What was the background to the achievement of the Jubilee Fields site?

The Jubilee Fields discovery was made in 2007 by six oil companies: Tullow, Kosmos, GNPC, Sabre Oil, Anadarko, and the EO group. After the discovery, there was an agreement between these oil and gas companies and their development partners to begin production as soon as possible. The government of Ghana was also interested in a swift transition from discovery to production, seeing it as a catalyst for development. The agreement between the government and the oil and gas companies provided a platform for rapid development. Infrastructure, facilities, and equipment were ordered ahead of schedule, while data was still being collected on the fields. This allowed the production operation to be flexible and to react as new information on the characteristics of the site were received. Tullow’s involvement as the operator of the site also influenced the speed of development.

Are there lessons that can be learned from the experiences of other African countries to ensure the sustainability of oil and gas production in Ghana and to ensure benefits to the local community?

Tullow believes that the oil and gas fields in Ghana represent a good opportunity for the growth of the economy in the country and for development that will benefit Ghanaians. The company prefers not to comment on the negativity that can surround analysis of the growth of the petroleum sector in other countries. However, Tullow believes that partnership, collaboration, and continued engagement with local stakeholders are critical factors to the success of a project on this scale. Ghana has demonstrated this quality, a commitment to working together, which Tullow believes has been crucial and is a valuable lesson that should be shared.

How important is developing local capabilities and employing local people to Tullow’s long-term commitment to its involvement in Ghana?

We do not employ local people because it is demanded; we employ them because it makes commercial sense. Developing capacity and capabilities in a country and using local raw materials and service providers represents a significant saving. The transfer of skills and technology to local populations is also important socially, and we see it as their responsibility to focus on local content. To this end, we have put in place a number of initiatives, including the Tullow Group Scholarship scheme, which sponsors 50 students to study abroad, completing Masters Degrees in various disciplines related to oil and gas. By 2016, at least 95% of our employees in Ghana should be Ghanaians. Currently, more than 85% of employees are Ghanaians, working throughout the organization, as heads of departments and in positions of authority and importance.

What is the current rate of production from the Jubilee Fields site and does this meet with expectations for the current phase of the project?

The rate of production has varied from a low of 70,000 to a peak of 88,000 barrels of oil produced per day. Tullow had projected last year that production would reach 120,000 barrels per day. The primary reason that we have yet to reach this target relates to a technical difficulty with the oil well design completion. The consequence of this was a situation in which we were experiencing less than expected flow from several of the wells. Redesigns have been successfully carried out, and they are currently monitoring the affected wells to ensure the positive impact of these changes. This was a specific technical issue that has no relation to the remaining capacity of the site. In this respect, our projections for production have not changed.