Jomoro Petroleum Hub: How Ghana nearly lost $12 billion in phase one funding

The Minister of Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, has shared a story about how funds allocated for the initial phase of Ghana’s Petroleum Hub project were almost lost if not for an emergency trip he took to Beijing to sign three separate Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) just hours before the financing guarantee deadline.

He mentioned that several individuals, including the former Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko; current Minister of Finance Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam; current CEO of the Petroleum Hub Development Commission, Charles Owusu; among others, worked tirelessly to ensure the Petroleum Hub became a reality.

During a conversation with journalists at the groundbreaking ceremony led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, August 19, 2024, Joseph Cudjoe praised everyone who contributed to the project, especially “when it was only a cabinet memo to refer to.

“I left Ghana on December 19, 2019, and arrived in Beijing at 2 a.m. I worked from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. without a break with the project developers for meetings with the Chinese team to secure the funds for the project. Ultimately, we signed three separate MOUs that unlocked $12 billion in funding for the first phase of the project.

“Boakye Agyarko, the Energy Minister at the time, brought a memo on the project to me and requested that I work on it. As a consultant, I used my expertise to set things in motion and develop it. This led to the establishment of a committee, the Petroleum Hub Taskforce, which I co-chaired with Hon. Amin Adam, who was then Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Petroleum. However, there was a lack of interest, so I assembled some technical people from the Ministry of Energy.

“By that time, the Finance Ministry had assigned Charles Owusu, the current Managing Director of Petroleum Hub, to the committee, and he was very energetic and enthusiastic about the project, just like the others I gathered at the Energy Ministry. We had Jacob Amoah, Nancy, Obed, and Lawyer Yankson, who were very driven and dedicated to supporting my efforts to ensure the petroleum hub project’s success. Then there was Ken Kanyagui, who was also a blessing to the project, as he was introduced as the one assembling a group of investors,” he recounted.

Joseph Cudjoe, who was the Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Finance and Infrastructure Development at the time, mentioned how his enthusiasm and passion for transforming the Petroleum Hub from a concept to a reality earned him the nickname “Mr. Petroleum Hub” due to his dedication.

“It was as if I had no other interests besides this hub project,” he expressed.

He also praised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the grandeur of the vision and memo he carried and communicated to the funding partners.

“A $60 billion investment, wherever it goes in Ghana, is significant, but as soon as the Western Region emerged as a potential destination, I was inspired to go beyond myself,” Cudjoe stressed.

“I am also thrilled today because the name I suggested, Jomoro Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, which initially failed, has now been proposed by the President himself. I believed this was a significant legacy project the President is leaving, and if it’s for a people, a district so delineated and special, then it should be named Jomoro Petroleum Hub Development Corporation,” he noted.

The minister also expressed gratitude to the traditional leaders and the people of Nzema whom he says have “borne fruits that will outlast all of us present at this groundbreaking ceremony.”

The Petroleum Hub project is a private sector-led initiative that will be developed by the TCP-UIC Consortium, consisting of Touchstone Capital Group Holdings Ltd and UIC Energy Ghana Ltd.

The $12 billion investment allocated for the first phase is expected to finance a refinery with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), a 90,000-bpd capacity petrochemical plant, 3 million cubic meters (m³) of storage tanks, and a jetty with port infrastructure.