The Ghanaian company, Cybele Energy, bid US$17 million upfront for a shallow water well that the company believes contains at least 400 million barrels of oil but the final figure depends on further studies, officials said on Tuesday.
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat told reporters that the company bid US$7 million above the stipulated price for the less than 1,500 square kilometer concession named S7. “Initially, when they submitted the bid, they submitted the 17 because you’re basically bidding for the block so to attract the evaluators’ attention and to show that you are financially sound and interested in the block, obviously you would put in a good bid and then the team obviously did a good job in negotiating,” he said.
He said the companies also have to prove their technical capability, experience and if they have money to conduct exploration.
Minister Bharrat told reporters that the 400 million barrels of oil stated in a company handout to the media is based on existing data. “That’s estimate based on geology that they have currently so you can extrapolate but until you do actual work, you really don’t know,” she told reporters.
Cybele’s Chief Executive Officer Beatrice Mensah-Tayui said the company would conduct desktop reviews and other studies as part of its work plan. “Our geologic and geophysics team is responsible for that and every block is different so depending on the programme that they put in place, then we would share that with you,” she said.
Asked about her company’s plans to conduct 3D seismic studies and the proposed cost, she said the government would be contracting a seismic research company for all the exploration companies. “That’s really not dependent on us. That depends on when the company is picked would start the work,” he said.
Ms Mensah-Tayui said Cybele would no longer be working with the United States-based Liberty Petroleum because of subsequent opportunities in Somalia.