Co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr Steve Manteaw, has called on the government to bring some predictability to the regulations governing the operations of companies in the oil sector.

According to him, industry players have had growing concerns about the frequent changes in regulations that disrupt their planning and deter investment.

Dr Manteaw highlighted that these regulatory issues are affecting the growth of the sector and driving away oil companies who find the conditions unfavourable.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Dr Manteaw said, “Every year we change the rules. We introduce new fiscal items, which then disrupt the financial planning of these companies.

"Again, there's been a complaint about the application of our rules rather capriciously. I think these are matters that are known to the government.”

He pointed out that although many oil companies have stability clauses, new rules are still enforced, forcing them to comply.

“I know a lot of them have resisted and continue to resist. But it creates a certain discomfort for them and, therefore, deters their appetite for investments,” Dr. Manteaw added.

Despite efforts by the Energy Ministry and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to attract investment from across the world, this regulatory unpredictability deters potential investors, he said.

This comes after a PIAC report disclosed that crude oil production in Ghana declined for the fourth consecutive year in 2023.

Throwing light on happenings in the upstream petroleum sector, the report indicated that crude oil production reduced "from a high of 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to 48.25 million barrels in 2023."

This represents an annual average decline of 9.2%.

Of the 48 million barrels, 63% came from the Jubilee Fields, 23% from SGN and 14% from TEN.

"For the year 2023, a total of 48,247,036.61 barrels (bbls) was produced from the three producing fields; Jubilee – 30,444,217 bbls (63%); TEN - 6,716,278 bbls (14%) and SGN 11,086,541.61 bbls (23%)."

• Read More: Crude oil production dropped from 71.44m to 48.25m barrels in 2023 – PIAC Report

Meanwhile, Dr. Manteaw warned that if actions are not taken to remedy the situation, Ghana may not have an oil industry in the next 15 years.

“I know GNPC has been making efforts at attracting investments into our oil industry. But the investments have not been forthcoming. Sometimes I feel we are even just throwing money down the drain. The investments are not coming for obvious reasons.”

He cited ExxonMobil’s exit from Ghana’s oil industry due to the small size of exploration blocks and the insufficient quantity of oil discovered.

"If we had bigger blocks, then there are better prospects of finding oil in the right quantities. That would get the interest.”

Dr Mantaew added that the lack of adequate data in the right quality is also impacting Ghana’s chances of finding investors. Although the government is aware of this issue, not much has been done to remedy the situation, he said.

Furthermore, “We are in an era of energy transition, where the use of developed countries and the major oil companies are beginning to divest their interest from fossil fuel into renewable energy.

"Within the EU, for instance, a programme has been introduced called the EU Taxonomy Programme, which seeks to discourage investments in fossil fuels and encourage investments in renewable energy.”

“If you went to the EU to do roadshows, chances are that you would come home empty-handed. Indeed, that has been the case in some of the roadshows that have been embarked upon by the GNPC," he noted.

In light of these challenges, Dr Manteaw urged the government to provide regulatory predictability to companies in the country and to increase the sizes of exploration blocks to help improve production.