Driven by a surge in market conditions, Ghana is expected to commence 17 oil and gas projects during the outlook period 2023-2027.
The West African country’s upstream sector will see the development of three offshore fields, while its midstream landscape currently has nine projects in development, with the downstream sector involving the development of two refineries and three petrochemical processing facilities.
A Surge in Upstream Investments
As one of Africa’s fastest-growing hydrocarbons producers, offshore field developments in the West African country include Phase One of the Pecan Conventional Oilfield and the start of production of the Jubilee South East field and Ntomme Far West Development.
Boasting a capacity of 82,500 barrels per day (bpd), the $1.5 billion Pecan Phase I project is expected to begin production in 2025.
The project is operated by exploration and production company Aker Energy Ghana Ltd. (50%); petroleum corporation Lukoil (38%); Ghana’s state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) (10%); and transport company Bulk Ship & Trade (2%).
The Jubilee South East field, situated in Ghana’s Cape Three Points concession area, is expected to average 37,000 bpd by the end of 2023, and is operated by oil and gas exploration company Tullow Oil (38.98%), deepwater exploration and production company Kosmos Energy (38.61%); the GNPC (19.69%); and South Africa’s National Oil Company (NOC) PetroSA (2.72%).
Meanwhile, the potential discovery of significant oil and gas deposits within the Ntomme Far West Development have resulted in the implementation of a pre-feasibility analysis of the field, with the drilling of a proposed well poised to commence this year.
Midstream Developments Make Progress
Major projects in Ghana’s midstream sector during the outlook period 2023-2027 will involve the development of the Tema Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Plant, the Tema VI Liquids Storage Terminal, the Dixcove Oil Storage Facility, the Wa Oil Storage Facility and the Tema-Akosombo II and Tema Pipelines.
Designed to encompass a floating storage and regasification unit, the $350 million Tema FLNG Plant will be situated outside Tema Port in the Accra region of Ghana and will have the capacity to produce 83 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Meanwhile, the $380 million Tema VI Liquids Storage Terminal, also situated near Tema Port, is expected to be operational by 2024 and will have the capacity to store approximately 1.9 billion barrels of oil.
Ghana’s western regions will feature the development of the $300 million oil tank farm near the village of Dixcove, projected to boast a capacity of up to 62,000 cubic meters of petroleum products, while the state agency Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company has announced the development of an oil storage facility in the Upper West Region town of Wa.
Both facilities are due to commence operations in 2024.
Major pipelines due to come online during the outlook period include the 70km Tema-Akosombo II Pipeline and 6km Tema Pipeline.
Due to complete construction in 2023, and with a total cost of $89 million, improvement of Ghana’s midstream sector will contribute significantly towards the West African country’s ambitious target of becoming a petroleum hub for the region.
Downstream Projects Improve Refining Capacity
Ghana’s downstream sector will see the development of the $210 million Prestea gas processing plant, which boasts a projected capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day and will be situated 105km from the country’s second-largest city, Kumasi.
What’s more, the wholly owned Ghanaian refinery developer Ningo Oil Refinery Ltd. has proposed the construction of two refineries near the Ningo-Prampram district in the Greater Accra Region.
These two refineries will have a capacity of 100 million barrels per day and 5 million barrels per day, respectively.
