By Our Reporter
A research fellow at the Strategic Energy Forum, Kojo Danquah, has kicked against the decision by the Chief Executive of Ghana National Petroleum Cooperation’s (GNPC) Dr. K. K Sarpong to allegedly add to his work the procurement function.
In a statement he issued yesterday, Kojo Danquah stated that in 2006, HESS Corporation an American oil company acquired 90% stake in the Deep Water Tano / Cape Three Point Block which GNPC being 10% stake in the Block and between 2010 and 2013, HESS together with GNPC made about 7 separate oil discoveries within the block.
“In 2015, HESS requested to the Government of Ghana (GoG) to offload about 47% percent of its shares in the block to other oil companies. The then NDC government led by Armah Kofi Buah (Petroleum Minister) and the GNPC decided to acquire more commercial stake in the Block because the fiscal terms in the DWT/CTP project is the worst in terms of percentages accruing to GoG and GNPC,” he stated.
According to him, the GNPC formed a commercial ecology company called EXPLORCO GH LTD in which GNPC raise $47m upon approval from parliament and acquired an additional 10% from the 47% that HESS was willing to offload.
He revealed that other companies LUKOIL a Russian oil company took 35% and 2% was bought by FUELTRADE a Ghanaian company that is partly owned by Chris Tweneboah and Yaw Sarpong, the first son of DR. KK Sarpong acquiring the remaining 37%.
Kojo Danquah intimated that when the NPP took over office in 2017, Dr Sarpong was appointed CEO and this allegedly showed a clear conflict of interest situation especially with issues concerning the FUELTRADE and DWT/CTP Block which HESS owned when AKER Energy a Norwegian oil company acquired the shares of HESS in the Block making AKER the operator of the block.
He said, “AKER also requested to acquire the 10% EXPLORCO shares. Dr Sarpong being GNPC CEO and EXPLORCO being a commercial subsidiary of GNPC, granted AKER the request. This sale was done without recourse to the Minister of Energy, the Cabinet and more importantly parliament. The $47 million which Kofi Buah obtained from parliament for the 10% stake for GNPC/ EXPLORCO is nowhere to be found.”
He mentioned that Dr Sarpong deceived the GNPC Board and kept the whole transaction away from the old GNPC Technical, Legal and commercial managers to fight for the 10% stake for EXPLORCO and brought into office his own commercial and legal management in GNPC and executed the “corruption and illegal action with recourse to the old guards at GNPC.”
He stressed that even though AKER recently announced additional discoveries in the block, GoG and GNPC together with the good people of Ghana have the least shares in the oil proceeds and this is the worst in Ghana when compared to the Jubilee, TEN and SANKOFA/GYE NYAME oil fields.
“This cruel act against the people of Ghana has been perpetrated by Dr KK Sarpong and one wonders why he still occupies office,” he said.
Dr. KK SARPONG in a recent memo, has taken over the procurement functions the board gave the director of finance pending the recruitment of a substantive procurement director.
Kojo Danquah also accused Dr. K. K Sarpong of employing a driver as a staff who doubles as driver and security without due procedure.
According to Kojo Danquah the GNPC CEO brought in someone entirely new, instead of sticking to the normal tradition of GNPC, where one person is picked from drivers of the transport department of the organisation.
He said “The CEO is supposed to choose one of the drivers from the pool of drivers we have at the transport sector, within the organisation and in this case, K.K Sarpong didn’t allow that process to go on but rather brought in someone from outside who is entirely new.”
