Apr 16, 2014 at 3:56pm
Ghana's Oil And Gas
NEWS COMMENTARY ON GHANA'S OIL AND GAS
Ghanaians greeted the discovery of oil with elation when the official announcement was made at the Castle, Osu. The President at the time, John Agyekum Kufuor, so optimistic about the prospects called the discovery a 'shot in the arm' that could in his words propel Ghana to the status of an 'African Tiger' in a few years. The national euphoria
continued as policy makers, civil society groups, and analysts raised concerns regarding the challenges of managing Ghana's oil and gas resources. In fact, Ghana's oil windfall is modest by global or even regional standards.
Industry projections put the country's overall oil-resource potential at about 4.5billion barrels. The Jubilee field, which is operated by a consortium led by the Anglo-Irish Tullow Oil and Texas-based Kosmos Energy, has proven reserves of 800million
barrels of high-grade oil. Ghana's current reserves are, therefore, equal to only a tiny fraction of Nigeria's 37.2 billion barrels and Angola's 10billion barrels. That notwithstanding a country of about 25 million people with GDP per capita of about US$ 2,500 per year makes the available resources in the petrochemical industry significant.
The IMF has estimated that revenue from the Jubilee field alone will average around $1billion a year for the next twenty years. This is about the same amount that Ghana seeks as development assistance
annually from the so called western nations. It is true that Ghana is not new to resource wealth. In fact, the country has depended heavily on proceeds from the export of resources such as gold, timber, cocoa and other minerals since early colonial period yet her development
records have not matched its resource potentials.
Conscious of the wealth in the nation's land, many Ghanaians hardly make two decent meals a day, with politicians over the years calling on the people to
tighten their belts. The advent of oil brought normally splintered
civil society into collective action working together with the media, Parliament and many other identifiable groups with the ultimate aim of ensuring effective management of Ghana's hydrocarbons.
The net result is the Civil Society Platform on oil and gas which has over the years
received technical support from Oxfam America, the Revenue Watch
Institute and the World Bank. According to Prof. Gyimah-Boadi of
CDD-Ghana the involvement of organized civil society and the media throughout the legislative process made the development of the initial legal framework for oil governance in Ghana exceptionally participatory and transparent.
The influence of the Oil and Gas Platform is reflective in the final legislative outcomes. Notable provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act which was passed and signed into law in 2011, include clear procedures for custody and
transfer of petroleum receipts between the central bank, as designated custodian, and the government; the mandatory annual transfer of 30 percent of total petroleum revenues into separate stabilization and future savings fund, and the establishment of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee.
Despite all these, details of the oil and gas contracts remain hidden to the public. Again Government has contracted other oil-backed loans, notably the controversial three billion dollar- loan from the China Development Bank secured by
fifteen years worth of oil revenue. This is against the provisions in the Petroleum Revenue Management Law. These decisions must be controlled before they create problems for the country's democratic development. One will therefore call on government to come out and
explain the amount of cedi equivalent that Ghana has raked in from oil and how the revenue has been disbursed. Though the ministry of finance has continuously published details of what the law mandates it, it is common knowledge that most people feel disappointed that with oil and gas in their midst their living standards continue to
worsen by the day.
We must not sit and watch the country's oil suffer the same fate as gold and Timber did. Ghanaians deserve better and must be given exactly that.
BY GEORGE ASEKERE,A JOURNALIST.
Ghanaians greeted the discovery of oil with elation when the official announcement was made at the Castle, Osu. The President at the time, John Agyekum Kufuor, so optimistic about the prospects called the discovery a 'shot in the arm' that could in his words propel Ghana to the status of an 'African Tiger' in a few years. The national euphoria
continued as policy makers, civil society groups, and analysts raised concerns regarding the challenges of managing Ghana's oil and gas resources. In fact, Ghana's oil windfall is modest by global or even regional standards.
Industry projections put the country's overall oil-resource potential at about 4.5billion barrels. The Jubilee field, which is operated by a consortium led by the Anglo-Irish Tullow Oil and Texas-based Kosmos Energy, has proven reserves of 800million
barrels of high-grade oil. Ghana's current reserves are, therefore, equal to only a tiny fraction of Nigeria's 37.2 billion barrels and Angola's 10billion barrels. That notwithstanding a country of about 25 million people with GDP per capita of about US$ 2,500 per year makes the available resources in the petrochemical industry significant.
The IMF has estimated that revenue from the Jubilee field alone will average around $1billion a year for the next twenty years. This is about the same amount that Ghana seeks as development assistance
annually from the so called western nations. It is true that Ghana is not new to resource wealth. In fact, the country has depended heavily on proceeds from the export of resources such as gold, timber, cocoa and other minerals since early colonial period yet her development
records have not matched its resource potentials.
Conscious of the wealth in the nation's land, many Ghanaians hardly make two decent meals a day, with politicians over the years calling on the people to
tighten their belts. The advent of oil brought normally splintered
civil society into collective action working together with the media, Parliament and many other identifiable groups with the ultimate aim of ensuring effective management of Ghana's hydrocarbons.
The net result is the Civil Society Platform on oil and gas which has over the years
received technical support from Oxfam America, the Revenue Watch
Institute and the World Bank. According to Prof. Gyimah-Boadi of
CDD-Ghana the involvement of organized civil society and the media throughout the legislative process made the development of the initial legal framework for oil governance in Ghana exceptionally participatory and transparent.
The influence of the Oil and Gas Platform is reflective in the final legislative outcomes. Notable provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act which was passed and signed into law in 2011, include clear procedures for custody and
transfer of petroleum receipts between the central bank, as designated custodian, and the government; the mandatory annual transfer of 30 percent of total petroleum revenues into separate stabilization and future savings fund, and the establishment of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee.
Despite all these, details of the oil and gas contracts remain hidden to the public. Again Government has contracted other oil-backed loans, notably the controversial three billion dollar- loan from the China Development Bank secured by
fifteen years worth of oil revenue. This is against the provisions in the Petroleum Revenue Management Law. These decisions must be controlled before they create problems for the country's democratic development. One will therefore call on government to come out and
explain the amount of cedi equivalent that Ghana has raked in from oil and how the revenue has been disbursed. Though the ministry of finance has continuously published details of what the law mandates it, it is common knowledge that most people feel disappointed that with oil and gas in their midst their living standards continue to
worsen by the day.
We must not sit and watch the country's oil suffer the same fate as gold and Timber did. Ghanaians deserve better and must be given exactly that.
BY GEORGE ASEKERE,A JOURNALIST.
No comments:
Post a Comment