‘NDC contributed nothing to oil sector’ claim 'senseless' - Kofi Buah

Former Minister of Energy in the erstwhile Mahama administration, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah has rubbished claims that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) did not contribute to the growth of the oil sector stating categorically that, the NDC created the oil sector they are enjoying today.

Pushing the blame on the Akufo-Addo government for putting the oil upstream sector in a state of stagnation, Mr Buah professed that the NDC can pride itself of making 23 discoveries between 2013 and 2016.

He continued that before the ruling NPP took over the administration of the nation, the NDC had 6 drilling companies and three major FPSOs namely; FPSO Kufuor, FPSO Atta Mills, FPSO Kwame Nkrumah to increase Ghana’s oil production.

Making this assertion in Parliament Tuesday, February 25, 2020, the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle averred that “the good news is that the petroleum sector is a sector of records…it has it that the NDC in 2013 and 2016 drilled 38 oil wells and the kind of investment that went into those drilling was 2.2 billion dollars. That should tell you a lot about the active participation of major oil companies and how active our oil bases were….it is factually inaccurate that there were no drilling activities during that period 2013, 2016".

According to the minister, it was the NDC that established the Petroleum Commission with ACT 821 of the constitution to regulate the sector.

He pointed out that the government pushed for the Petroleum Management Act to be passed in parliament to make the sector accountable.

Mr Buah, therefore, alleged that the boom in the oil sector is as a result of the hard work the NDC exhibited in 2013 through to 2016 by saving money in the Heritage Fund.