The world-class Sankofa-Gye Nyame field, Ghana’s third oil and gas field which is set to increase Ghana’s electricity supply by 50%, is making significant progress, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has said.

The field will produce 180 million standard cubic feet of gas daily, sufficient to generate approximately 1,100 megawatts of electricity.

First gas is expected in February 2018, in addition to 30,000 barrels of oil daily, to be produced from August 2017.

The GNPC, along with other state institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Petroleum and the Bank of Ghana, has been instrumental in securing the project, worth US$7.9 billion, which is the largest-ever foreign direct investment in Ghana.

“Working with private partners, ENI and Vitol, alongside the World Bank, we expect to deliver the Sankofa-Gye Nyame project on time and on budget for the benefit of the people of Ghana,” GNPC said.

Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GNPC, Mr Alexander Mould said we are pleased to have made significant progress in just one year, but there is much more to do. We will continue to collaborate with these institutions and, in addition, provide access to use of project equipment, machinery and vehicles, to ensure successful delivery of the project.”

He continued that, “As the national gas sector aggregator, GNPC will play an enabling role, with the necessary investments. Investments in the construction of gas export pipelines to be integrated with the Ghana Gas pipelines, together with onshore receiving facilities, are necessary to ensure efficient supply of fuel to improve Ghana’s energy capacity. This will help provide electricity to households, schools, hospitals and businesses, and fuel Ghana’s economic development.”

The development of a robust gas sector is part of GNPC’s goal of evolving into an integrated energy company to support the developmental drive of Ghana.

According to the corporation, the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel was more than half-way complete, having set sail on Tuesday, January 26, 2016, for the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore for integration of the oil and gas processing modules.

It had undergone conversion and life extension at the HRDD shipyard in China, to meet the 20-year life of the field, without dry-docking (moving to a shipyard) for maintenance. It is expected to be completed and set sail to Ghana in the first quarter of 2017.