The 2022 Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) annual report, has revealed that Ghana's crude oil production has been declining for three consecutive years.
It said from a volume of 71,439,585 barrels produced in 2019, it declined to 66,926,806 barrels in 2020, representing 6.32 per cent.
It said the production had further declined to 55,050,391 barrels in 2021, representing 17.75 per cent, and then to 51,756,481 barrels in 2022 representing 5.98 per cent.
According to the report launched in Accra on Thursday, to provide independent assessment on the management and use of petroleum revenue, it said the average decline over the three-year period was 10 per cent.
The Chairman of PIAC, Professor Kwame Adom-Frimpong, who disclosed these called on the government to direct the disbursement of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) intended for the Agenda 111 to the Ministry of Health under the health component of the Education and Health Priority Area.
He said Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) needed to intensify its efforts in the collection of Surface Rental arrears, particularly the amount owed by the four contractors who's Petroleum Agreements were terminated in 2021.
"Having rightly selected industrialisation as a priority area, the government should show more commitment by investing more in industrial development," he said.
"The Minister for Finance should comply with the relevant provisions of L.I 2381 in determining the cap on the Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF) in order that the Fund would be able to cushion the economy in times of unanticipated petroleum increase" he said.
Professor Adom-Frimpong called on the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)to focus on its core mandate, whilst the government desist from borrowing or requesting GNPC to make advances and guarantees on behalf of government and its agencies.
"Despite calls by PIAC that revenues of Jubilee Oil Holding Limited (JOHL) constitute petroleum revenue and should be paid into the Petroleum Holding Fund, GNPC disagrees and continues to use lifting proceeds of JOHL for other expenditures,"
He said "Although GNPC generates some revenue from the sale of processed gas, it has been unable to settle its indebtedness for raw gas supplied because of the zeroed policy introduced by government to subsidise its portion of the carried and participation interest of the gas."
