The Executive Director of the African Center for Energy Policy Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has warned that with Ghana’s oil find, the country could be attracting mushroom companies who have no experience and leverage to manage oil blocs they acquire.
He questioned why few people with political connection should facilitate the acquisition of contracts for the country’s oil when the resource is for all Ghanaians.
Dr Amin Adam was speaking at the sidelines of a workshop organized by the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalist (IFEJ) in Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region.
He said he doubted the sanctity of some of the contracts government has signed with some companies, saying, because there is non-activity upstream in the oil field the companies are doing nothing on their blocs because most of them do not have the experience and money to work.
“Usually when you make discovery (commercial discovery), you attract big companies, why is it that in the case of Ghana, after our commercial discovery, we are attracting small small companies” Dr. Amin said.
He added that “it tells us that there is something wrong with our regime, there is something wrong with our environment and this why there is no activity”.
Mr Adam said unless the country brings on board serious companies, there won’t be any serious activity at any of the oil blocs.
He questioned that “apart from Hernz, Sankofa tell me which other project is ongoing in the upstream. It is eventually empty most of these companies have moved to Ivory Coast.”
Dr Adam attributed Ghana’s inability to attract big oil companies to political interference in the oil sector adding that if one was not connected you couldn’t get an oil bloc.
He called on government to adopt an open and competitive bidding process to ensure transparency.
Dr Amin added that when there is open and competitive bidding then companies with higher value for the oil would be given the contract.
He said the administrative process of awarding contract would not help Ghana.
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