New producer Ghana targets $768 million in oil revenue

Ghana, which only began large-scale oil production less than a year ago, is targeting oil revenue of about $768 million in 2012, the nation's finance minister said on Wednesday.

Presenting the government's 2012 budget to parliament, Finance and Economic Planning minister Kwabena Duffour also said the economy was forecast to grow 9.4 per cent while inflation was projected to be 8.7 per cent.

"Total benchmark oil revenue is estimated at 1,239.8 million cedis ($768 million dollars)," he said.

Ghana began large-scale oil production last December from an oil field known as Jubilee -- one of the largest recent discoveries in West Africa -- with current 80,000 barrels per day.

Oil is projected to become Ghana's biggest foreign exchange earner, upstaging the gold, cocoa and timber exports it previously relied on.

Inflation, which was 18.1 per cent at the end of 2008, stood at 8.4 per cent at the end of September and is forecast at 8.7 per cent next year, the minister said.

Mining tax increase

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased steadily from four per cent in 2009 to 7.7 per cent last year and 13.6 per cent in 2011 but is forecast to drop next year to 9.4 per cent, he said.

The fiscal deficit for the first three quarters of this year was $702 million or two per cent of GDP while total revenue and grants stood at $5.46 billion or 15.5 per cent of GDP, Duffour said.

 

Credits: AFP/Africa Review

 

This article was originally posted on Africa Oil & Mining Network

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