Ghana Economy May Grow as Much as 12% in 2012

Ghana’s economy may expand 8 percent to 12 percent next year as Africa’s newest oil exporter expects rising output of crude to boost revenue, said Deputy Finance Minister Seth Terkper.

“Oil revenue will be significant,” he said in an interview in Accra, the capital, yesterday. The forecast is greater than the International Monetary Fund’s 7.3 percent growth for 2012 made last month. This year, growth is seen at 13.5 percent, the fastest rate in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Washington- based lender. The Ghana Statistical Service gave a provisional projection yesterday of 13.6 percent.

Production at Ghana’s Jubilee oil field began in December, the country’s first output of crude for export, propelling growth to a rate of 31 percent in the first three months of this year and 34 percent in the second quarter, the Ghana Statistical Service said Sept. 22.

A target to produce 120,000 barrels a day by the end of the year may not be met, according to the Finance Ministry. The output forecast is likely to be met next year, adding the delayed revenue to the country’s economy, Terkper said. The West African nation wants to sustain the 12 percent growth rate beyond next year by “adding value to our crude,” Terkper said.

In August, Ghanaian lawmakers approved a $3 billion loan from the China Development Bank, $800 million of which will be spent on developing a natural-gas industry in the country’s Western region. Ghana has 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, Nana Asafu-Adjaye, managing director of the Ghana National Petroleum Corp., said Oct. 6.