Government confirms oil find

Government has formally announced the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the country.

Drilling is expected to begin by the end of the year or early next year, reports Joy News' Dzifa Bampo at a Castle press briefing on Monday.

It has now been established that the discovery was made by Cosmos Oil but another company Tullow Oil has also issued a statement claiming the discovery.

President John Agyekum Kufuor was excited about the new discovery and hoped specifics about the discovery come out clear for Ghana to know if it could become a net exporter of oil.

Samples of the discovered “black gold” were displayed to government officials.

The former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), Mr Tsatsu Tsikata described the discovery as “fantastic news for the country.”

However, he said the Tullow Oil, which issued a statement to also announce the discovery is not a separate entity but part of a four-consortium working on oil discovery in the area.

It is hoped that with the discovery, by the end of the year the Osagyefo Power Barge will come on full stream.

The crude oil was discovered after years of exploration at the Cape Three Point area in the Western Region of Ghana.

Cosmos Oil, a UK oil and gas exploration company made the discovery on Friday.

The company obtained an exploratory license in 2003 and has been conducting exploration works for some time now.

Last Friday's oil strike was made in the company's first exploratory well.

Further testing would be required to establish the number of barrels that can be produced from the well in a day.

But sources close to the company are optimistic that it could produce more than half of the 40,000 barrels of crude oil Ghana requires in a day.