Tap Oil joins Ghana oil rush

Perth oil and gas producer Tap Oil has joined the hunt for West African oil, securing a joint venture deal in waters near a recent billion barrel oil discovery off the coast of Ghana.

Tap today said it had executed a petroleum agreement with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation to take an operating 36 per cent interest in the Offshore Accra Contract Area immediately south-east of the Ghanaian capital.

The contract area is around 300km east of, and in the same geological trend as, the 1.2 billion barrel Jubilee field discovered by UK-based Tullow Oil and Kosmos Energy in 2007. The planned West African Gas Pipeline also traverses the contract area, providing ready future access to African gas markets.

Tap said its permit area contained several leads with the potential to host more than 100 million barrels and that it planned to drill its first well in 2011 or 2012.

Under the terms of the contract award, the joint venture is required only to complete 850 square km of 2D seismic, 3D seismic reprocessing and one exploration well over two and a half years.

Tap chief executive Peter Stickland said the "significant potential of the Offshore Accra Contract Area makes it a compelling opportunity that enhances our existing portfolio of activities".

GNPC will retain a 10 per cent interest in the contract area, while Challenger Minerals and Afex Oil will each hold a 27 per cent interest.

News of the Ghana agreement helped push Tap shares 2.5 per cent higher to $1.