ENI and Tullow resume drilling at Jubilee and OCTP Fields

ENI Ghana and Tullow Ghana Limited have restarted oil drilling operations in the Jubilee and Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) Fields, marking a major step toward revitalizing Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector.

The Ministry of Energy and the Petroleum Commission approved both drilling programs to sustain production levels and attract renewed investor interest after a slowdown in activity.

Tullow has deployed the Noble Venturer Drillship to drill the JBE-P well in the Jubilee South-East area. Part of the Jubilee Full Field Development Plan, the well is expected to produce 2,800 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in Q3 2025, increasing to 4,500 bopd by 2026.

After the current phase, the rig will undergo a Special Periodic Survey before continuing with Tullow’s two-year drilling campaign in Q4 2025.

ENI, meanwhile, has commenced drilling the SNKE-1X ST2 side-track well in the Sankofa Field, targeting the Cenomanian reservoir to improve long-term recovery. The operation is being carried out with Saipem’s Deep Value Driller (DVD), a 7th-generation drillship that arrived in Ghana on May 28, 2025.

Together, the campaigns could unlock an estimated 14 million barrels of recoverable oil before the end of the production license periods.

To support operations, both firms engaged over 1,000 local stakeholders, including fishers and community leaders, to ensure transparency and address environmental concerns.

The Ministry emphasized that these developments reflect growing confidence in Ghana’s energy sector, amid global transition pressures, and pledged strict oversight to ensure environmental protection, operational efficiency, and cost control.