Ghana’s dream of becoming , an oil hub in Africa is being given further boost with the investment of US$100 million by Kosmos Energy Ghana to drill and evaluate two additional wells by the end of the first quarter of the year. The company, which discovered oil in commercial quantities at Esiama in the Western Region in June 2007, is expected to drill six wells by the end of the year. The discovery was announced to the nation by President J. A. Kufuor in June 2007. Experts say the oil discovered by Kosmos is of premium quality and one of the best in the world. In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Country Manager of Kosmos Energy, Mr George Yaw Owusu, said the company had recently completed an appraisal of the Mahogany Field at the cost of US$27 million. He disclosed that to bring to fruition the company's plans, an oil rig, the Songa Saturn, was expected to arrive by the middle of this month to start work. "In line with the Ghana government's aspiration of early oil production, we want to evaluate and develop our discoveries as quickly and efficiently as possible for the benefit of the country," Mr Owusu- pointed out. Touching more on the arrival of the rig, Mr Owusu said it was a deep-water floating drilling rig which was being brought in from Equatorial Guinea. After working in Ghana, the rig will leave for Libya. He further explained that contracts for services and goods would cost about US$l million per day, with the rig accounting for the largest item of the cost during the three months that it would be employed in Ghana. According to Mr Owusu, the four additional wells would be drilled beginning from the second quarter of this year. He said the drilling of the appraisal wells would pave the way for production activities as soon as possible. He noted that the company was committed to working around the clock to ensure that the aspirations of all stakeholders, including the Ghanaian, were met for the satisfaction of all. He disclosed that the first rig that made the discovery for Kosmos Energy Ghana, the Bedford Dolphin, had been in operation for the past seven years and that the discovery in Ghana was its first. The country manager pointed out that Kosmos Energy Ghana Limited paid about US$2 million in withholding tax to the government last year and gave the assurance that the company would be Ghana-based, with most of its staff being Ghanaians for the benefit of the country. "Ghana will be the West Africa hub for Kosmos Energy. We are building for the long term and we are here to stay," Mr Owusu added. Kosmos Energy Ghana, in June 2007, discovered and drilled the Mahogany well at Esiama in the Western Region. Source: Daily Graphic