Ghana’s crude oil likely to be banned over whale deaths

Ghana risks a ban on the sale of oil from the jubilee fields if measures are not put in place to check the continuous death of whales in its waters.

Last weekend a dead whale was washed ashore at Atuabo in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region.

The whale was found in between the pre-fabrication area of the Ghana Gas Company and the Atuabo ceme­tery.

Prior to this over 21 cases of dead whales being washed ashore in the Western region have been reported.

According to indigenous in the region the death of the whales begun when Ghana begun crude oil production in 2010.

Though the EPA has denied any link between the deaths of the whales and oil and gas exploration activities, it says it will conduct more research to ascertain if the drilling of oil of the coast of Ghana has any links to the deaths of the whales.

Ghana is a signatory to a number of international conventions which bind the country to protect whales in its territorial waters.