Anadarko’s Jubilee party caps tough year

By Sheila McNulty in Houston, Financial Times, with permission

When the Jubilee field in Ghana produces its first oil on Wednesday it will represent more than a boost in production for Anadarko Petroleum.

It will also validate the US independent oil group’s strategy to pursue international exploration even as its peers pulled back. Oil groups globally are facing barriers to new markets dominated by state oil companies but Anadarko is among a handful seeking organic growth abroad.

The strategy is paying off. Anadarko says it expects production to rise by 7-9 per cent over the next five years, much of it from the string of oil discoveries off the west Africa coast.

A Message For Cocoa Board, GNPC and TOR

By Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi (Voice of Reason), NJ, USA

For Ghanaians to get real equity, please list these companies on Ghana Stock Exchange Market, anything less is just a joke.

Who are the true owners of the Cocoa Board, TOR and GNPC?

Why can’t ordinary Ghanaians buy shares in Cocoa Board and GNPC or TOR, if they’re the true owners   of these companies?

Critical News, 22nd August 2010

There couldn’t have been a better week for democracy in our Ghana, this week.  The NDC party, not the Government, went on public record to state their intention to clean the judge’s benches and served notice to the Chief Justice of her perceived bias in recent rulings by the judiciary.  Following the decision to allow Kwadwo Mpiani and Wereko Brobbey to walk without a recommendation to formally charge them with any offence, the judges explanation of his understanding of the law, so completely baffled both opposing sides that the NPP claimed it as a vindication of their innocence and the NDC took up arms against the law.  The pity of it all is that the NDC party, which has not been able to dissociate itself from the Government, thought they should threaten mayhem and cause fear and panic across board by resurrecting the murder of judges under the (p)NDC, which no adult of voting age in Ghana has forgotten.  We are reminded of this event every time we pass in front of the Courts in Accra.

Critical News 1st August, 2010

Glory, Glory, Glory!  What a start to the week.  The New Crusading Guide blessed the week with the story of the year so far.  Tsatsu Tsikata involved in a contentious (have to be careful here, might cause Fear and Panic!) contract with MODEC, the builders and managers of the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.  Rather longwinded so here are the essential facts as I see them.  Tsatsu signed a contract to provide advisory services to MODEC back in 2008 when he was in custody.  The IFC through the Multi-lateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) were only recently told of this contract.  Both the IFC and MIGA are heavily invested in the FPSO, which is owned by Jubilee Ghana BV 21, a special purpose company, set up to raise funds for the development of the Jubilee field unit in West Cape 3 Points.  This also involves Tullow, Kosmos, Anadarko, the EO Group, Sabre Oil and GNPC.  I will do a very detailed report on the shareholding structure of all this in the coming week.  It will impress you! trust me.  Anyway, the IFC and MIGA are p***** off because they were only told at the back end.  The contract is for $5million, two has been paid, all of it during the NDC era and the remainder to be paid when the first oils starts.  Great start to the week!  It got more interesting as the days rolled forward, and Tsatsu publicly threatened to sue through his company Strategic Oil and Gas.  He owns 50% of the company and we are yet to know who owns the other half!  This story will run for a long time.  Until the due diligence is completed and the IFC and MIGA are content, the FPSO will not be storing any oil!  Imagine what this will mean to Ghanaians if one person’s greed halts our whole economic jump off!