The Deputy Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan Mensah, reaffirmed government’s commitment to resetting the oil and gas sector and positioning it as a key driver of economic growth, emphasizing that transparency and stakeholder collaboration.
The revelation was made by the Director of the Upstream Petroleum Sector at the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Dr Callistus Nero, on behalf of the Deputy Minister at the launch of the 2023 Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) Report in Accra.
He explained that the Ministry is taking pragmatic steps to address challenges highlighted in the 2022 Oil and Gas Sector Report, particularly issues surrounding gas aggregatorship.
He revealed that a ministerial committee has reviewed the country’s upstream policy and legislations and proposed solutions, which are currently under consideration by the relevant authorities.
He also revealed that, Supermajor oil producing companies are knocking on the doors of Ghana to invest in the country’s upstream petroleum sector,
According to Dr Nero, the renewed investor interest in Ghana’s oil and gas sector is being driven by ongoing policy and legislative reforms aimed at improving governance, ensuring regulatory certainty and to create a more competitive fiscal regime.
“Already, the proposed reforms are beginning to make an impact as some supermajor oil producing companies are knocking on our doors for business, giving us the conviction that the situation will even get better when the reforms are finally approved,” he stated.
Dr Nero noted that the reforms are expected to help arrest Ghana’s oil production decline and boost the country’s reserves, while restoring investor confidence in the sector.
In the short to medium term, government has also secured major financial commitments from existing operators to augment production.
He disclosed that the State has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with partners in the Jubilee and TEN fields for an additional US$2 billion investment, while partners in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) fields have committed a further US$1.5 billion.
“These and other interventions will keep the industry supporting the economy while long-term measures are pursued,” Dr Nero said.
