Hess plans $800m for Ghana, other countries

US-based oil firm Hess Corporation has today January 12, 2012 announced a 2012 capital and exploratory budget of $6.8 billion for its global operations and $800 million of that amount will be invested in its Ghana operations and some other countries.

The oil explorer budgeted $5.6 billion for its global works in 2011.

The New York Stock Exchange listed company plans to spend $2.5 billion on unconventional exploration and production, $1.6 billion on production and $1.8 billion for developments.

Hess allocated approximately $800 million for drilling exploration wells in Ghana, Indonesia, Brunei and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Part of the funds will also be used to acquire a seismic for the Dinarta and Shakrok Blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan.

“We believe that the investments we are making in unconventionals are lower risk and will generate long term profitable growth for shareholders. We expect to fund the majority of our 2012 program from internally generated cash flow and asset sales,” said its Chairman and CEO John B. Hess in a statement on the company’s website.

By regions, $600 million of Hess’s $6.8 billion will be coming to Africa, $3.35 billion for United States, $1.3 billion for Europe while $1.4 billion is earmarked for the Asian region and others.

Marketing, refining and corporate expenditure takes $100 million.

By Ekow Quandzie