The World Bank announced that it is to assist public sector organizations in charge of overseeing Ghana's energy development.

The World Bank in response to a request from Ghana's government is to provide International Development Association funding of about $30 million, Public Agenda reported Wednesday.

The World Bank's subsidiary, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is also involved in preliminary talks to provide a commercial loan to assist the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation to acquire a joint-venture equity stake to develop the associated gas from the country's offshore Jubilee Field.

The Jubilee Field's first commercial oil is expected by the end of year. The Jubilee Field Unit is situated in Deepwater Tano and West Cape Three Points blocks, approximately 40 miles offshore and 80 miles west southwest of the port city of Takoradi.

The Jubilee Field's oil reserves are estimated to be between 800 million and 1.5 billion barrels of high-quality crude oil. Jubilee's initial production in its first phase of development is projected to be 120,000 barrels a day.

The initial phase of Jupiter's development also involves construction of the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Kwame Nkrumah vessel, which is being built with assistance from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the International Finance Corp. to produce and process Jubilee's oil and natural gas. On June 30 the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency signed a $225 million, 20-year contract to provide political risk insurance for the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.

The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah, which was commissioned May 1 by Ghanaian first lady Ernestina Naadu Mills, has a production and processing capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil and 160 million cubic feet of gas per day, with storage capacity of 1.6 million barrels of oil.

The Jubilee Field's potential revenue is estimated at about $1 billion annually on a predicted average crude oil price of $60 per barrel, with the International Monetary Fund speculating that over the period 2012-30 Ghanaian government revenues from the Jubilee field's oil and natural gas production could reach $20 billion.

The projected cash influx has caused the Christian Council of Ghana to express its concerns that the revenue be equitably utilized.

The Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye-Mensah observed: "The revenue from oil and gas will be better if solely managed by an independent commission with parliamentary oversight. It is for these reasons that the coalition members seek to contribute to the development of a peaceful, just and equitable society in Ghana, where there will be an increased realization of social and economic justice as well as human rights of the disadvantaged and voiceless in Ghana."

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