Ghana’s third oil and gas field -- Sankofa-Gye Nyame -- is on course to deliver its first oil in August next year and subsequently its first gas in 2018, says Alex Mould, acting CEO of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

The project is expected to deliver an additional 30,000 barrels of oil per day when it comes on stream, adding to production from the Jubilee Field and the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) -- which should be in excess of 120,000 barrels per day.

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

Mr. Mould stated that: “Sankofa is a game-changer in the development of Ghana’s gas industry. GNPC, state institutions and the World Bank have been particularly effective in efforts to finalise the commercial and contractual arrangements for the project.

“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.

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

Working with private partners ENI and Vitol, alongside the World Bank, GNPC is confident of delivering the Sankofa-Gye Nyame project on time and on budget.

Significant progress has been made in the first year of the project. The Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel is more than half-way complete, and on Tuesday 26th January 2016 sailed out to 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, 2017.

Also, the manufacture of sub-sea production systems and facilities are well underway. Five deep-water wells have been drilled in the field.

A statement from the GNPC said success on projects of this scale and complexity require not only commitment from GNPC, state institutions and project partners, but also huge logistical mobilisation.