Ghana’s President John Mahama has announced a $3.5 billion fund to boost the country’s oil production after a six-year decline.

The investment package includes $2 billion from Jubilee partners to drill up to 20 new oil wells and $1.5 billion from OCTP partners for field development and exploration.

“We have committed upstream players to invest more money to drill new wells to raise the volumes of oil and gas we are producing,” Mr Mahama said.

Mr Mahama announced the investment during the ceremony for Phase 2 of the Sentuo Oil Refinery Project in Tema, Ghana, where he unveiled plans to reverse years of declining oil production.

The president said the new intervention from the government would aid increased production, with the investment already producing results to strengthen Ghana’s energy security. 

The country is set to record a surge in crude oil production for the first time in over five years, with output at the Jubilee field, having increased from 60,000 barrels per day to 85,000 barrels per day, while gains have also been recorded at the TEN and Sankofa fields.

The Ghanaian president said the government was also working to expand the country’s oil sector through the commercialisation of the Afina Discovery to facilitate revenue generation alongside the country’s approval of a new petroleum deal in the offshore Tano West basin.

Mr Mahama said, “This expansion is not merely an investment in infrastructure. It is an investment in Ghana’s future, our energy security, and our economic resilience.”

The investment comes as Ghana seeks to strengthen its oil and gas sector and increase production and facilitate economic growth after a prolonged decline in output over recent years.