The fledgling oil and gas industry in Ghana is set to receive $30 million from the World Bank in order to fund extensive training initiatives.

Kofi Tsikata, a spokesperson for the bank's Ghana office, told Bloomberg that the money will be handed to the Ghanaian government in around two months and will then be used to train state institutions overseeing the oil and gas industry.

Tullow, which holds a majority stake in licenses in the Jubilee field, has announced that it is still on course to achieve first oil by the end of the year, following an extensive and highly successful drilling campaign.

Mr Tsikata also said the World Bank is in talks with Ghana National Petroleum Corp to provide funding for a new gas project in the Jubilee field, although he declined to provide further details while discussions are ongoing.

Tullow is also moving ahead with training programmes to ensure local workers can find work in the nascent energy industry.

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