Ghana to pump first oil on December 17, 2010?

A deputy Minister of Information has said Ghana will become an oil producing country on December 17, 2010 when the first commercial production of oil begins at the Jubilee oil field.

The Reuters news service citing a deputy Minister of Communications, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says the government of Ghana and all the partners working at Jubilee are looking forward to that day.

But an official of Tullow Oil that ghanabusinessnews.com spoke to on the matter has said he was not in a position to comment. Mr. Gayheart Edem Mensah, Communications Manager of Tullow Oil said he is not sure about the specific date, however.

Tullow Oil, the major stakeholder in the Jubilee oil field said to be the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years had said earlier in November that the first oil from Jubilee Phase 1 is expected in early December without stating a specific date.

According to Tullow Oil, it will produce the country’s first 50,000 barrels of oil on that day. Tullow also said a ceremony to mark the historical moment to be hosted by President John Atta Mills is scheduled for late December 2010.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach the deputy Minister on the phone for clarification were unsuccessful.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi