- Ghana needs a well-defined pricing structure to expand gas infrastructure and guide investments and implementation in the industry.
- The country is fully exploiting its hydrocarbon resources for the shared economic prosperity of its citizens for energy transition.
The Ghana Upstream Petroleum Chamber Chief Executive, David Ampofo, has stressed the need to expand gas infrastructure. He said this would enhance domestic gas utilisation and bolster energy security in Ghana. According to him, despite the role of natural gas in Ghana’s energy landscape, its full potential remains untapped.
One of the key challenges, he highlighted, is the pressing need for a well-defined pricing structure for gas. Such clarity is essential for guiding investments, enabling efficient planning, and fostering coordinated implementation within the industry. The chief executive said this at the opening session of the ‘Ghana Oil and Gas Conference’ in Accra. He noted that increased cooperation between the industry and government is vital to achieving energy security through the gas sector.
“There is no business to be done if there is no agreed price for goods and services. Domestic gas supplies need harnessing, and some big decisions need to be made that enable the required investment to take place. Businesses operate within a policy framework that determines, to a large extent, how they thrive. The more detailed, predictable, and consistent government policy is, the better for industry. Oil and gas companies are keen to work with government to address industry constraints,” he added.
Also, the Minister of Energy, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, stressed the impact of the global push to transition to cleaner energy in the oil and gas industry. According to him, these constraints have led many International Oil Companies (IOCs) as well as international financial institutions to focus more on cleaner energy projects for security. He said, “The energy transition is increasingly influencing investments, and strategies are diverging. Funding for petroleum projects has become scarce, whereas that for clean energy is abundant.”
In a related development, the Energy minister underscored the need for Africa to use every energy resource at its disposal to benefit its people. The minister made this known while speaking at the 24th World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Calgary, Canada. Prempeh reiterated Ghana’s firm stance on fully exploiting its hydrocarbon resources for the shared economic prosperity of its citizens in the wake of the energy transition. He added that oil and gas exploration and production would continue in the next few decades to ensure natural gas availability, which is Africa’s transition fuel.