GNPC Explorco, the upstream exploration and production subsidiary of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), has intensified stakeholder engagements in the Northern Region as part of preparations towards the commencement of exploratory activities in the Voltaian Basin next year.
As part of the engagement, officials of the organisation had held discussions with the Northern Regional Minister, Ali Adolf John, the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tamale, Abu Takoro and relevant stakeholders in the region.
The three-day engagements centred on aligning the corporation’s 2026 operational roadmap for the Voltaian Basin project with the region’s development priorities.
The Principal Corporate Affairs Officer of the GNPC Explorco, Kwasi Appiah, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to spud the first exploration well by the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory and operational approvals.
He added that the Voltaian Basin project was expected to serve as a catalyst for economic growth in northern Ghana, with emphasis on local content, job creation and capacity building for communities within the operational areas.
Mr Appiah said the company would continue to engage relevant stakeholders to ensure transparency and mutual understanding in the exploratory activities.
And as part of its corporate social responsibility, GNPC Explorco donated a large quantity of assorted items to the Tamale Children’s Home to mark the Christmas season of giving.
The items included rice, cooking oil, drinks, diapers, educational materials and other essential items.
The gesture formed part of the company’s commitment to putting smiles on the faces of vulnerable groups in communities within its operational areas.
Mr Appiah, who made the presentation, pledged more support for the home to improve their standard of living.
The acting Supervisor of the Home, Saratu Suleimana, who received the items, thanked the institution for the gesture and said it would go a long way toward helping with the upkeep of the children.
She said the donation had come at the right time because the facility was running out of most essential items.
Ms Suleimana appealed to other corporate institutions, philanthropists and individuals to extend a helping hand to the home to improve the children's living conditions.
The Voltaian Basin is a vast sedimentary geological formation covering about 40 per cent of Ghana and extending into Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso.
It forms a major part of the wider Volta River Basin, a trans-national catchment area in West Africa with significant petroleum potential and geological resources.
It spans about 460 communities across 13 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies, including 10 in the Northern Region and three in the Savannah Region, making stakeholder engagement critical to the project's success.