In a move to transform Ghana’s energy sector, the Government of Ghana has signed a $12 billion agreement with TCP-UIC Consortium for the development of the first phase of the Petroleum Hub project in the Jomoro Municipal Area in the Western Region.
The consortium comprises Touchstone Capital Partners, UIC Energy, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co. Ltd., and Wuhan Engineering Co. Ltd.
This project aims at positioning Ghana as the destination for energy trading in the West Africa sub-region.
This agreement is a critical step towards the President’s vision of Ghana becoming a regional hub for petroleum refining, storage, and distribution.
The Petroleum Hub project is expected to accelerate the growth of Ghana’s petroleum downstream sub-sector and make it a major player in the economy; creating jobs, attracting foreign direct investment, and enhancing energy security.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh indicated the relevance of the hub to developing Ghana’s potential and revenue drive.
“This hub has been long time coming, and I am excited that today, we can do the signing for work to begin in earnest. We are hopeful that all the hard work we put in, will yield the results that we desire. We are determined to achieve this goal and we will continue working to see this materialise,” he said.
He also assured of Value addition to Ghana’s natural resources for the benefit of all.
The Paramount Chief of Western Nzema Traditional Council Awulea Annor Adjaye III who doubles as Chair of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, charged the corporation to ensure wealth creation for the people of Jomoro and Ghana at large.
“We as leaders hold in trust these natural resources for our people, so anytime we have to use them, we must ensure our people are the main beneficiaries of them”, he said.
Covering over 20,000 acres of land, the Petroleum Hub is a private sector-led investment that will see the development of key, ancillary and other infrastructure.
The key infrastructure includes three (3) refineries with 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) capacity, five (5) petrochemical plants with 90,000 bpd capacity, 10 million cubic metre storage facilities, Jetties and Port Infrastructure.
The petroleum hub project is estimated to cost about US$60 billion.
The development of the Petroleum Hub project will be executed in 3 phases, between 2024 and 2036, with the first phase focusing on developing a 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery, a 90,000 bpd petrochemical plant, 3 million cubic meter storage facility, Jetty and Port Infrastructure.
The Petroleum Hub project when completed is expected to improve Ghana’s economy significantly. The Petroleum Hub project will increase the presence of major international oil trading and storage companies, create regional trading champions and encourage joint ventures between local and international companies for knowledge transfer and wealth creation, etc.
The local entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to do business with foreign investors in the Petroleum Hub which will facilitate the financial growth of these enterprises.
It is expected that by 2036, the Petroleum Hub project will have completely transformed Ghana’s economy and created over 780,000 direct and indirect.
By Grace Hammoah Agyemang
