The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, GNPC, has bemoaned what it describes as the unnecessary delays in gaining approval from the Ghana Procurement Authority for oil exploration in the Volta basin.
In a remark Thursday July, 2017 at the commissioning of the FPSO J.A Kufuor to begin formal exploration on the Sankofa_Gye Nyame Oil and Gas field, the CEO of GNPC, Dr. Kofi Koduah Sarpong impressed on President Akufo-Addo to intervene.
According to him, if the challenge persist, the schedule for completion of all exploration works by mid-2019 will be distorted.
“I’d like to appeal to the President to use the Executive power to give us the necessary approval to overcome the procurement challenges currently delaying the project,” he appealed.
“The next 18 months will see more exploration activities in our quest to discover hydrocarbon in the Voltaian basin which covers Eastern, Volta, Northern and Brong Ahafo regions. It constitutes about 40 percent of the national landmass. This is a potential game changer in Ghana’s oil and gas sector,” he added.
A 2016 Annual Petroleum Revenue Management report by Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PAIC) said there was a 13.7% decline in crude oil production in 2016 compared to 2015.
The figure dropped from about 37 to 32 million barrels between 2015 and 2016.
Oil revenue equally dropped by 38% between 2015 and 2016, according to PIAC.
The amount declined from 396.17 million dollars in 2015 to 247.18 million dollars in 2016.
The Sankofa-Gye Nyame field
The commissioned Sankofa-Gye Nyame Oil rig is starting production three months ahead of schedule and it is estimated to produce 50,000 barrels of oil per day. Also it will commence the production of gas in the second quarter of 2018.
