Oil shipments leave Jubilee field

A Libyan ship carried the first shipment of oil from an offshore processing plant at the Jubilee oil field off the coast of Ghana.

The Ghana Maritime Authority said a Libyan vessel took more than 630,000 barrels of crude oil from the Jubilee field.

The shipment marks the first delivery since production started at the offshore oil field Dec. 15.

Tullow oil, the main operator at the field in Ghana, said Jubilee could produce up to 55,000 barrels of oil per day immediately. In as little as three months, the company said, that production could increase to 120,000 bpd.

Ghana is looking for experts to develop its offshore potential, as the newly elected government has little experience in managing oil reserves. The Jubilee field is one of the richest oil fields in Africa with potential reserves eclipsing 1.8 billion barrels.

The field was discovered in 2007.

Jubilee partners include Tullow, Anadarko Petroleum, Kosmos Energy, Ghana National Petroleum Corp., Sabre Oil and Gas and E.O. Group.