JUBILEE OIL FIELD TO BE DEVELOPED IN PHASES (PAGE 20)

THE Jubilee Oil Field at Cape Three Points in the Western Region, which is still under study, will be developed in phases.
When completed, the oil field will produce 120,000 barrels of crude oil per day for a start and will increase gradually.
The first amount of oil is expected to be produced in the fourth quarter of 2010. In all, about 17 wells are to be drilled.
The Chief Geophysicist of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Gabriel Q.A. Osatey, announced this in a paper he presented at the five-day senior naval officers convention in Takoradi.
Speaking on the topic: “Safety and Security of Ghana’s Oil/gas Industry-Envisaged role of the navy”, Mr Osatey mentioned some of the challenges facing the development of the oil field as tight rig market as of now, production facilities, if they were to be ordered from shipyards, and unpredictable development costs due mostly to the rapid fluctuation of oil prices.
He stated that the building of production facilities from the scratch, inadequate port facilities at the main operation base and the capacity of the Takoradi Port to handle heavy equipment and materials for the oil fields were also other challenges.
Touching on gas utilisation, Mr Osatey explained that some of the gas from the Jubilee Field would be directed to the Osagyefo Barge at Efaso Mangyea in the Jomoro District in the Western Region, for the generation of 225 megawatts of electricity.
He said gas infrastructure development, both onshore and offshore, would be given priority and that would be independent of the Jubilee Field development partners.
According to Mr Osatey, there would be pipelines to be linked to the West Africa Gas Pipeline Project, while stranded gas would have access to the infrastructure, adding that that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) production would be encouraged.
He said the oil industry spawned a host of other industries and so Ghanaians must position themselves to partner other oil companies.
According to Mr Osatey, the Takoradi Port should be expanded to position itself properly for the oil industry.
He enumerated some of the problems facing the oil industry as oil thefts on the high seas by organised criminals, diversion of goods meant for the oil rigs, militant locals who might disrupt onshore installations on the pretext of securing more oil wealth for their communities and dangers posed by fishermen, as well as explosives used in the industry.
Mr Osatey stressed that Ghana’s oil find would be beneficial, if it was well protected.