The Ghanaian economy has longed been fuelled by the twin pillars of cocoa and gold. Recent reforms have seen the economy improve and the growth rates rise. There has however always been one Achilles heel in the Ghanaian economy, dependence on imported fuel.

Yesterday Ghana took a huge step towards energy independence as a consortium of oil companies announced a huge oil find off the Cape coast. The consortium consisting of Kosmos Energy, Tullow Oil and Anadarko oil announced they had struck oil in commercial quantities at their Mahagony-1 well with initial estimates of 300 million barrels of oil with the potential of up to 600 million barrels.

The discovery is expected to produce about 20,000 barrels per day satisfying about half of Ghana's current requirements. Announcing the discovery Tullow's chief executive said, "The discovery of oil in the Mahogany well represents a major event for the Republic of Ghana. Based on evidence to date, ultimate reserves are likely to be materially in excess of previous estimates,".

The news of the discovery has generated a lot of excitement from the streets of Ghana to the Presidential office. Ghana's President, John Kufuor, was ecstatic after the announcement, saying the discovery would fast-track the country's economic march. "Even without oil, we are doing so well, already," he said. "Now, with oil as a shot in the arm, we're going to fly."

"We're going to really zoom, accelerate, and if everything works, which I pray will happen positively, you come back in five years, and you'll see that Ghana truly is the African tiger," he told the BBC.