Ghana: Former Petroleum Minister Takes A Swipe At President Akufo-Addo Over Jubilee South East Project

A former Minister for Petroleum under the erstwhile John Mahama administration, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah has taken on President Akufo-Addo for failing to add a single new oil producing field to Ghana’s three oil fields despite being in power for almost seven years.

The Ellembelle legislator who was reacting to news of President Akufo-Addo turning on valve to commemorate first oil from Jubilee South East area described the report as misleading.

The Jubilee South East (JSE) Project undertaken by Tullow, in collaboration with the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), Kosmos Energy, Jubilee Oil Holdings Limited, and Petro SA is expected to add 30,000 barrels of oil per day to the greater Jubilee Field, bringing the total oil production at the Jubilee Field to 100,000 barrels per day by the end of this year.

“It is instructive to note that the Jubilee South East Project is not a new producing field but rather came about as a result of several discoveries made by Tullow Oil (the operator), alongside its joint venture partners between 2007 and 2012 in their West Cape Three Point block (WCTP).

“However, due to the phased development approach agreed upon between the government and the Jubilee partners, not all of these discoveries were included in the initial Phase 1 development.

Some of the discoveries were not added to the first Jubilee Field Development,” he explained.

According to him, the Jubilee South East (JSE) production well which has now been brought on stream, is part of the oil and gas reservoirs encountered by wells such as Mahogany 3, Mahogany 4 (which were drilled between 2009 and 2011), and Mahogany Deep-2.

“The partners have just drilled injectors and oil producers into key reservoirs to maintain and optimize oil production.

“The current oil production from the JSE is not occasioned by any new government discovery of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia- led government,” he pointed out.

There are additional undeveloped reserves within the Greater Jubilee Field, which the jubilee partners have been granted approval to drill.

“President Akufo-Addo had a golden opportunity to join the late President Mills and President Mahama, in adding a fourth oil-producing field if his government had not botched the Aker development,” he stated.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com