Ghana oil output at 250,000 bpd by 2013 - VP

Ghana is on track to deliver oil from the Jubilee field from December this year, with initial output doubling to 250,000 barrels per day by 2013, the country's vice president told Reuters.

"The first oil will be delivered in December this year," Vice President John Dramani Mahama said in an interview late on Tuesday. "The development of the second phase phase, we anticipate, will raise the production from 125,000 barrels to approximately 250,000 barrels. It's some time between 2011 and 2012 to bring it into production, but certainly by 2013, Ghana should be producing 250,000 barrels a day," he said.

Mahama also defended Ghana's refusal to approve what sources close to the deal say was a $4 billion accord for private U.S. group Kosmos to sell its stake in Jubilee to U.S. major ExxonMobil, saying Kosmos' desire to exit was a chance for Ghana to secure a greater stake in the project.