Cape Coast, April 24, GNA - A Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, on Friday announced that the country was on course to pump its first oil from the Jubilee Field come the last quarter of this year. Production in the last quarter, he said, marked the beginning of the first phase of the Jubilee Field Project. A total of 120,000 barrels of oil a day and 120,000 mmscfd of gas a day are expected to be produced. Mr Buah said Phase two would start in 2013 indicating that from that time 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000mmscfd of gas would be expected to be produced on daily basis.

Mr Buah made this known in a speech read for him by Mr Joseph Ben Okai, the Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of Energy, at the Central Regional forum on "local participation in petroleum activities" in Cape Coast recently.

The forum, which formed part of a series of "road show on petroleum and gas", would be replicated in all regions of the country. It was organised by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Central Regional Coordinating Council to solicit views from the public on the oil and gas sector.

Mr Buah said pipelines were under construction to convey gas to a proposed gas processing plant at Bonyere in the Western Region for the production of products such as ethanol, propane and fertilizer. He said with the availability of gas as a cheap energy source, opportunities abounded for all kinds of industrial activities, adding that gas would be piped to the existing power plant at Aboadze in the Western Region to enhance electricity generation for the country. Mr Buah said government was committed to and would ensure the active involvement of Ghanaians in the oil and gas exploration to help eradicate poverty among the populace.

He said other areas that would attract business opportunities include real estate development, telecommunications, banking, insurance, weather forecasting, search and rescue services as well as transport and catering. He announced government's intention to use the revenues to be accrued from the sale of the oil and gas to diversify the economy to enable every Ghanaian to benefit.

Mr Buah said the oil and gas would not overshadow other productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture, tourism and mining noting that Non Traditional Exports would be promoted alongside.

He said social amenities such as schools, hospitals and sanitation facilities would be provided with the oil and gas proceeds. Mr Buah added that it would also enable government to support the development of the political, economic and social governance systems. Mr Kojo Efonam, an oil and gas specialist from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said systems were being put in place to minimize the effect of possible discharges and spillages of oil and gas at the field. He said his outfit would ensure that residents of the oil producing areas were not unnecessarily exposed to the serious security risks as have been the case in other oil producing countries.

Mr. Kwaku Boateng, acting Director in charge of Petroleum at the Ministry of Energy, advised job seekers to also explore other areas such as the hospitality industry since direct job creation from the oil and gas exploration would be limited.

He said the oil and gas revenues would not change the lives of Ghanaians overnight but that its impact would be realized over a period of time.

Participants at the forum suggested among others that roads, hospitals and other requisite facilities should be constructed in the area. The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, who chaired the forum called on participants to share information on the industry to people to enable people to make informed decisions. 24 April 10