The Member of Parliament for Ellembelle has raised an alarming concern about the declining production from Ghana’s existing oil fields.
According to him, the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s failure to add a single production field in the past seven years is endangering Ghana’s oil sector.
Citing a report of the Public Interest and Accountability Commission (PIAC) during an interview in Parliament on Tuesday, the Deputy Minority leader emphasized the necessity of replenishing the declining oil fields.
The Mi underscored the urgency for the current government to focus on developing the Pecan field, which has been delayed despite extensive rhetoric on the matter.
Hon. Kofi Buah criticized the delays in the development of the Pecan field, citing Aker’s involvement and their failure to deliver on promised production fields after obtaining concessions from Parliament.
President Akufo-Addo, he said, during his recent visit to the Greater Jubilee field, erroneously believed it was a new field
A recent visit by President Akufo-Addo to the Greater Jubilee field, which was initially thought to be a new field, turned out to be an existing one.
He said, “That is Jubilee East Development, which is part of the Greater Jubilee but the President does not know.”
“So it is very important that we look at how manages oil resources. More importantly, we should make sure we use the money for big projects so that when the oil is finished, we can remember that oil revenue was used for these big-ticket items.”
“Unfortunately, we are not doing that,” he added.
Mr. Buah noted that the PIAC report also revealed the Minister for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta is only applying the ABFA to support his budget piecemeal every year and this, he said, must change.
The report, he said, also disclosed that most of the projects that the Minister claimed the funds have been used for cannot be found in the named districts.