Oil has outstripped cocoa as Ghana’s second-biggest export earner with shipments worth $3 billion, making Ghana the 50th largest oil producer in the world, ahead of countries such as France, Turkey and Spain, statistics compiled by the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook have revealed.

Six years after Kosmos Energy discovered an extensive reservoir of oil in what is now known as the Jubilee Field, Ghana has climbed to the forefront of the oil and gas boom in the region.

The hydrocarbon discovery by other Western African nations such as Senegal and Liberia is set to fundamentally change the economy of the region over the next decade. To achieve this transformation, significant capital will need to be invested in upstream, midstream and downstream operations.

Analysts have noted that a large part of the investment will come from new emerging market sources of capital such as Nigeria and South Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, especially China. However, the traditional sources of Europe and to a lesser degree the Americas will also play a part.

Alhassan Andani, Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Ghana, commented: “Ghana’s future as a petroleum producer is now fairly established and the country is entering the second phase of its transition to a balanced petroleum industrial power. The exploitation of the related gas will fuel domestic power requirements and will in the longer term provide feedstock for petrochemical operations such as fertilizer and methanol plants.”

After initial production challenges, oil production from Jubilee field is now in the order of 110,000 and 115,000 barrels a day just short of its maximum capacity.

With new developments coming on-stream, the plan is to double production to 250,000 barrels a day by 2021. Mr Andani noted that the European financial crisis has created a financing vacuum that Standard Bank and other emerging market lenders have been quick to fill, given the increasing demand for investment opportunities.

“Standard Bank was the third-largest arranger of syndicated loans over the past 12 months with eight offerings having concluded loan facilities in Uganda ($115 million syndicated loan), Ghana ($300m syndicated loan); Mozambique (MZN 1.15 billion commercial paper) and Angola ($1.5 billion receivables purchase agreement.”

The specialist knowledge and experience that Standard Bank has gained over 150 years in Africa and the natural resources that drive its growth has positioned it advantageously.