Oil and gas service providers have been asked to petition the Central Bank to address the challenge they have with a law which prohibits them from receiving payments for their services in foreign currency.

The Ghana Oil and Gas  Service Providers Association says the law which restricts them from receiving payments for services rendered in foreign currency makes it difficult for them to sustain their operations.

The GOGSPA made this disclosure to Joy Business on the sidelines of a workshop on Local Content organized by the Petroleum Commission.

Members say they obtain their supplies in foreign currency for which reason they should be allowed to charge in dollars, pounds sterling or euros.

However, Chairman of Parliaments select Committee on Mines and Energy Dr. Kwabena Donkor tells Joy Business there were good reasons for the enactment of that legislation.

“It’s an existing regulation in our books as a country that we do not pay for goods and services in dollars. The Bank of Ghana did this in reaction to complaints from the Petroleum Commission where landlords were forcibly demanding payment for rent from International Oil Companies in dollars.”

The former Chief of the Petroleum Commission stressed “the nation must benefit from its resources. If GOGSPA have implementation challenges, they should dialogue with Bank of Ghana, the Energy Ministry and the Ministry of Finance”.