field.
This facility will enable the company to add tremendous value to its oil block.
Springfield was recognized in the London Stock Exchange Group’s “Companies to Inspire Africa” 2019 report, chosen from a pool of 4,000 companies operating across the continent.