The discoveries made in 2007 at two offshore sites—West Cape Three Points and Deepwater Tano (now known as the Jubilee Fields)—heralded a seismic shift in the history of Ghanaian oil exploration. Estimates of oil reserves range from 800 million to 1.8 billion barrels of light sweet crude. Most believe these numbers do not represent the sum of Ghana’s oil reserves; further exploration projects are leading the government to theorize that number might reach 5 billion by 2015. This story is well known. Yet despite the fact that Ghana’s familiarity with the extractive industries stretches back to its ancient empire, the impact the current hydrocarbon boom will have on the nation remains difficult to predict.