Commercial production of oil is due to start in Ghana in December 2010, and already government is planning ahead on what to do with the natural gas that will be produced alongside.

Ghana has sealed a deal with Indian automobile company, TATA Motors to provide 300 TATA buses that will use natural gas on a pilot bases for an urban transport system.

The Ghana News Agency reports the Vice President of Ghana, John Mahama as saying, “The buses will not use petrol or diesel, but will depend solely on natural gas which is not only cheaper, but also environmentally friendly.”

In October last year, a Nigerian oil and gas company Oando was given a contract by the government of Ghana to develop the country’s natural gas infrastructure.

The project, worth about $1 billion would be developed at the Jubilee fields, the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10-15 years.

The gas to be had from the oil production would be used to generate power for industry and power buses on the country’s streets.