The Ghanaian government has put measures in place to begin exploration activities in the onshore Voltaian Basin.

According to the Executive Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Daniel S. Amlalo, the geological survey conducted in the Voltaian Basin by the Soviet Geological Survey Team, between 1962 and 1966, indicated the possibility of oil and gas in the Northern Region and other parts of the country.

He added that EPA will provide the required guiding principle and recommendations to ensure that there are minimal risks in those potential areas.

The Senior Programme Officer of Petroleum at EPA, Samuel Kofi Agbetsiafa, has said that the project will boost the country’s access to liquefied petroleum gas to 50% by 2020, adding that the discovery of oil and gas at the Basin would not in any way affect the forest reserves as the means of support of the recipients had been taken into contemplated while at the same time exploiting petroleum resources in the Basin.

For his part, the Senior Environmental Engineer of GNPC said the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) would have positive impacts on the local economy and the challenges with other land users and settlements would be paid for from revenue from the project, News Ghana reports.

Anita Fatunji