Collins Adomako Mensah
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has cautioned the Mahama-led administration against what it describes as an attempt to take “undue credit” for the recent declaration of commerciality regarding the Eban-Akoma oil discovery by Eni Ghana.
Addressing the media in Parliament yesterday, Deputy Ranking Member on the Energy Committee, Collins Adomako Mensah, dismissed a July 4 statement issued by the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, which had hailed the development as a major milestone made possible by the leadership of Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor and the Mahama government’s commitment to Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector.
According to the Minority, the current administration’s claim to the oil discovery is misleading, considering the critical groundwork and approvals that were executed under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
“The Eban and Akoma discoveries were made under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration,” Mr. Adomako Mensah stated, adding, “Eni Ghana, with the approval of the Petroleum Commission during the NPP government, drilled the Akoma-1X well in 2019, with the discovery announced on May 9 of that year. Similarly, the Eban-1X well was drilled in July 2021, resulting in another significant find.”
He noted that the NPP government not only authorised the initial drilling but also facilitated a joint appraisal programme in July 2022, aimed at fast-tracking development and reducing the risk of stranded resources in the context of the global energy transition.
“The declaration of commerciality by Eni this year is the direct outcome of that appraisal process. It is therefore dishonest and disingenuous for the Ministry to now project this as a new success of the Mahama government,” he emphasised.
The Minority questioned how a government that has been in power for less than seven months could lay claim to discoveries rooted in prior years of exploration, policy direction, and regulatory clearance.
Mr. Adomako Mensah further defended the NPP’s record in the oil and gas sector, citing major discoveries such as Pecan South East in 2018 and Nyankom-1X in 2019 as legacies of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration.
“Our achievements in hydrocarbon development span from fiscal regime reforms under President Kufuor to key exploration milestones under President Akufo-Addo. It is unfortunate that the Mahama administration is attempting to rewrite this history for political gain,” he stated.
The Minority therefore urged the government to give credit where it is due and desist from politicising achievements that are the result of long-term national planning and policy continuity.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House