Ghana-focused oil firm Aker Energy aims to approve a revised plan for developing the Pecan oilfield off Ghana by the end of this year, its parent company Aker ASA (AKER.OL) said on Friday.

The company had previously estimated the field’s reserves at 334 million barrels of oil, before putting on hold the final investment decision in March 2020 due to the fall in oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The company is currently working to submit a revised Plan of Development (PDO) to the Ghanaian government by the end of 2021,” Aker said in its quarterly report.

Aker Energy has managed to reduce the cost of the project by simplifying some of its technical aspects and opting for a staged development, Aker CEO Oeyvind Eriksen told Reuters.

“The capital investment is down 50% and the corresponding production volume is roughly two-thirds or what we assumed in 2019, when the capital investment was $4.4 billion,” he added.

Back then, Aker Energy expected Pecan’s peak production at 110,000 barrels per day.

Eriksen told a call with analysts earlier on Friday that Aker Energy was aiming to produce oil at a break-even price of $30 per barrel.

Brent oil has been trading at over $70 per barrel since the start of June.

If developed, Pecan could become the fourth producing field off Ghana.

Aker’s partners in the development are Lukoil (LKOH.MM), state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, and Fueltrade.

Souce: www.reuters.com