Since Ghana announced the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in June 2007, the country has never run short of possible investors in its nascent oil industry. Russian businesses were among the early ones to express interest in having a stake in Ghana’s oil and gas.
During a meeting this week with Ghana’s vice president John Dramani Mahama, a delegation of businessmen from Russia and Belarus have expressed their interest in investing about $1 billion into Ghana’s oil and gas sector.
”We want to be part of Ghana’s success story…We shall be ready to invest in the areas of trade, industry and agriculture,” leader of the delegation, Tkachuk Anatoly said.
The group said they were interested in fertilizer production, security and safety services, production and assembling of tractors and other automobiles, adding that the projects, which would be initiated under various investment arrangements in partnership with the Ghana government, were expected to generate employment for more than one million people.
The delegation announced that Belarus would set up an embassy in Ghana soon.
Meanwhile, a major Russian oil producer, LUKOIL is already in Ghana. In February this year, LUKOIL announced the discovery of oil in the Dzata-1 structure of the Cape Three Points Deep Water Block in the Gulf of Guinea offshore of Ghana.
As commercial production of oil starts in the last quarter of the year, the country’s economy is expected to see a boost.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi