Emefa Hardcastle
The upstream petroleum sector recorded 20% growth in investment of $870m in 2025, from $725m in 2024 showing renewed investor confidence after six years of slow growth.
Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission, Emefa Hardcastle, who disclosed this at the launch of the 2025 Investor Report in Accra, said despite declining production volumes, government also earned $770m in revenue in 2025 in the upstream petroleum sector.
“This reinforces the upstream petroleum sector’s potential for continued growth. The sector also maintained its position as the 3rd leading exporter contributing significantly to Ghana’s Balance of payment,” she stated.
The Chief Executive said Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector continued to play an important role in the country’s economic development, contributing significantly to government revenues, foreign exchange earnings, employment creation and infrastructure development.
She noted that since the discovery and production of oil and gas from the Jubilee, the TEN and Sankofa Gye Nyame fields, the industry had remained a key contributor to the economy reinforcing the sector’s prospects for continued growth and economic transformation.
Madam Hardcastle, however, cautioned that the sector must navigate a rapidly changing global energy landscape characterised by energy transition commitments, climate concerns, and technological advancements and increasing competition for investment capital.
She stressed the need for the country to strengthen its position as an attractive investment destination through a stable fiscal regime, transparent regulatory frameworks and efficient licensing processes.
She disclosed that partners in the Jubilee and TEN fields had committed $2bn towards further development activities aimed at sustaining oil production, increasing gas output and reducing the Jubilee gas price by approximately 18 per cent.
According to the Chief Executive, the reduction, would translate into about $300m in savings for the country stating that the plan of development for the project had already been approved by the Minister for Energy and Green Transition.
She said the Offshore Cape Three Points partners including Eni, Vitol and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) had, through a Memorandum of Intent, pledged $1.5bn towards increasing gas exports from 270m standard cubic feet to 350m standard cubic feet per day while also supporting the development of the Eban-Akoma discoveries and two new exploration ventures.
Madam Hardcastle said petroleum investment should not be measured only by the capital inflows but also by the jobs created, technologies transferred, businesses developed, infrastructure established and industrial capabilities built.
She added that the upstream petroleum industry had strong linkages with engineering, fabrication, logistics, finance, insurance, information technology, manufacturing and professional services if properly harnessed could become an important catalyst for broader industrialisation.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah