Offshore staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The World Bank has approved $700 million in guarantees for Ghana’s Sankofa gas project, which is designed to alleviate the country’s serious energy shortages by developing new sources of natural gas for domestic power generation.
The approval is in the form of an IDA Payment guarantee of $500 million that supports timely payments for gas purchases by Ghana National Petroleum Corp., and an IBRD Enclave Loan guarantee of $200 million that allows the project to secure financing from its private sponsors.
These payments should lead to $7.9 billion in new private investment being mobilized for offshore natural gas, the largest foreign direct investment in Ghana’s history.
Sankofa, 60 km (37 mi) offshore, comprises five oil and gas fields in the Offshore Cape Three Points block in water depths of 600-1,000 m (1,968-3,281 ft). Eni operates in partnership with VITOL. Development will be via subsea production systems connected to an FPSO, with the gas sent through a pipeline to reception facilities on the coast of western Ghana.
Production is due to start up in early 2018.
08/03/2015
