By Franklin Asare-Donkoh
An energy analyst has called for an urgent policy overhaul in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector following a sharp decline in crude oil receipts and overall petroleum revenues.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), Mr Benjamin Nsiah, raised concerns about falling production levels, weak investor interest and declining future cash flows.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM’s Citi Business News, Mr Nsiah said the latest official data point to one of the worst performances in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector in recent years.
Official figures show that crude oil lifting receipts fell sharply to $198.25m in the second half of 2025, down from $369.25m in the same period in 2024—a decline of more than 46%.
According to Mr Nsiah, Ghana’s total petroleum revenue declined from about $1.3bn in 2024 to $769m in 2025, representing a contraction of approximately 43%.
“The 2025 petroleum revenue represents one of the worst performances in our upstream sector, and the numbers reflect deeper structural challenges,” he said.
He attributed the downturn largely to reduced exploration and field development activities, which have dampened production and discouraged new investment.
“It is worrying and should be very troubling for us as players in the petroleum upstream. We need critical and intentional interventions to attract the investment required for exploration and development,” Mr Nsiah said.
The analyst argued that Ghana’s revenue challenges are increasingly driven by declining production volumes rather than fluctuations in global oil prices.
“Price may not be in our favour, but if we produce more, output will be in our favour. Even at stable prices, higher output brings in more revenue,” he explained.
Mr Nsiah noted that upstream output has fallen sharply over the past few years, from about 70 million barrels to around 35 million barrels, which he described as evidence of Ghana’s inability to attract substantial new investment since 2019.
To reverse the trend, he called for strong strategic leadership from the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, particularly in empowering the Petroleum Commission to review regulatory frameworks and investment strategies.
“The strategic vision must come from the ministry on how to equip the Petroleum Commission to revise regulatory practices that will entice investors into our upstream petroleum sector,” he said, describing the industry as “almost comatose”.
Mr Nsiah also warned that prolonged weakness in upstream performance could adversely affect the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), whose financial sustainability depends largely on petroleum revenues.
“GNPC’s main source of revenue comes from petroleum operations. If the sector is not performing well, it will affect its ability to meet cash calls and mobilise resources for exploration in the Volta Basin and other offshore activities,” he said.
Without renewed investment in well development and frontier exploration, Mr Nsiah warned that Ghana risks a downward spiral in production and state revenues.
“If we fail to develop our wells and explore for more oil, output will continue to decline. When output falls, revenue falls, and GNPC will suffer in the medium term, which I do not think Ghanaians want to see,” he added.
