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

 Do now not overlook this easy however sagacious Ghanaian proverb which admonishes us: "If Sunday might be a stunning day, it's far Saturday to be able to ignite the taper."

Ghana is one of the most blessed lands in Africa. Ghana may be very, very rich in mineral assets. Ghana is endowed with gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese and so forth. Ghana has cocoa, wooden, arable lands, and rivers, rain forests, nourished with alternating rains and illuminated by way of tropical solar shine all year spherical.

However, Ghana has been politically mismanaged for a long time via corrupt politicians and egocentric military adventurers who could make a ship-load of cocoa to be at huge on the Atlantic Ocean. This explains why Ghana had to be christened a Heavily Indebted Poor Country ( HIPC) within the monetary history of the usa.

In June 2007, pretty much 3 months after Ghana had celebrated her Golden Jubilee Anniversary, on 6th March that yr, an American oil exploration company known 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 normal Ghanaian traditional style, President Kufuor and his elders sat all the way down to concentrate to the medical and technological visitors.

The leader of Kosmos Energy, Mr. James C. Musselman, who's also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of that oil exploration agency, informed the presidential linguist to inform the President that that they had added suitable news to him. Then the President spoke back: "In Ghanaian subculture, news can not be stated to be appropriate or horrific until it's far informed. So, therefore, I, the first public servant of the land and my presidential elders are all ears to listen the news you introduced this sunrise while we're yet to place a drop of water on our tongues."

It was then that Mr. Musselman instructed the presidential linguist to tell H.E. That he and his partners had come to announce to the President that Kosmos Energy had found oil in business quantity offshore the Republic of Ghana at the West Cape Three Points Block within the western region of the united states. At first the President regarded 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 repeat his message. Then Mr Musselman, a touch bit nervous, as if he had dedicated a few blunder, and with fearful voice said: "Pleeease, eerr -Okyeame, I say kindly inform His Excellency the President that our challenge right here this morning is to announce to him that our business enterprise has found about 600million barrels of light oil offshore his loved united states of america - Ghana.

One could have anticipated the President to leap to his toes right away and start jubilating. Instead President Kufuor similarly probed: "Okyeame, ask the Kosmos engineer what is the evidence that Ghana has found oil as he claims." Then Mr Musselman, positioned his hand in a goat skin leather-based bag and brought out a bottle of a few dark-brownish liquid. Some of the liquid become poured into a plate. To a layman like this author, the stated liquid seemed very much like natural honey. "Take this," says Mr Musselman, "gift it to H.E. That that is the evidence that Ghana has oil flowing beneath the ocean inside the Western Region."

It became simplest 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 earlier than he nodded his head approvingly that Ghana has truly found oil in industrial news ghana quantity. Then President Kufuor repeated what he stated in his broadcast to the nation at 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 partners for a amazing task achieved. He quickly advised that honesty, transparency and the spirit of win-win precept should manual the operations of oil businesses exploring the "black gold" in Ghana. The President was speaking from enjoy in phrases of the dwelling conditions of humans and communities wherein Ghana's crimson gold which has been mined from time immemorial and the environmental degradation being bequeathed to generations but unborn.

On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, the complete front page of the Daily Graphic changed into dedicated completely to grease discovery enterprise in Ghana. In truth, the banner headline for that day examine: Test of properly yields wonderful effects. OIL - one hundred twenty,000 BARRELS IN A DAY - Production predicted to upward thrust in 2012. This headline changed into illustrated with a lead picture wherein President J.A.Kufuor changed into visible congratulating Mr James Musselman, the Chief Executive Officer of Kosmos Energy, after the latter had briefed the President at the cutting-edge development in the united states's oil find. In the equal picture have been noticed Mr George Owusu, said to be Ghana's consultant of Kosmos, as well as Mr Sekyere Abankwa, Board Chairman of GNPC.

The first paragraph of this lead story, written by way of Nehemia Owusu Achiaw read: "Commercial production of oil is scheduled to start within the u . S . Inside the first zone of 2010 with an preliminary output of one hundred twenty,000 barrels a day."