Image: The Presidency Republic of Ghana
Ghana officially launched its first oil and gas licensing round on Monday.
The licensing round forms part of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) 2016 manifesto to ensure transparency in the country’s oil and gas sector.
Speaking at the launch of the oil and gas licensing round in Accra, President Nana Akufo-Addo said that his administration had implemented several measures over the last year to improve the exploration of oil and gas in the country and increase oil revenue for the state.
“It is in this same spirit, present in the current NPP government, that has led to the realization of a number of successes in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector since January 2017. Some of these include the establishment of a petroleum register launched earlier this year to allow the public access to petroleum agreements, licenses, permits and authorizations, with the view of enhancing transparency in the management of the petroleum sector,” he said.
As the country works to increase its reserves and improve production, it is making notable transformations that will contribute significantly to economic transformation.
Looking to the future, the president announced the launch of the Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity Program, which aims to encourage local participation in the country’s oil and gas value chain.
Further, he added that government was working to examine the current state of the industry to make sufficient changes that will be beneficial to sector development.
“To accelerate further exploration activity, I have charged the Ministry of Energy to review critically existing operations in the industry with the view to determining oil fields that are sub-optimal,” he explained.
Ghana currently produces 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) which is led by the Jubilee field which contributes 100,000 bpd.
