Ghana plans to buy back oil licences no one wants

IT WAS NOTDWTCTPSDWT meant to be this way. Ghana made its first big oil discovery only in 2007, a generation after its corruption-addled and environmentally damaged regional peers. But the expected bonanza of investment and revenue has failed to materialise. ExxonMobil, an oil company, quit this year without drilling a well. Total decided to pass altogether. Chinese firms have gone elsewhere. Now the nominally centre-right and pro-market government plans to step in and buy back the oilfields no one else wants.On August 6th Parliament voted to support plans by Matthew Prempeh, the energy minister, to pay up to $1.1bn to acquire large stakes in Deepwater Tano-Cape Three Points (-) and South Deepwater Tano (). The two oil blocks are more than 100km offshore and in deep water. Both have discoveries of oil, but neither is in development, still less production.