It's irrational not to back GNPC to increase ownership of oil blocks now – Dr Manteaw to his CSO colleagues

Chairman of the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, Dr Steve Manteaw has cautioned his CSO colleagues against killing GNPC’s ambition for Ghana to explore and produce its own oil.

“We will be behaving irrationally if we don’t support GNPC to increase its stake now” Dr. Manteaw stated on Joy FM's Newsfile.

The CSO front appears divided with some pushing for parliament to investigate GNPC for going ahead to increase its stake in offshore blocks run by Aker Energy.

Dr. Manteaw, an authoritative voice within the civil society space was categorical ‘’we don’t need a parliamentary investigation. It is just lack of information.’’

The Executive Secretary of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Benjamin Boakye who was also on newsfile had disclosed how GNPC had arranged for the independent valuers to engage CSO’s to explain how they valued the assets and also take questions.

Dr. Manteaw, commended GNPC for the openness and transparency with which they have approached discussions with civil society organisations.

He warned that unless GNPC is allowed to proceed with the arrangement it will fail to build its own capacity to explore and produce Ghana’s oil themselves.

Parliament on Friday approved the concept for GNPC and Ghana to own more of our oil and gas resources and to develop the capacity to explore and produce our own oil and gas.

The approval will allow GNPC to own, for the first time since it was established in 1983 sigficant stakes in offshore oil blocks.
Ghana’s interest in the Aker Energy and AGM blocks will increase to 47% and 85% respectively.

GNPC has argued in its proposal to parliament that thenew ownership structure will provide it and Ghana a firm ground to face the emerging energy transition in a well-prepared3 manner and also create significant value for the benefit of the Ghanaian people.

Once finalized, GNPC Explorco, the commercial wing, would also become a joint operator with Aker Energy in both blocks through a new joint operator company, providing an opportunity for GNPC to acquire operatorship capacity to enable it to play a major role as an Exploration and Production company. 

The Executive Secretary of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Benjamin Boakye had raised questions with the GNPC’s renewed drive to increase its stake.

Speaking on NewsFile he said ‘’we need to have a strategic path that allows the GNPC to buld the capacity that it wants to have which we agree with and I am saying that we have supprted that process for the past ten years and it has not yieded the desired results. So we need to evaluate that’’.

But Dr. Manteaw insist the move away from fossil fuels which has seen the likes of ExxonMobil abandon its oil field in Ghana presents a ‘’dire situation’’ that would require an immediate intervention such as has been proposed to allow GNPC to increase Ghana’s ownership in the two blocks operated by Aker Energy. 

Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Agyapa Messer who is also the MP for Sekondi, clarified that what parliament approved on Friday was just the intention to continue discussions that will ultimately give Ghanaians fullcontrol of our oil and gas resources.

He criticised some CSOs for suggesting that parliament had approved an agreement.

Source: myjoyonline