Ghana’s crude oil production has increased by 30 per cent, reversing five years of sustained decline, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced.
Speaking at African Energy Week 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa, the Minister attributed the increase to a development campaign following a US$2 billion memorandum of understanding signed with Jubilee partner Kosmos Energy in 2025.
The Jubilee and TEN agreement, which covers licence extensions to 2040, kickstarted a development campaign targeting incremental investment and higher volumes of affordable gas for domestic power generation. An amended Jubilee development plan covers up to 20 additional wells.
“Since then, we have started work and have transformed that into a tangible agreement. We have approved the plan of development, with real work commencing. All this is measured in terms of volumes in oil output. We have seen a continued systematic decline in oil output over the past five years. But this year, I am happy to announce that oil production has increased by about 30 per cent,” Mr Jinapor said.
Kosmos Energy’s August results reported that the Jubilee partnership was seeking a rig for a 2027 to 2028 campaign of up to ten wells, expected to start in mid-2027. Jubilee averaged approximately 72,000 barrels per day gross in the second quarter, with J76 and J77 coming online in June and July respectively. The company also retained a US$350 million group capital expenditure budget for 2026.
Beyond crude output, the 2025 agreement connects a longer investment horizon with national supply priorities, specifically strengthening gas supply for domestic markets.
Speaking alongside Mr Jinapor, the Chief Executive Officer of Kosmos Energy, Mr Andy Inglis, said the agreement aligned the needs of the country with what the company could bring as an investor. He said extending the licence gave the company the confidence to invest, particularly in technology.
Mr Inglis added that it also enabled the company to focus on gas supplies. “As we deal with energy security, it also comes down to energy affordability. We agreed to supply low-cost gas to the country,” he said.
Mr Jinapor said frameworks such as the Jubilee agreement provided a benchmark for other operators as Ghana seeks to attract new investment across its upstream sector.
“We are trying to make the sector more attractive and mutually beneficial. We are working together and building trust. We already have agreements with Chevron and are working with Shell and CNOOC. We are confident that we will see an uptick in investments,” he said.
He said discussions with other operators were in advanced stages. “We are reforming our fiscal regime, making it more competitive and friendly. I have approved my portion and the minister of finance has approved his. Next week we are going to cabinet and then we will go to parliament. We will sign the agreement with Chevron once we have received parliamentary approval. We have had a good meeting with Petrobras and are looking at closing a deal,” he said.
