The government of Ghana and its partners announced here on Wednesday the start of commercial gas production on the Sankofa field Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP).
A statement received here indicated that production started from two of the four deep-water subsea wells connected to the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel named after one of Ghana's former presidents, John Agyekum Kufuor.
The field is expected to provide 180 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) for at least 15 years, enough to convert to gas half of Ghana's power generation capacity.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Kofi Kodua Sarpong expressed delight at the start of gas production on the field which also started limited oil production last year.
"GNPC is delighted that the OCTP development has reached this milestone," Sarpong said.
He pledged GNPC's support for Eni of Italy, the operator, on further steps to ensure that gas delivery to the Ghanaian market reached its expected volumes in the shortest period of time.
OCTP is the only deep offshore non-associated gas development in Sub-Saharan Africa entirely earmarked for domestic consumption and expected to guarantee stable, reliable, and affordable gas supplies to Ghana.
The project was developed at the cost of 7.9 billion U.S. dollars with a 500 million-dollar partial guarantee from the World Bank.
It is expected that gas from OCTP could help Ghana shift from oil-fueled power generation to a cleaner power source, with financial as well as environmental benefits to contribute to the country's sustainable economic development.
With the achievement of gas start up, OCTP overall oil and gas production will reach up to 85,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, explained the release.
