Reverse decline in crude production, PIAC urges

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has advised government and relevant regulatory bodies in Ghana’s petroleum sector to take appropriate steps to reverse the decline in crude production in existing fields and ensure investments in unexploited fields.

The advice, captured as one of several recommendations in PIAC’s 2023 annual report was given in the wake of observed consistent decline in the production of crude from 2019.

Crude oil production according to the PIAC 2023 annual report declined for the fourth consecutive year in 2023 dropping from a high of 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to 48.25 million barrels in 2023 representing an annual average decline of 9.2 percent.

The decline is coupled with the fact that the country has failed in the past six years to sign a new petroleum agreement.  According to PIAC the last time an agreement was signed was in 2018.

PIAC in its 2022 report noted the need for Ghana to speed up the sustainable development of its petroleum resources to reverse the decline in petroleum production through the attraction of new investors as well as early completion of ongoing projects.

The Committee had said that production from the  Tweneboa Enyenra Ntomme Oil Field (TEN ) oil fields had witnessed a sharp decline from 2020 to 2023 due mainly to subsurface challenges.

Meanwhile the 2023 report disclosed that there were no drilling activities in the TEN, SGN and Cape three point

 For the Sankofa Gye-Nyame (SGN) field, the marginal decline was attributed mainly to the natural field decline after attaining peak production. Thus, the decline of total oil production in Ghana is mainly attributable to the rapid unexpected production decline of the TEN field.

New wells

On the Jubilee Field, two new wells J61-P and J63-P came online in July 2023 to augment the overall field production. The J66-P well was brought online in September 2023 to complete the Jubilee southeast project expansion work scope which resulted in a peak production rate of 100,950.60 bbl/d.

Developments in the investment climate in the upstream industry

Several companies approached the Ministry of Energy in 2023 expressing interest in various opportunities in the upstream industry. Among these companies was Planet One Oil and Gas Limited, which, in February 2024, acquired stakes in the Deepwater Cape Three Points (DWCTP) Block to partner with GOIL Upstream Limited to undertake the remaining obligations of the contractor following the exit of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ghana (Deepwater) Limited.