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The oil is in; the ancestors are not dead
yet
E.
Ablorh-Odjidja, Ghanadot
I am reminded of the saying that good things happen to good
people. Whether this is true or not is not important. What is
important is that you wouldn’t want good things to happen to bad
people.
President Kufuor is reported on BBC as saying "My joy is that
I'll go down in history as the president under whose watch oil
was found to turn the economy of Ghana around for the better."
He is right and he is lucky.
Finally, after years of searches and disappointments Ghana has
struck oil. President Kufuor, in a sense, has every reason to
sound jubilant. It is on his watch that oil has been discovered
in this quantity. He has been blamed for the current energy
crisis. Now he must take credit for the energy bonanza.
But all is not well, at least not in some quarters. NDC, the
leading minority party, claimed immediately after the
announcement that the find was “37 years old.” In a nutshell, it
was no big deal; at least not this early.
True, in the past, there were whispers about oil potential in
Ghana. But now all the principals involved in this particular
exploration, those who have sank money, credit and reputation in
the project, are on the bull-horn telling the world that Ghana
has oil deposits approaching commercial quantities.
President Kufuor attributes the find to the “the Government's
decision in 2001 to make Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)
concentrate on its core business” to the exclusion of
all else.
His claim is supported by media reports of the era. For
instance, in February 2002, African Business reported that the
government of Ghana was attempting “to save the Ghana National
Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) through severely restricting the
scope of its business.”
Before then, the GNPC had a history of drifting off its
investment targets; from investing in non-oil production areas
to lackluster performances in oil drilling and prospecting in
far off places like Angola.
The current situation is that the GNPC is
goal oriented. Its partners in the exploration
at the off-shore site of Cape Three
Points in Ghana; Kosmos Energy and Anadarko Corporation both of
the United States of America and Tullow Oil of the United
Kingdom project the current find at 600 million-barrel and
pronounce the find as the most promising since oil exploration
started in earnest some 20 years ago.
Mr. Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive of Tullow, said that the
“ultimate reserves are likely to be materially in excess of
previous estimates (600 mil. Barrels), with some high-potential
zones still to be drilled.”
All, including President Kufuor are highly elated. The president
was first to thank God for the news.
The desire for oil in Ghana has been around since the first
crude gushed from Nigerian wells some 40 years ago.
Unfortunately, with finds like this comes foolishness, and lots
of it, as some countries in Africa have already proven. So, will
the adage that poor countries end up ruined with sudden
discovery of oil be true for Ghana too?
Though the answer to the above question may be something to
worry about, it should not be the most crucial concern
now. Oil, once found in poor countries, cannot be
plugged, at least not in this age of energy crisis.
However, there is something curious about the skepticism about
the find. This claim of the area having been
explored and found less commercially viable some 37 years ago should not necessarily lead to the
conclusion that the
find this time is false. One facet has to be
explained first before that conclusion: Why sink such huge sums
in research and reputation in the same area if the location has
already proven sterile in the past?
Or, could it be a change in technological advancements or a
turn for the better in the political and economic climates in
Ghana that made the revelation possible?
Whatever the answer is, Mr. Aidan Heavey of Tullow’s has his
projection firmly stated; 600 million barrels and more to come.
Mr. Heavey is not involved in Ghanaian politics. He has a board
and a host of investors to answer to abroad. He wouldn’t keep
his job, nor will his company's need to
continue in oil exploration last for
long, if the real results are contrary to what he has claimed.
The current news from Tullow and partners
is good enough to drive Ghanaians to
the point of ecstasy and to the belief that technology aside,
God and the ancestors are also on our side. They have not given
up on us after years of bloodshed caused by empty rhetoric and
false revolutionary fervors.
Yes, the ancestors are not dead. Let those who don’t believe
this desist from pouring libation or forget to pray.
E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Washington, DC, June 21, 2007
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