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Ghana Oil Reserves to Be 5 Billion Barrels in 5 Years (Update1)

By Jason McLure

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Ghana, the West African nation set to begin exporting oil this month, will see reserves reach 5 billion barrels in five years as more fields start production, according to the chairman of the parliament’s energy committee.

The country may also start exploring for crude onshore, Moses Asaga, a member of President John Atta Mills’ ruling National Democratic Congress party, told lawmakers in Accra, the capital, today.

State-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corp. and the government are “expecting to do technical exploration in the Volatain basin so that in the next five to 10 years we can start doing oil production on shore,” Asaga said. The region stretches from the south along the Volta River to the north of the country, along its border with neighboring Togo, according to the GNPC’s website.

Production at the country’s offshore Jubilee field, discovered in 2007, in due to begin Dec. 15, field operator Tullow Oil Plc said Nov. 29. Tullow has also announced finds at the Tweneboa and Owo wells, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) west of Jubilee. Other foreign companies with licenses in the nation’s offshore territory include OAO Lukoil, Nigeria’s Oranto Petroleum Ltd., and U.S.-based Hess Corp., and Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Accra at [e-mail].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at [e-mail].
Last Updated: December 1, 2010 10:48 EST