Participants demand effective laws for the oil sector

Kumasi, March 16, GNA - Participants at a forum in Kumasi to discuss the management of the expected revenue from the nation's petroleum resources, have called for stringent and effective legal framework to prevent looting by the oil companies.

They said the laws should be strong enough to make it mandatory for oil companies to properly account for their daily production to aid accurate assessment and maximize government's revenue. Participants included political party representatives, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, experts from academia, school children and heads of government's institutions.

The forum was part of a nationwide effort to seek the views of Ghanaians on how to manage the revenue that would accrue from the oilfields. Forum contributors made reference to a clause in the mining law that guarantees an initial five-year tax exemption for mining companies operating in the country and indicated that companies often abused the clause. They said such mistakes must not be repeated with the oil exploitation. Participants further suggested the establishment of a regulatory authority to supervise and monitor the activities of the oil companies. Mr Richard Addo Darko, Geophysics at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), said Ghana now had five major fields, which had oil in commercial quantities.

He said the jubilee field, which had been developed and ready for production has about 800 million barrels with an upside potential of 1.5 billion barrels of light sweet crude oil. About 280 million barrels of oil is expected to be produced at the Jubilee Field during the first phase of production with daily production put at 120,000 barrels.

Mr Darko said contrary to speculations that Ghana has been cheated, the country would receive 38,000 barrels from each 100,000 barrels of oil produced every day.

The local content and participation would ensure that majority of Ghanaians were involved in the oil production activities. Dr Joe Amoako-Tuffuor, Advisor to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said the broad consultations were to ensure that Ghana derived maximum benefits from its oil. He said looking at the recommendations and suggestions from the public, Ghana could be a pacesetter in the way oil revenue was used in Africa. Mr Kofi Opoku Manu, Ashanti Regional Minister, called for non-partisan approach to the oil revenue management debate to ensure that all sectors benefited.