Implementation Status Results of World Bank Assisted Projects – Ghana Gas and Oil Capacity Building Project

Implementing Agency(ies): Ministry of Energy

Total Amt US$38 million       Amt disbursed US$3.1 million
Key Dates Board Approval Date 20-Dec-2010, Closing Date 30-Jun-2015 Effectiveness Date 20-May-2011

Project Development Objectives
The project objective is to (i) improve public management and regulatory capacity while enhancing transparency; and (ii) strengthen local technical skills in Ghana’s emerging oil and gas sector.

Component(s)
Component Name                                                      Component Cost
A.1  Resource Management                                                           7.80
A.2  Data Management                                                                   10.00
A.3  Environmental Management                                                 4.00
A.4 Revenue Management                                                             1.00
A.5 Enhancing Sector Governance                                               3.00
B.1  Vocational Training Support                                                   4.70
B.2 Tertiary Education and Research Support                           6.00

Overall Ratings
Progress towards achievement of PDO                  Moderately Satisfactory
Overall Implementation Progress (IP)                   Moderately Satisfactory
Overall Risk Rating                                                      High

Implementation Status Overview
Implementation progress over the past six months has been uneven with some components advancing well and others experiencing delays. Disbursements have started to pick-up to reach about $3.1 million (less than 10% of the total credit amount), but they are still well below the projected estimates (less than 10% of the total credit amount).

The Project Coordination Unit (PCU) at Ministry of Energy (MoE) is performing at a high level, adding a degree of confidence that implementation progress will pick up substantially in 2012.  Institutions within GOG are mobilizing to build capacity, and work programs have been agreed upon with almost all beneficiary institutions for 2012. This includes the Petroleum Commission which came into existence in November 2011. However, the data repository (allocation of $10 million) and environmental management (allocation of $4 million) components are experiencing serious delays.

To overcome bottlenecks to the implementation, key actions have been agreed upon with the beneficiary agencies, including: (i) information exchanges between the Bank and EPA on the specific scope of the laboratory at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and (ii) the formalization of an agreement between Ghana National Petroleum Company and the Petroleum Commission on the details of the transition of the data repository.

To read full results go to http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/SDN/2012/04/03/C72C23D67CC78ED1852579D50068BBA6/1_0/Rendered/PDF/ISR0Disclosabl003201201333479837696.pdf