The country will produce 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000 million standard cubic feet of gas per day under the second phase of the Jubilee Field project which is expected to commence in 2013, the Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Kwabena Donkor, has disclosed. According to him, "the appraisals so far conducted indicate that the Jubilee Field contains expected recoverable reserves of about 800 million barrels of light crude, with an upside potential of about three billion barrels".
Dr Donkor, who made this known when he opened a two-day seminar on oil and gas for youth activists in Accra last Saturday, said there were greater prospects for the discovery of more oil. The event, which was on the theme, "Oil and Gas Exploration in Ghana: Opportunities and Threats for the Youth", was organised by the Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).
Dr Donkor said under Phase One of the Jubilee Field project, 120,000 barrels of oil and 120,000 million standard cubic feet of dry gas per day would be produced next year. He said the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities provided the country an immense opportunity to effectively improve its economy, for which reason all sectors of the economy were positioning themselves for the take-off into the new economic horizon created by the oil and gas discoveries.
"There are many who are sceptical and are asking whether the oil and gas find will be a curse for Ghana, as it has been the case in some African countries. Whether the oil and gas discoveries will be a curse or a blessing will depend on the collective will of the people of Ghana," he said. Dr Donkor said with the discoveries, a number of opportunities were knocking at the doors of the youth at the various stages of the oil and gas industry in the upstream, midstream and downstream activities.
These, he said, were drilling services, production maintenance service, geological services, engineering, fabrication and construction. In addition, he said, opportunities existed in sectors such as insurance, food and beverages, transportation, health and safety, banking and financial services, as well as seismic.
He said it was, therefore, up to the youth to take advantage of the opportunities and urged educational institutions to position themselves by introducing programmers that had relevance to the market being created by the oil and gas find. He said as a result of the oil threats, the government, on coming into office, withdrew the Petroleum Bill from Parliament for further review and broader stockholder participation before remission to Parliament.
"Though the production horizon of the oil in the Jubilee Field may be short (20 years), the ministry is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that the necessary legislation and institutions are put in place to ensure that the benefits of the oil find in our time will also extend to those yet unborn," Dr Donkor emphasised.
The Executive Director of the Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy, Mr Prosper Hoetu, said the organization was a youth-oriented one committed to building the capacities of young people for good governance, peace building and conflict prevention towards consolidating democracy in the country.
He said the country's discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities came as good news in the midst of its socio-economic challenges, saying that when they were managed properly, oil and gas could be a major source of socio-economic transformation. The Programmes Co-ordinator of the FES, Mr Danaa Nantogmah, said while oil discovery had been regarded as a blessing in Africa "it is often associated with the resource curse phenomenon".
The objective of the seminar, he said, was to provide basic knowledge and understanding of the emerging oil and gas industry. Mr Nantogmah expressed the hope that the seminar would provide a platform for youth leaders and activists to devise strategies to effectively engage the government and other stakeholders in developing and implementing a national oil and gas policy that would safeguard the environment and prevent political corruption and violent conflict.
Source: Daily Graphic
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