According to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) of Ghana, the country’s crude oil production rose by 10.7% year-over-year in the first half of 2024, reversing a five-year decline in production.
In Ghana, Africa’s top producer of gold, crude oil production started in 2010 but reached a five-year low in 2023 as a result of production drops in existing fields, essentially wiping out the gains from new wells.
According to PIAC, a state agency charged with overseeing the industry, oil production increased to 24.86 million barrels by June 2024, while it fell 13.2% during the same period in 2023.
Tullow Oil’s Jubilee South East (JSE) project, which started production in late 2023, was the main driver of the increase.
In Jubilee, the nation’s first oil field, where production peaked, the JSE is a recent discovery.
“We are hopeful that the first-half output increment in 2024 will be sustained, thereby reversing the annual oil production declines,” Isaac Dwamena, coordinator of PIAC Secretariate, told Reuters.
The increased oil output also drove a 56% year-over-year increase in petroleum revenue, reaching USD 840 million by June, according to PIAC’s half-year report.
Approximately 7% of Ghana’s government income comes from petroleum, according to PIAC. At 139.86 million standard cubic feet by June, gas production also increased by 7.5%.
Dwamena emphasised that Ghana’s petroleum industry faces both technical and natural challenges.
According to Ghanaian law, petroleum companies must give the state free and carry interest in at least 12% of each project.
However, Dwamena pointed out that this requirement can be expensive for investors.
“The state can take 15%, 20% carried interest based on negotiations, and that has been a disincentive,” he said, as reported by Zawya.
The West African nation intends to sell more exploration rights in order to increase production, avoid stranded fossil fuels, and raise money for its energy transition.
Currently, Eni, Tullow, Kosmos, and PetroSA are among the oil companies that operate in Ghana.