Emerita Professor Elizabeth Schandorf
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has stressed the need for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the National Petroleum Commission (NPC) to intensify the audit of development and production costs in the Tweneboa Enyenra Ntomme (TEN) oil field and other oil producing fields.
According to PIAC, the development and production costs continue to be significantly high in the TEN fields while production remains low by more than three million barrels.
This was contained in the 2023 PIAC report on the management and use of Petroleum Revenue.
Highlighting the findings in the report at a media engagement in Takoradi, Chairperson of PIAC, Emerita Professor Elizabeth Schandorf, said there was a decline in oil production for the fourth consecutive year.
“Production of the commodity dropped from 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to 48.25 million barrels in 2023 representing an annual average decline of 9.2 percent”, she indicated.
She said, “the total proceeds from the Jubilee Oil Holdings Limited (JOHL) lifting received in 2023 amounting to $70,456.93 were not paid into the Heritage Fund for the second consecutive year”.
The report also pointed out that Surface Rentals owed by International Oil Companies remained high at $2,738,365.29 at the end of 2023.
On allocations and utilisation of Petroleum Revenues, the PIAC report observed that since 2011, the Annual Budget Funding had been guided by a medium term plan as against a long term national development plan.
The report said the retention of the current cap of $100 on the Ghana Stabilisation Fund for the year 2023 did not follow the stipulated formula in the Legislative Instrument since a proper application should have returned a cap of $581.05 instead.
Participants questioned PIAC on the implementation status of its recommendations made since its inception.
The journalists could not fathom why PIAC still lacked the power to bite defaulting entities, individuals and assemblies in the management of allotted petroleum revenues for projects.
They said though 62 recommendations had been projected since PIAC’s inception, only 37 had been implemented by relevant agencies.
They, therefore, called for strong alliance between PIAC and the state investigative bodies to have PIAC’s recommendations duly investigated and actions taken.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi