Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Upstream Petroleum Chamber, David Ampofo, has urged government to respect the provisions and tenures of agreements with upstream petroleum sector players.
According to him, push by civil society organisations among others for government to review its agreements with the upstream players following their recording of large windfalls is premature and unbelievable.
He said the government has a duty to attract new investment into the sector if it expects to generate more revenue; hence premature reviews of contracts might give the country a bad reputation in the investor community.
“When I hear it I cannot believe it. You have to be in a position to do certain things. The market always dictates it. If really it is a matter of deciding that no this is what you want to do instead, go ahead. In the end, the market will tell you, either you get investors coming in and working on those new terms that you want or notice that nobody comes at all.
“And remember, we’re dealing with an asset that is not there forever. You’re here with me and we’re going through an energy transition. The thing that worries me is the risk that if Ghana is not careful, it can end up with what we call stranded assets,” he said.
He urged that government rather waits for the tenure of agreement to end before reviewing these contracts.
“When the time comes by all means do that. I’m saying when you have agreements they’re time bound, they have provisions, respect that. If the time comes to review an agreement by all means review it. But you don’t just get up and say ‘I have agreement with you and now I feel suddenly I’m not so happy so I want to review it.’ If the agreement makes provision for that by all means you can do it,” he said.
Latest Stories
-
Jennifer Kankam scores five against Tala’ea El Gaish in ZED FC’s big win in Egyptian league
9 mins -
You won’t start at Hearts of Oak – Charles Taylor tells Erling Haaland
21 mins -
People have lost patriotism, passion for the nation – Sulemana Braimah
39 mins -
You can’t use context of past elections to determine what will happen in December polls- Alan
1 hour -
2024 poll: Don’t vote for Mahama; he has nothing new to offer – Afenyo-Markin
1 hour -
Saglemi Housing Project: Government promises transparency in divestiture
2 hours -
I don’t want to deceive myself as a politician – Alan Kyerematen
2 hours -
We will continue to provide more financing for Ghana despite not reaching agreement with Eurobond holders – IMF
2 hours -
Economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana gradually improving – IMF
2 hours -
Ghana’s inflation to average 11.5% in 2025; policy rate expected to reduce sharply – IMF
3 hours -
Let’s prioritize research quality in higher education institutions for industrial growth-Prof. Nathaniel Boso
10 hours -
Herman Suede is set to release ‘How Dare You’ on April 24
14 hours -
Heal KATH: Kuapa Kokoo, Association of Garages donate 120k to support project
14 hours -
KNUST signs MOU with Valco Trust Fund, Bekwai Municipal Hospital to build student hostel
14 hours -
The influence Ronaldo has on people, Cadman Yamoah will have same on the next generation – Coach Goodwin
15 hours