GHANA: Jubilee oilfield to come onstream by 2010, expecting to use associated gas for electricity generation

Record ID: 343768

  • Title: GHANA: Jubilee oilfield to come onstream by 2010, expecting to use associated gas for electricity generation
  • Date: 3rd December 2008
  • Summary: TEMA, GHANA (DECEMBER 1, 2008) (REUTERS) WORKERS OFFSHORE AT CAPE THREE POINT VARIOUS OF SMOKE AERIAL VIEW OF SHIP OFFSHORE AT CAPE THREE POINT VARIOUS OF BUILDING WITH SIGN READING (in English): "PETROLEUM HOUSE" THOMAS MANU, DIRECTOR OF EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION, GHANA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION, SEATED MAP READING (in English): "GHANA OFFSHORE ACTIVITY MAP" (SOUND
  • Embargoed: 18th December 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ghana
  • Country: Ghana
  • Topics: Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVA3YYJMQPHV5GPON06BSLRPGA7Q
  • Story Text: Ghana's first major oilfield should produce enough gas to generate more than 600 megawatts of electricity in the power-starved country.
    The Jubilee oilfield should come onstream by late 2010 as planned and the schedule is unaffected by the recent fall in oil prices.
    The field, operated by Britain's Tullow Oil in partnership with private equity-backed Kosmos Energy and Ghana's GNPC, is scheduled to start pumping at a rate of around 120,000 barrels per day (bpd), rising to around 250,000 within two years.
    Thomas Manu, the GNPC's director of exploration and production did not give a figure for production and exploration costs for the Jubilee field, where oil was discovered in mid-2007.
    The oil find has fuelled hopes for faster growth in one of Africa's most promising economies, already the world's second biggest cocoa grower and Africa's second biggest gold miner.

    "There is work going on on the field currently. So we are on target for first oil in the last quarter of 2010," said Manu.
    Manu added the oil had associated gas in a ratio of around 1,000 cubic feet of gas per barrel of oil, and the gas could be used to generate power.
    Ghana has suffered years of power shortages due to low water levels at the huge Volta dam and poor power station maintenance.

    "The oil is rich in gas. It is estimated that the gas to oil ratio is about a thousand. Meaning that for every thousand barrel of oil you produce, you have one million cubic feet of gas. So at the production of 120,000 barrels of oil a day, you will be producing 120 million cubic feet of gas a day and this could generate more than 600 megawatts of electricity," said Manu.
    The state will gain from royalties, taxes and from its share in production from the joint venture which taken together would approximate to 40 percent of output.
    GNPC estimates the reserves to be 800 million barrels initially, saying it could go up to 1.8 billion barrels as more appraisal wells are drilled around the field.
    GNPC also says exploration activities have surged since the Jubilee discovery.
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