The Managing Director of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Mr M.O. Boateng, has said Ghana is endowed with huge oil potential.

Speaking to the Crusading Guide, Mr Boateng said the recent oil find offshore the Cape Three Points in the Western region, though yet to be appraised, is a tip of the iceberg, considering Ghana’s share of the world’s hydrocarbons.

He said a report by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) says that about 1.23 billion tons of oil and 660 billion cubic metres of gas were obtained from offshore basins.

In the same report made in the year 2000, Ghana is said to have an “Extended Legal Continental Shelf (ELCS) potential of eight billion barrels of oil equivalent, worth about US$560 billion at current prices.”

Mr Boateng said recent studies have shown that the bulk of the world’s hydrocarbons could be found buried in the sea.

He said since Ghana was a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it was allowed the opportunity to claim a further 150 kms into the sea to look for oil.

He said the GNPC, together with other stakeholders, had put the matter before cabinet for examination.

“I am happy to tell you that cabinet has approved our proposal and what is left is that we would need some money to conduct some seismic survey to demarcate this area and then it will give us some chance to promote the area,” he said.

Mr Boateng added that the GNPC would need $5 million to conduct the exercise.

He, however, cautioned Ghanaians to exercise a lot of patience since oil prospecting required time and the commitment of a lot of financial resources.

Mr Boateng condemned as mischievous the attempt by some people to equate the June 18, 1970 oil discovery at Saltpond to the recent oil find at Cape Three Points.

According to him, though there was an oil find at Saltpond, the column of oil discovered was about 50 feet which could not be compared or equated to the over 312 feet deep column found offshore the Cape Three Points.

Mr Boateng disclosed that the Saltpond oil was being initially drilled at 6000 barrels a day by Amarco and Signal until it fell to 4000 barrels a day and slowed down to a level not viable.

“It was so bad that they stopped,” he said.