Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Houston Chronicle
by Jenalia Moreno
Ghana has long relied on its exports of cocoa and gold.
But oil is becoming much more important to its economy since production began last year at Ghana's offshore Jubilee field.
The emerging Ghanaian oil industry brought the nation's vice president, John Dramani Mahama, to Houston this week for meetings with energy companies to encourage investment in the western African nation.
"With this trip, we're going to build a partnership between Ghana and Texas," he said during a news conference Monday at the Greater Houston Partnership.
Total annual trade between Houston and Ghana rose to $244 million in 2010 from $159 million in 2009, according to the partnership.
Since the Jubilee discovery a few years ago, several foreign energy companies have set up operations in Ghana. But the region's offshore geology makes exploration challenging.
"Drilling on the west coast of Africa is very tricky business," Mahama said.
Many of the companies working in Ghana are from developing nations, he said.
"Their businessmen are crawling over Africa and looking for opportunities," he said.
His delegation also visited the Port of Houston, and at the news conference Mahama discussed his nation's transportation needs .
Ghana must upgrade its rail lines and roads to make it easier to move products through Africa, he said.
Partnership officials said they are pushing for a nonstop flight from Houston to Ghana's capital of Accra. United Airlines plans to start flying between Houston and Lagos, Nigeria, later this year.
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