The 2016 Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) report on the management of petroleum revenues shows that the actual petroleum receipt in 2016 has declined by $149m compared to the 2015 proceeds.

In 2015, the revenue from petroleum amounted to $396.17m but declined to $247.18m in 2016 representing 44% year-on-year decline. The 2016 decline is also 29% lower than government’s budgeted revenue of $348.42m.

In the 2016 budget statement, the petroleum sector was projected to bring in $502.10 million based on the projected benchmark crude oil output of $38.73m and benchmark price of $53.05 per barrel.

However, the benchmark revenue for the second half of the 2016 was revised downwards from $502.10 million to $348.42m in the 2016 mid-year budget review when the international benchmark price was further reviewed downward to $45.35 per barrel.

Although an amount of $348.42m was expected from the upstream petroleum sector, the actual receipt fell short of the projected amount while the Finance Ministry attributed the under-performance of the 2016 receipt to lower crude oil price on the world market and the prolonged disruption of production on the jubilee field.

Contrary to the Finance Ministry’s explanation, the 2016 PIAC report shows that 2016 revenue shortfall would have been 46% lower than what was received had all the invoices for gas exported to the Ghana National Gas Company(GNGC) been paid.

The report also stressed that shortfall would have been recorded at all had all the outstanding indebtedness of GNGC to Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC) been paid in 2016”