Ghana's Energy Sector, Oil and Gas News

The low price of oil has dashed initial hopes for oil and gas investment in Africa but governments have the opportunity to turn things around.

The discovery of oil off the coast of Ghana in 2007 – and subsequent hydrocarbon finds in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique – sparked an exuberant international response, with oil and gas investors and companies initially flocking to what many saw as a new frontier for the industry.

The excitement was understandable. The oil and gas finds in Mozambique had the potential to increase its GDP five-fold by 2040. Ghana’s economy, too, was being transformed. Prices were booming and the ‘Africa Rising’ narrative was taking hold across the world, with rising consumption and improved political stability changing investor perceptions.

Eight years on, with the oil price halved to below USD50 a barrel, the enthusiasm of those early days looks a little optimistic.

While there have been significant successes in oil and