Upstream Oil and Gas in Ghana

Thomas Kojo Stephens is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law and lectures in both the LLB and LLM Programs, lecturing among others, Conflict of Laws/Private International Law, Research Methodology, Energy Law, and Natural Resources Law, and supervises in the PhD Program. He is a Senior Partner at Stobe Law and the Head of the Transactional, Energy Practice, as well as the Consultancy Group of the firm. He advises numerous entities in the petroleum sector and serves as principal consultant for a number of high-profile entities. He is the jurisdictional author for a number of international publications in Petroleum Law and has written on different facets of the industry. He is an Advisory Board Member of the International Energy Law Advisory Group (IELAG), a Principal Trainer at the International Energy Law Training and Research Center (IELTRC), and was a Vice-Chairman of Ghana’s Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) from 2018 to 2020, a statutory body with oversight over the use of Ghana’s petroleum revenue.

Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

INTRODUCTION

Overview

PART I: CONSTITUTIONAL, STATUTORY AND ORGANIZATIONAL

FRAMEWORKS FOR THE REGULATION OF GHANA’S UPSTREAM

PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

Chapter 1 – GHANA’S UPSTREAM PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Ghana’s Sedimentary Basins

1.2 Pre-Commercial Discovery

1.3 Post-Commercial Discovery

Chapter 2: CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE

REGULATION OF GHANA’S PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Natural Resources: Background to Ghana’s Constitutional

Framework after Independence (Republican Era)

2.2 The Transpositions to the 1992 Constitution

2.3 The 1992 Constitution

2.4 Conclusion

Chapter 3: STATUTORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE

REGULATION OF GHANA’S PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

3.0 Introduction

3.1 Overview of Statutory Framework of Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry

3.2 Ghana’s Statutory Framework for the Petroleum Industry – Pre-Commercial

Discovery

3.3 Ghana’s Statutory Framework for the Petroleum Industry – Post-Commercial

Discovery

3.4 Evolution of the Current Legislative Framework for the Regulation of

Petroleum Operations – Post-Commercial Discovery

3.5 Approach to Development of Legislation for the Regulation of Petroleum

Operations

3.6 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 2010

3.7 Major Defect in the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 2010

3.8 ‘Death’ of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 2010

3.9 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 2013

3.10 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 2014.

3.11 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 2016

3.12 Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2016 (Act 919).

3.13 Conclusion

Chapter 4: ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE

REGULATION OF GHANA’S PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

4.0 Introduction

4.1 Approaches to Organizational Framework for Regulation

4.2 The Organizational Structure of Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry

4.3 Establishment of the Petroleum Commission

4.4 The Petroleum Commission Act, 2011 (Act 821)

4.5 Ghana National Gas Company

PART II: THE CONTRACTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE

REGULATION OF GHANA’S UPSTREAM PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

Chapter 5: LICENSING

5.0 Introduction

5.1 Licensing in Ghana Pre-2016

5.2 Some Events that Precipitated a Desire to Move to the Competitive

Bidding System

5.3 Licensing in Ghana Post 2016 - Competitive Bidding

5.4 Conclusion

Chapter 6: THE CONTRACTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE REGULATION OF GHANA'S PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

6.0 Introduction

6.1 The Model Petroleum Agreement

6.2 Petroleum Costs

6.3 Conclusion

PART III: PETROLEUM REVENUE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK,

DEVELOPMENTS, AND EVOLVING MATTERS IN THE INDUSTRY

Chapter 7: PETROLEUM REVENUE MANAGEMENT IN GHANA

7.0 Overview

7.1 Sources of Petroleum Revenue

7.2 The Petroleum Holding Fund

7.3 Earmarked Locations for Distribution of Funds

7.4 Summary of the Disbursement of the Revenue as Prescribed by the PRMA

7.5 The Petroleum Wealth Fund (PWF)

7.6 Institutions under the Framework of the PRMA

7.7 Challenges with Petroleum Revenue Management in Ghana

7.8 Conclusion

Chapter 8: EVOLVING MATTERS AND CONCLUDING OVERVIEW

8.0 Introduction

8.1 The Energy Transition: Global Developments and the Impact on Ghana

8.2 Proposed Efforts to Counteract Adverse Impact of Global Developments

arising from the Energy Transition

8.3 Concluding Review

Index