Ghana expects the crude oil output at its Jubilee oil field to shoot up in the next three years thanks to the expansion projects on what is also known as the "Larger Jubilee" field.

Development and appraisal of the remainder of the entire field are still in process and are expected to be completed by the end of the year, said Ghana's Minister of Petroleum Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.

The other parts of the field to be developed include West Cape Three Points (WCTP).

The Jubilee field, which started production in December 2010, produces about 105,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD).

The commencement of gas production at the Atuabo gas processing plant is expected to ease pressure on the reservoirs and boost production in the near future.

According to Buah, the government expects operators to present the completed appraisal to authorities by end of year, in order to determine its viability and subsequent Plan of Development (POD).

The current Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel Kwame Nkrumah has a maximum production capacity of 120,000 BOPD, which means a second FPSO will be needed to keep up with an increased production on Jubilee.

Alex Kofi Mould, acting chief executive officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), said that there would be the need to acquire a second FPSO for the Jubilee field to take care of the expected development.

The proposed FPSO, he said, would have the capacity to process both oil and gas so the gas would be tied to the current gas pipelines for power production.