Santa Fe, Anadarko in joint oil and gas hunt in Keta

ACCRA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S.-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Santa Fe Energy Resources have joined forces to hunt for oil and gas in Ghana's eastern Keta basin, the Ghana National Petroleum Corp (GNPC) said on Thursday.

Anadarko and Santa Fe each hold a 45 percent stake in the Ghana venture. The GNPC holds a 10 per cent stake with an option to increase to 25 per cent in the event of a commercial discovery of oil and gas.

``Santa Fe has entered into a joint venture with Anadarko covering exploration programmes in West Africa, including Ghana, and we'll be able to accelerate exploration activities through this joint venture,'' the GNPC said in a statement.

Santa Fe Energy Resources is a subsidiary of Santa Fe Snyder Corp, which merged in August with U.S.-based Devon Energy Corp, a leading U.S. based independent oil and gas producer.

Santa Fe has been exploring the Keta basin since 1997. A deepwater seismic survey was recently completed and a shelf-edge exploration well will be drilled later this year.