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Ghana’s oil production is set to decline in 2022 as a result of coronavirus-related restrictions, which deferred work programs and other activities in 2020, the head of production at the country’s state-owned oil company has said.

The West African nation’s crude oil output will drop to about 146,500 b/d next year from 150,000 b/d currently after COVID-19 restrictions slowed development activities, Albert Longdon-Nyewan of the Ghana National Petroleum Corp. said Nov. 8 on the sidelines of the Africa Oil Week conference in Dubai.

Drilling and completion of wells will be expanded to five or six wells next year from four this year, helping production to rebound back to 2020 levels in 2023, he said. Oil production slipped to an average of 182,814 b/d in 2020 from 195,724 b/d in 2019, he said.

“We’re doing everything we can to get production back on track,” he said. Ghana’s natural gas production is currently 280 MMcf/d and may hit 318 MMcf/d next year, he said.

Ghana is seeing growing interest from international oil companies to participate in its emerging oil and gas industries, including Italy’s ENI, Longdon-Nyewan said. In October, Africa-focused explorer Kosmos Energy bought part of fields sold by Occidental.