Ministry ensures transparency in oil sector

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum is set to take measures to ensure transparency in the oil and gas sector.

The measures include the establishment of an Independent Information Centre to provide information on oil and gas, as well as the training of journalists and parliamentarians on oil and gas under the Oil and Gas Capacity Building Project (OGCBP).

According to the ministry, owing to the importance of the oil revenue to the nation, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ETTI), which has been operational in the mining sector since 2003, has also been extended to the oil and gas sector in a bid to ensure transparency and accountability in the reporting and utilization of oil revenue.

The sector Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah stated this in an address read on his behalf at a stakeholders’ forum on Petroleum Revenue Management in Takoradi. It was on the theme, “Two years into Petroleum Revenue Management; Achievements, Challenges and Lesson.”

He indicated that the Ministry of Finance would also publish all oil production data in the national dailies and submit to parliament an annual report on the petroleum funds.

The minister noted that with significant discoveries and commencement of oil production in 2010, the public demand for information and analysis of the sector had grown exponentially.

Hon. Kofi-Buah revealed that the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) responded to the public demand by regularly informing and engaging various stakeholders on most aspects of its operations that are of interest to the public.

“The Ministry wishes to assure the public that it remains relentless in ensuring that GNPC remains compliant with its constitutional and statutory transparency and accountability reporting obligations,” he added.

The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Alfred Ekow Gyan, appealed to communities along the catchment areas of the oil and gas industries to clearly demarcate land boundaries, establish rightful ownership and document them. This, he said, would help forestall some land litigations.