With production expected to start later this year, Ghana's oil fields are expected to provide a much needed boon to an economy that has shown signs of a slowdown in recent times. Ghana's economic growth slowed to 4.7% last year, its lowest rate since 2002, after reaching a high of 7.3% in 2008. This development was compounded by the fact that the country's economy had averaged a 6% growth rate over the previous five years.
This decline has happened despite Ghana's relative insulation from the global economic crisis. The country's banks were not exposed to the toxic assets that wreaked havoc in Western markets. Furthermore, Ghana's chief exports, gold and cocoa, did not suffer in the midst of the global recession as continuing demand for these commodities propped up their prices. Indeed, Ghana's gold industry is on the brink of a significant development that is expected to maximise its value to the economy. CC Global Investment, an Accra-based company, is in the process of constructing a $15m refinery, scheduled to be operational by the end of this year, which is expected to produce 300 kilogrammes of refined gold on a daily basis.
