Ghana records 82.4% petroleum revenue increase - PIAC report

Ghana recorded a total petroleum revenue of US$1.43 billion in 2022, representing an 82.4 per cent increase of US$783.3 million achieved in 2021.

The 2022 revenue figure, the highest for a single year since the inception of petroleum production, was realised from Carried Participating Interest (CAPI), which amounted to $733.8 million, Corporate Income Tax (CIT) of US$388.9 million, Income on Petroleum Holding Fund that generated US$2.4 million and Surface Rental earnings of US$687,759.

The country has so far cumulatively earned US$ 8.79 billion between 2011 and 2022 from 560,194,571(barrels) bbls oil produced between 2010 to 2022.

These findings were highlighted in the 2022 Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) Annual Report on the Use and Management of Petroleum Revenue in the country.

The report attributed the increased revenues to favourable international crude oil prices which were higher than estimated prices.

Despite the increase in revenue however, PIAC observed a decline in annual production from 55,050,391 bbls in 2021 to 51,756,481 bbls in 2022, showing a 5.98 per cent decrease.

The committee also observed that Surface Rental arrears continue to rise as there had been an increase from US$2.58 million in 2021 to US$2.77 million in 2022.

“65 percent (US$1.80 million) of which is owed by four (4) contractors whose Petroleum Agreements were terminated in 2021. Efforts made by the Ghana Revenue Authority to retrieve the arrears are yet to yield the desired results” the report indicated.

In the 2022 Mid-year Fiscal Policy Review Statement, the Government revised the budgeted petroleum revenue for the year from US$1 billion stated in the 2022 Budget Statement to US$1.52 billion, representing a 51.23 percent upward adjustment.

The revised budgeted Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), an amount used to finance the budget was US$782.88 million with the Ghana Petroleum Funds (GPF) projected at US$335.52 million, an increase of 64.68 percent.

An amount of US$335.7 million was disbursed to the national oil company, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for the year 2022.

The ABFA received a disbursement of US$526.3 million, representing 67.23 percent of the revised projected ABFA, and a 239.16 per cent rise above the total ABFA receipt for 2021.

The Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF) and the Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF), which make up the GPFs received an amount of US$562,268,874.95, representing an increase of 632.56 per cent over the 2021 actual receipt of US$76.75 million and 167.58 per cent of the 2022 revised budgeted allocation.

“For the year 2022, the GSF received an amount of US$387.8 million and the GHF -US$174.5 million representing a ratio of 69:31.

“This complies with the ratio of a maximum of 70 percent to GSF and a minimum of 30 percent to GHF stipulated by the Act for the allocation of revenue to the two funds,” PIAC noted.