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

 Do no longer neglect this simple however sagacious Ghanaian proverb which admonishes us: "If Sunday may be a mind-blowing day, it's far Saturday on the way to ignite the taper."

Ghana is one of the most blessed lands in Africa. Ghana is very, very rich in mineral sources. Ghana is endowed with gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese etc. Ghana has cocoa, timber, arable lands, and rivers, rain forests, nourished with alternating rains and illuminated by tropical solar shine all yr spherical.

However, Ghana has been politically mismanaged for a long time by using corrupt politicians and selfish navy adventurers who could make a deliver-load of cocoa to be at huge on the Atlantic Ocean. This explains why Ghana needed to be christened a Heavily Indebted Poor Country ( HIPC) in the economic history of the u . S ..

In June 2007, pretty much 3 months after Ghana had celebrated her Golden Jubilee Anniversary, on sixth March that 12 months, an American oil exploration corporation known as Kosmos Energy in collaboration with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) went to the Castle Osu in Accra to see the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Mr John Agyekum Kufuor. In an average Ghanaian traditional fashion, President Kufuor and his elders sat all the way down to pay attention to the clinical and technological visitors.

The chief of Kosmos Energy, Mr. James C. Musselman, who is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of that oil exploration company, advised the presidential linguist to tell the President that they'd introduced proper information to him. Then the President spoke back: "In Ghanaian tradition, news can not be stated to be desirable or terrible till it's far instructed. So, therefore, I, the first public servant of the land and my presidential elders are all ears to pay attention the news you introduced this dawn whilst we are but to place a drop of water on our tongues."

It become then that Mr. Musselman instructed the presidential linguist to inform H.E. That he and his companions had come to announce to the President that Kosmos Energy had discovered oil in business amount offshore the Republic of Ghana at the West Cape Three Points Block inside the western region of the country. At first the President seemed 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 reserve the Kosmos engineer to copy his message. Then Mr Musselman, a bit bit frightened, as if he had dedicated some blunder, and with anxious voice stated: "Pleeease, eerr -Okyeame, I say kindly tell His Excellency the President that our assignment right here this morning is to announce to him that our organization has located about 600million barrels of light oil offshore his loved usa - Ghana.

One would have predicted the President to jump to his feet at once and begin jubilating. Instead President Kufuor further probed: "Okyeame, ask the Kosmos engineer what's the proof that Ghana has located oil as he claims." Then Mr Musselman, put his hand in a goat pores and skin leather bag and brought out a bottle of a few dark-brownish liquid. Some of the liquid changed into poured into a plate. To a layman like this author, the stated liquid regarded very much like pure honey. "Take this," says Mr Musselman, "gift it to H.E. That this is the evidence that Ghana has oil flowing underneath the sea within the Western Region."

It changed into most effective after President Kufuor, has held the pattern of the oil in his personal hand and dipped his personal forefinger in the honey-like liquid and smelled it before he nodded his head approvingly that Ghana has genuinely discovered oil in industrial quantity. Then President Kufuor repeated what he said in his broadcast to the nation on the eve of Ghana's Golden Jubilee Anniversary: "IT IS GREAT TIME TO BE GHANAIAN."

President Kufuor then expressed his non-public gratitude and that of the humans of Ghana to Kosmos and its partners for a great task achieved. He speedy advised that honesty, transparency and the spirit of win-win principle have to manual the operations of oil agencies exploring the "black gold" in Ghana. The President was speakme from enjoy in terms of the dwelling situations of people and groups in which Ghana's red gold which has been mined from time immemorial and the environmental degradation being bequeathed to generations yet unborn.

On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, the entire front web page of the Daily Graphic changed into devoted completely to grease discovery business in Ghana. In fact, the banner headline for that day study: Test of nicely yields effective results. OIL - a hundred and twenty,000 BARRELS IN A DAY - Production expected to upward thrust in 2012. This headline become illustrated with a lead image wherein President J.A.Kufuor become visible congratulating Mr James Musselman, the Chief Executive Officer of Kosmos Energy, after the latter had briefed the President on the modern development in the country's oil discover. In the same photo were spotted Mr George Owusu, said to be Ghana's representative of Kosmos, as well as Mr Sekyere Abankwa, Board Chairman of GNPC.

The first paragraph of this lead tale, written with the aid of Nehemia Owusu Achiaw study: "Commercial manufacturing of oil is scheduled to start inside the u . S . A . Within the first region of 2010 with an initial output of 120,000 barrels an afternoon."

The 2d maximum important tale on the the front ghana time zone of the paper that day, too, needed to do with oil exploration in Ghana. It become captioned: "...41 Firms follow for exploration" The commencing paragraph study: "The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) says it's been inundated with packages from foreign companies expressing interest to put money into oil exploration among January 2007 and June 2008."