First Oil in Ghana

Tullow Oil, Anadarko Petroleum, Kosmos Energy, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Sabre Oil and Gas and E.O. Group will be celebrating First Oil from the Jubilee field, offshore Ghana today. His Excellency John Atta Mills, President of Ghana, will be the guest of honour at the ceremony.

The country is expecting to earn some US$ 400 million from oil revenues from the first year of production. However, there is some concern that Ghana does not yet have any specific laws passed to govern the management of oil revenues and nor has it created an independent regulator. Without these safeguards in place the country’s new found wealth could make it a magnet for corruption and scandal. However, the government has stated that it is working to get an oil bill passed.

Oil first flowed into the FPSO on Sunday 28 November and this oil has been used to commission the facilities. The oil production rate will initially increase to 55,000 barrels of oil per day and then to 120,000 barrels per day, as new wells are completed over the next three to six months.

The first tanker of oil from the Jubilee field is expected to be exported in January 2011. The Jubilee field is estimated to hold 1.5 billion barrels of oil.

Commenting on the event, Aidan Heavey, Tullow’s Chief Executive, said, “History will be made today and I am very proud to be part of it. First Oil from the Jubilee field is a wonderful occasion for Ghana, its Government and People, the Jubilee Partners and Tullow. It is the culmination of a lot of dedication and hard work from a world-class team on a world-class field. So many people deserve recognition and thanks today, my personal thanks go in particular to the Government of Ghana. Their support and commitment to this project helped the Jubilee Partners ensure that First Oil for Ghana became a reality. Congratulations to everyone involved.”

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/15122010/first_oil_in_ghanas_jubilee_field/