Preparing For Oil Boom in Ghana - Any Lessons From Others?

Posted by Ghana news on December 26th, 2019

Do now not neglect this easy but sagacious Ghanaian proverb which admonishes us: "If Sunday can be a stunning day, it is Saturday with a view to ignite the taper."Ghana is one of the maximum blessed lands in Africa. Ghana could be very, very wealthy in mineral assets. Ghana is endowed with gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese and so on. Ghana has cocoa, timber, arable lands, and rivers, rain forests, nourished with alternating rains and illuminated by tropical sun shine all year round.

However, Ghana has been politically mismanaged for a long term by using corrupt politicians and selfish army adventurers who should make a deliver-load of cocoa to be at big on the Atlantic Ocean. This explains why Ghana needed to be christened a Heavily Indebted Poor Country ( HIPC) within the monetary history of the us of a.In June 2019, pretty much 3 months after Ghana had celebrated her Golden Jubilee Anniversary, on 6th March that 12 months, an American oil exploration corporation referred to as Kosmos Energy in collaboration with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) went to the Castle Osu in Accra to peer the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Mr John Agyekum Kufuor. In a typical Ghanaian traditional style, President Kufuor and his elders sat down to concentrate to the clinical and technological site visitors.

The chief of Kosmos Energy, Mr. James C. Musselman, who's additionally the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of that oil exploration enterprise, advised the presidential linguist to tell the President that they'd introduced top news to him. Then the President spoke back: "In Ghanaian tradition, information can't be said to be excellent or terrible till it's miles told. So, consequently, I, the primary public servant of the land and my presidential elders are all ears to listen the information you brought this dawn while we're but to place a drop of water on our tongues."

It became then that Mr. Musselman informed the presidential linguist to tell H.E. That he and his companions had come to announce to the President that Kosmos Energy had located oil in industrial amount offshore the Republic of Ghana at the West Cape Three Points Block within the western place of the united states of america. At first the President appeared now not to have heard the message nicely. So, he adjusted himself in his royal/presidential armchair, cleared his throat and commanded the presidential linguist to order the Kosmos engineer to copy his message. Then Mr Musselman, a little bit worried, as if he had devoted a few blunder, and with nervous voice said: "Pleeease, eerr -Okyeame, I say kindly inform His Excellency the President that our mission here this morning is to announce to him that our business enterprise has found about 600million barrels of light oil offshore his cherished united states of america - Ghana.

One would have predicted the President to leap to his ft without delay and begin jubilating. Instead President Kufuor similarly probed: "Okyeame, ask the Kosmos engineer what is the evidence that Ghana has discovered oil as he claims." Then Mr Musselman, put his hand in a goat skin leather-based bag and brought out a bottle of some dark-brownish liquid. Some of the liquid turned into poured right into a plate. To a layman like this creator, the stated liquid seemed very just like natural honey. "Take this," says Mr Musselman, "gift it to H.E. That this is the proof that Ghana has oil flowing beneath the ocean within the Western Region."

It was only after President Kufuor, has held the sample of the oil in his own hand and dipped his own forefinger inside the honey-like liquid and smelled it before he nodded his head approvingly that Ghana has truely determined oil in business amount. Then President Kufuor repeated what he stated in his broadcast to the country on the eve of Ghana's Golden Jubilee Anniversary: "IT IS GREAT TIME TO BE GHANAIAN."President Kufuor then expressed his private gratitude and that of the humans of Ghana to Kosmos and its companions for a great activity done. He speedy cautioned that honesty, transparency and the spirit of win-win precept have to manual the operations of oil agencies exploring the "black gold" in Ghana. The President became speaking from experience in terms of the residing situations of people and communities wherein Ghana's pink gold which has been mined from time immemorial and the environmental degradation being bequeathed to generations but unborn.

On Tuesday, June 10, 2019, the complete the front page of the Daily Graphic become committed completely to grease discovery enterprise in Ghana. In fact, the banner headline for that day study: Test of well yields high-quality results. OIL - one hundred twenty,000 BARRELS IN A DAY - Production anticipated to upward thrust in This headline become illustrated with a lead photo in which President J.A.Kufuor became visible congratulating Mr James Musselman, the Chief Executive Officer of Kosmos Energy, after the latter had briefed the President at the today's improvement inside the usa's oil discover. In the equal picture have been noticed Mr George Owusu, said to be Ghana's representative of Kosmos, in addition to Mr Sekyere Abankwa, Board Chairman of GNPC.

The first paragraph of this lead tale, written with the aid of Nehemia Owusu Achiaw examine: "Commercial production of oil is scheduled to start inside the united states in the first sector of 2019 with an preliminary output of 120,000 barrels a day.The second most critical tale on the front web page of the paper that day, too, had to do with oil exploration in Ghana. It turned into captioned: "...41 Firms follow for exploration" The establishing paragraph read: "The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) says it's been inundated with programs from foreign companies expressing hobby to invest in oil exploration 

The purpose of this piece is definitely to remind the human beings of this united states that whether we adore it or no longer, Ghana is in transition from Oil Importing Country (OIC) to Oil Exporting Country (OEC). In different phrases, all being identical, there will be oil growth in Ghana, earlier than anticipated, judging from what specialists inside the industry are saying. Naturally, this calls for jubilation. But it's miles critical for us as a nation to tread cautiously so that the oil locate in Ghana can be a blessing and not a curse. Click Here Ghana news

For now this writer will best like to quote oil producing countries in Africa particularly, Nigeria and Libya and alert Ghanaians to take note of how the ones countries are dealing with their oil increase for the advantage of their humans. It appears something is not being completed well within the management of the oil industry in Nigeria. As a result the delta oil wealthy region is being degraded environmentally. Media reports imply that the poverty stage of human beings residing in that oil rich vicinity in Nigeria is not anything to write domestic about. Why? No similarly comments for now. https://ghanatoday.net/

On the opposite hand, it seems Libya is doing some thing worthy of emulating by using Ghana. This writer has found out that there is no unmarried faculty-going-baby in Libya who isn't in college. That no longer a unmarried grownup citizen of that usa has no rental for himself or herself. In fact, Libya is a rustic located inside the center of a desert in northern a part of Africa. But Libya has been able to create an synthetic river of heaps of kilometers lengthy and is inside the method of remodeling the barren region into a virgin rain woodland area via irrigation schemes. How are Ghanaians getting ready for oil growth in Ghana? Are they getting to know any instructions from others?