Cape Town (Platts)--15Apr2010/609 am EDT/1009 GMT

African countries are expected to generate about $200 billion in revenue from oil production in the next 10 years as new oil fields open up throughout the Gulf of Guinea, according to a senior Ghanaian government official.

Oil was expected to generate the largest inflow of revenue in the continent's history, and 10 times more than annual funds provided through Western donors in aid for developmental projects, Ghana's minister for Women's Affairs, Juliana Azumah-Mensah, was quoted as saying by the Ghana News Agency Thursday.

Ghana aims to start pumping 120,000 b/d from the Jubilee field operated by the UK-listed Tullow Oil in 2010 and perhaps double that a few years later, becoming the latest to join the club of African oil exporters.

The government has high hopes that the country's oil revenues will help accelerate its growth and equally hopes to avoid the pitfalls of the 'resource curse' experienced by other African oil-producing nations stemming from corruption and uneven distribution of energy wealth.

"Oil find can deliver some benefits, however, with the high prevalence of corruption in the Ghanaian society, Ghana cannot be assured of such benefits, if certain preventive measures are not put in place to regulate the industry," the minister said.

The minister said as part of the government's measures to enforce transparency in the oil and gas industry, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning had embarked on a nationwide public consultation on a draft proposal on how best to manage oil revenues over the longer term..

The International Monetary Fund sees Ghana's economy expanding by 4 to 5% this year, boosted by investments linked to the offshore oil sector.

--Jacinta Moran, jacinta_moran@platts.com