Media ought to demand disclosure of petroleum contracts

The media must request the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and other related institutions to disclose petroleum contracts to enhance accountability and transparency.

Ghanaian journalists were also asked to be vigilant on the management of the petroleum revenue in order to get the public well informed and to avoid corruption.

The programmes officer for the Friends of the Nation in charge of extractive industry, Mr. Solomon Ampofo, made the call at a capacity building workshop for media practitioners on Oil and Gas, organised by the NGO at Takoradi, on Wednesday.

He said the Petroleum Revenue Management Act provides a framework for the allocation, collection and management of petroleum revenue in responsible, transparent and accountable manner.

This is to ensure that Ghana’s petroleum resources are utilised judiciously to benefit the entire citizenry and not a few privileged people, he explained.

The Officer in charge of Natural Resources, Mr. Kyei Kwodwo Yamoah, said the management of the oil and gas would be a curse if regulatory bodies in the country overlooked the environmental impact of the oil industry.

He called for strict environmental assessment of the operations of the oil companies by the Environmental Protection Agency, and other regulatory authorities to avert oil spillage and pollution of the environment.

Mr. Yamoah recalled some incidents such as the death of whales and detection of seaweeds along the coastal lines near the Jubilee Oilfields as worrying and advocated the vigilance of all and sundry.

A Chief Programme Officer of the EPA, Mr. Shine Fiagome, assured the public that the Agency had the necessary expertise in monitoring the oil fields to avert pollution.

He said the EPA had been continuously building the capacity of its staff to ensure that the oil companies abide by best international practices.

Mr. Fiagome said the World Bank had approved a vessel for the Agency to mount surveillance on the Jubilee Oilfields.

He said the Norwegian Development Corporation had also promised to support the EPA to build a state-of-the-art laboratory in Sekondi for the testing of the sea to detect any pollution.**