ACCRA (Commodity Online) : The dark continent of Africa might witness a drastic change in its crude oil production landscape as a number of new oilfields come online nowadays.

Crude oil has in recent years been discovered in many countries such as Sierra Leone, São Tomé & Principe and Ethiopia but it is currently the nations of Ghana and Uganda that are attracting the most attention.

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Ghana's offshore Jubilee Field, situated approximately 60 kilometers from the mainland is thought to have oil reserves of 1.8 billion barrels as well as significant gas deposits. Production is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Analysts said Ghana will start oil production soon and that will lead to quite a substantial increase in output and will generate a substantial boost in revenues for the government.

The Jubilee Field is set to be developed by a joint venture comprising Tullow Ghana Limited, Kosmos Ghana HC, Anadarko WCTP Company, Sabre Oil and Gas, the EO Group, and the state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

Ghana's crude oil is of a highly desired grade. 'The variety of crude found in the Gulf of Guinea is known in industry parlance as light and sweet, meaning it is viscous and low in sulphur, and therefore easier and cheaper to refine than Middle Eastern crude, which tends to be lacking in lower hydrocarbons and is therefore very sticky.

Analysts said this may particularly appealing to American and European refineries, which have to contend with strict environmental regulations that make it difficult to refine heavier and sourer varieties of crude without running up costs that make the entire proposition worthless.

Another African country that is set to attain oil producer status in the near future is the East African nation of Uganda.

Uganda's oil assets are situated in the Lake Albert basin, in the west of the country. The country has proven reserves of 700 million barrels of oil although this figure has serious upside.

Uganda has even established an elite army unit to protect its oil fields.

Nearly thirty years ago Shell started with exploration activities in Uganda's Lake Albert region but pulled out because of falling oil prices and political uncertainty.

Five years ago, United Kingdom-based Tullow Oil, however, returned to Lake Albert and found large crude deposits. The firm is currently the largest operator in the country.

Tullow and Heritage Oil Plc were originally 50% partners in two Ugandan oil blocks but Heritage decided to dispose of its assets. Tullow is awaiting final Ugandan government approval for its $1.5 billion purchase of Heritage Oil's 50% stake in the two blocks.

It is also in discussion with Total and the China National Offshore Oil Company to take over a part of its assets.

In an effort to decrease reliance on fuel imports, the Ugandan government has contracted an engineering company to undertake a feasibility study into the development of an oil refinery. Such a refinery has the potential to be very profitable for Uganda as it can sell fuel to its neighbouring countries.

As with Ghana, Uganda's government has also attracted negative publicity around the handling of the country's oil assets. Uganda's parliament is currently pushing for details of oil production sharing agreements government signed with international oil companies to be made public.

Africa's new oil producers are under pressure to effectively manage production and ensure that oil production benefits the population.

The problems experienced in Nigeria are a good example of oil production gone wrong.

The Nigerian Federal Government has done little to improve the lives of the people living in the Niger Delta area and oil companies have polluted the environment.

This led to militants bombing oil facilities and kidnapping government and oil company officials. The discovery of oil also led to government paying little attention to developing the other sectors of the economy.

Increased oil production has the potential to greatly transform the fortunes of African countries but this hinges on ensuring that oil brings properity to the entire population and not only line the pockets of corrupt government officials