News

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has recently taken a significant step in strengthening its international partnerships, technical cooperation, and upstream investment opportunities for Ghana through its engagement at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Brasil in Rio de Janeiro. Building upon its successful presence at OTC in Houston earlier in the year, GNPC’s participation in Brazil underscored a deliberate effort to reinforce its long-term operatorship ambitions, explore new collaborations, and strategically position Ghana’s petroleum sector within the dynamic global energy space.

GNPC’s attendance formed a critical part of its overarching strategy to foster broader international cooperation, build strong technical capacity, and drive sustainable growth across Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector. The Corporation's high-level delegation, led by the Board Chairman, Professor Joseph Oten-Adjei, alongside members of the governing board and senior executives, including the Acting CEO, Kwame Ntow Amoah, the Deputy Chief Executive, Exploration & Production, Mr. Michael Aryeetey, and other Directors, participated at the express invitation of the Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP).

This conference brought together over 23,000 participants from 53 countries, serving as an essential global showcase for cutting-edge innovations shaping the future of deepwater and low-carbon energy development.

The most critical aspect of the visit was the series of strategic meetings GNPC held with the leadership of Petrobras, the Brazilian national oil company, and a global deepwater major. GNPC's delegation engaged in two rounds of discussions with the Petrobras President & CEO, Ms. Magda Chambriard, and her executive team. These high-stakes discussions focused on deepening cooperation in core areas: exploration and production, technology transfer, research and development, and crucial capacity building for Ghanaian technical professionals.

The Acting CEO of GNPC, Kwame Ntow Amoah, provided a detailed overview of the company's upstream growth strategy, including its key subsidiarization plan and short-term operational priorities across onshore and offshore projects. Petrobras executives responded by showing strong interest in several partnership opportunities, including collaborating with GNPC on exploring new green offshore blocks, evaluating potential farm-in deals in existing fields, and forming joint ventures within Ghana’s onshore Voltaian Basin Project. Additionally, Petrobras confirmed its readiness to share knowledge on deepwater technologies and low-carbon exploration methods, demonstrating a proactive approach to energy transition.

Demonstrating a commitment to immediate next steps, Mr. Aryeetey formally extended an invitation for Petrobras to visit GNPC’s data room in Accra to review geological and engineering datasets and further explore these collaboration opportunities. Petrobras readily welcomed this invitation and affirmed its readiness to expedite the discussions.

Another highlight of the visit was a technical tour of CENPES, Petrobras’ renowned Research and Development Centre. This facility is globally recognized for its breakthroughs, particularly in deepwater technology, machine learning applications in reservoir modeling, and environmentally efficient production systems. During the tour, GNPC executives actively explored opportunities for technical collaboration in geoscience and basin evaluation, reservoir and wells engineering, subsea and surface technologies, and research support for GNPC’s own Research and Technology Centre. Crucially, the discussions included prospects for seconding GNPC engineers and researchers to Brazil for advanced technical training and essential international exposure, a mechanism vital for skill transfer.

Through these engagements, GNPC clearly reaffirmed its deep interest in leveraging Petrobras’ decades of experience to build globally competitive in-house capabilities, a development fundamentally aligned with Ghana’s long-term operatorship ambitions.

Petrobras concluded the meetings by accepting the invitation to visit GNPC early next year, where they will continue detailed discussions and proceed with the technical review of the Corporation’s data room to evaluate both offshore and onshore opportunities.

GNPC’s proactive role emphasizes its readiness to support Petrobras’ prospective entry into Ghana’s upstream sector, an engagement anticipated to deliver substantial mutual value and highlight Ghana's position as a competitive and attractive exploration destination. Ultimately, GNPC’s participation in OTC Brasil solidifies the Corporation’s commitment to deepening strategic partnerships, accelerating essential technology transfer, and robustly positioning Ghana for future growth in an increasingly competitive and technologically demanding global energy landscape. By strengthening ties with Petrobras, GNPC is taking decisive steps to enhance Ghana’s technical expertise, broaden its investment prospects, and build a resilient national energy sector equipped for the future.