Ghana Maps Underexplored Keta Basin in New Oil Push
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Ghana and TGS will combine decades of geological data to produce a detailed map of the underexplored Keta Basin by early 2027
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The basin has yielded signs of hydrocarbons but no commercial discoveries, despite sharing geological features with major African oil fields
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Ghana plans to auction eight blocks in the basin as it seeks new investment to reverse a near 50% decline in oil production since 2019
Ghana has launched a new project to map the subsurface of the Keta Basin, one of the least explored areas in the Gulf of Guinea. Norwegian geological data provider TGS said on Tuesday, July 21, that it had signed an agreement with Ghana’s Petroleum Commission to produce a unified, detailed image of the basin’s subsurface.
TGS said the project would combine data collected through several geological surveys carried out in the area over several decades. Results are expected in the first quarter of 2027.
The project aims to provide oil companies with a consistent, reliable view of the entire basin’s subsurface without commissioning a new field survey, which could take years and cost considerably more. David Hajosky, TGS vice president for multiclient projects, said the Keta Basin held significant untapped potential and that the company’s clients needed clear, reliable data to make decisions with confidence.
An Underexplored Basin Despite Encouraging Signs
Only six wells based on seismic surveys have been drilled in the Keta Basin since the 1970s. Most showed signs of hydrocarbons but did not yield a commercial discovery, the African Energy Chamber, or AEC, said in November 2025. The basin’s last deepwater well was drilled in 2003, according to data provider Wood Mackenzie.
The limited exploration contrasts with discoveries in geologically similar areas. According to GeoExpro, the Keta Basin is part of the same geological formation as Ghana’s Jubilee field, the country’s first major oil discovery in 2007, and the more recent Baleine and Venus discoveries in Côte d’Ivoire and Namibia, respectively.
The 2013 discovery of the Ogo field, estimated to contain 770 million barrels, in the Nigerian section of the same basin renewed interest in the wider area, according to Wood Mackenzie. However, subsequent drilling produced no new commercial discoveries.
A Push to Reverse the Oil Production Decline
Ghana is now seeking to revive exploration. The Keta Basin contains eight blocks that the Petroleum Commission plans to auction to international oil companies.
TGS is not the only company active in the area. According to the AEC, GeoPartners, another offshore geological data specialist, said in November 2025 that it planned to conduct a seismic survey covering 14,000 square kilometers of the basin in the first quarter of 2026. The involvement of several data providers points to renewed interest in the Keta Basin.
The initiative is part of Ghana’s broader strategy to reverse its declining oil output. The country’s production has fallen by nearly half since peaking in 2019, partly because of a slowdown in exploration. Only six exploration wells were drilled between 2015 and 2024, compared with 28 between 2009 and 2014, according to Ghana’s Petroleum Commission.
Abdel-Latif Boureima
