Ghana to see swift increase of oil & gas output after Sankofa startup

First oil from the Sankofa development project, located offshore Ghana, is reportedly anticipated in the second half of 2017, and first gas output early in the following year. The startup is expected to rapidly increase Ghana’s oil and gas output, an official said. 

The project, located in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) block approximately 60 km offshore Ghana, is operated by the Italian oil company Eni and being developed in partnership with Vitol and Ghana’s National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) with 47.2%, 37,778%, and 18% interest, respectively.

Reuters reported that the Sankofa project will increase Ghana’s oil and gas output with total oil production averaging over 350,000 barrels a day at the end of 2022.

Gas production on the other hand is expected to average more than 300 million standard cubic feet of gas a day at the end of 2018, Alex Mould, the acting chief executive of GNPC, told Reuters at an oil conference.

The project was supported by the World Bank’s $700 million investment in guarantees in July 2015, as part of a broader program of support for Ghana’s energy sector transformation.

According to the World Bank, once the Sankofa field starts to produce gas Ghana would be able to reduce its oil imports by up to 12 million barrels a year and cut carbon emissions by 1.6 million metric tons of CO2 annually.

The OCTP block comprises five fields: Sankofa Main (non associated gas), Sankofa East (non associated gas), Gye Nyame (non associated gas), Sankofa East Cenomanian (oil), Sankofa East Campanian (oil).

The project is in water depth of 600 – 1000 m. The fields will be produced via subsea production systems located on the seabed, sending the oil and gas to surface by flowlines and risers connected to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

Eni inked a contract with Malaysia’s Yinson for the chartering, operation and maintenance of an FPSO at the OCTP block in January 2015.

Offshore Energy Today Staff