The World Bank has approved a $700 million facility for the exploration of oil and gas offshore Cape Three Points in the Western region, Ghana.

A report by the Daily Graphic said Italy's largest oil company, ENI Spa, and its partners are expected to utilise the amount for drilling and other works.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, said “the government is excited because the development of Ghana’s oil and gas fields would go a long way to further boost the economy”.

Ghana took another major step towards the realisation of energy and power security with the signing of an agreement for the development of the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) integrated oil and gas project in January 2015 at the Peduase Lodge.

The $7 billion project, being undertaken by ENI Spa in collaboration with Vitol Energy, would see the development of the Sankofa and Gye Nyame fields to provide substantial gas to operate the thermal power plants for 20 years.

Correspondence from the World Bank to the beneficiaries of the facility indicated that the approval was given following a senior management discussion on the OCTP project late last month.

ENI Spa, Vitol, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the government of Ghana are expected to study the terms and conditions of the proposed World Bank guarantees to pave way for final discussions on the guarantee package.