GNPC's Woes

Statistics unveiled by the management of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation GNPC paint a gloomy picture for successful petroleum exploration in Ghana. Aside the inability of the corporation to advance packaged data to prospective investors, GNPC management say whereas strongman Nigeria drills 180 wells in one single year, Ghana has only been able to drill 27 wells within the 18 years of GNPC’s incorporation. In fact, between 1999 and 2002 only seven wells were drilled.
Now contrary to certain widely held perceptions the Deputy Managing Director of the corporation Kwasi Amankonah-Hinneh says the inability of GNPC to acquire adequate logistics to document its operations has been the biggest disincentive to the call and eagerness of investors to explore the county’s seas for oil.
These were made known at the third quarterly meeting of the National Economic Dialogue (NED) to review how stakeholders have implemente recommendations made at its last meeting in May last year. The objective of the NED, which is organized by the Ministry for Economic Planning and Regional Integration, is to use a consensus approach to accelerate national economic growth and development.
Mr. Amankonah-Hinneh said due to budgetary constraints, some of the Corporation’s data on old tapes that need to be transcribed onto smaller films with higher storage capacities are still lying fallow in their archives. He told the Network Herald that due to their inability to make duplicates of data on tapes, the data is sometimes sent to investors on original tapes that leaves no copies at their head office.
(An obstacle to Research and Development) The DMD said the GNPC is even more helpless when undertaking seismic studies because it does not have a workstation where findings are interpreted. He claims that officials have had to accompany investors abroad to interprete findings. Presently no well is being drilled even though some foreign companies are conducting studies in the Tano basin and Saltpond. Also, a US Company Devron is expected to start exploration in June.
There is also the problem of inadequate geophysicists and geologists to support the operations of the company. The Chief Director of the Energy Ministry, Eric Yankah attributed the problem to low remuneration. Briefing the meeting about steps his sector had made since the last review session, Mr. Yankah informed the meeting that the investment code of the petroleum sector is being reviewed and would soon be laid beforeparliament.
The Chief Director also stated that the third phase of the Self-Help Electrification Project (SHEP) is almost completed. Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Integration, Paa Kwesi Nduom asked the private sector to set up a monitoring system to draw attention to areas of the economy where progress is not being made. “one of the problems we face as a nation is the inability to monitor and evaluate in all spheres, the quarterly assessments is to make a change” he said.