Ghana’s crude oil revenues will be 1.4 billion cedis this year, lower than a previous estimate of 2 billion cedis, the finance minister said in a budget review.

Despite that, the deficit would remain unchanged from a previous estimate of 5.3 percent, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said. Revenues for 2015 are estimated at 1.5 bln cedis.

 

The reduction in the income is attributed to the hurting oil market. Least cost producers mainly the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have continued to over supply the market as a trick to keep the American Shale producers off the shelf and maintain a larger market share.

Ghana is believed to have up to 5 billion barrels to 7 billion barrels of petroleum in reserves,  which is the sixth largest in Africa and the 25th largest proven reserves in the world and Ghana has up to 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in reserves.

In December 2010, President John Atta Mills turned on the valve at an offshore platform in an event that marked the country’s first drop of oil from the Jubilee Field which was estimated to hold 1.5bn barrels of oil.

A consortium led by UK-based Tullow Oil hoped then to produce 55,000 barrels per day, increasing to 120,000 barrels after six months.

Later, the country expected to produce 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000 million standard cubic feet of gas per day under the second phase of the Jubilee Field project by 2013.

Appraisals conducted had indicated that the Jubilee Field contains expected recoverable reserves of about 800 million barrels of light crude, with an upside potential of about three billion barrels

However, that dream as the country seems to be is spending more money importing crude oil than it is earning from its export of the product.

Bank of Ghana data shows that in December 2015 Ghana imported $477.4 million worth of crude oil but earned $429.4 million from exporting its crude, leaving a deficit of $40 million.

Production levels have been swinging between 67,000 barrels per day and 100,000 barrels per day.