A clause in the proposed Petroleum Exploration and Production (E&P) Law that will make it mandatory for the disclosure of the identities of people with a stake in oil contracts and blocks has been widely lauded.

Panelists on Ghana Connect on Joy FM Friday, all agree that the Beneficial Ownership Disclosure will improve transparency in the extractive sector and provide a framework for accountability in the oil and gas industry.

The E&P bill came back to parliament on June 16, after it was withdrawn for an amendment to reflect global developments in the oil and gas industry.

If passed the E&P bill will determine if Ghana’s multibillion-dollar oil industry will become a curse or a blessing.

However, a central clause in the bill, the Beneficial Ownership Disclosure, has been touted as a groundbreaker will make it mandatory for government to disclose the true identities of people hiding behind oil contracts and oil blocks.

Executive Director of energy think tank, Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Bauchi, said the current system for acquiring a stake in oil contracts and oil blocks impedes transparency in the sector.

He said per the existing framework if two parties are interested in the same oil block, for instance, the party that expressed interest late does not have the opportunity to even pursue its interest until the first party has gone through the process and been rejected.

“If you are not rejected it is your terms that is sustained,” he said.

Other contributors on the show include the National Resource Governance Institute and a Member of Parliament on the Mines and Energy Committee, Samuel Bekoe.

Click on audio for full audio of the discussion.