The Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to release GH¢5.6 million to the Petroleum Commission to enable it establish and operate a world-class data centre.
The committee said access to the funds would strengthen the commission’s capacity to manage critical upstream petroleum data and improve its operations.
Speaking on the need for continued investment in the sector, committee chairman Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah said the move was crucial to efforts to revitalise Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry and increase oil production.
He noted that although investment and hydrocarbon production had declined in recent years, Parliament’s approval of an extension of the petroleum agreement to 2030 had attracted additional funding and helped increase production from about 80,000 to 120,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over repeated budget allocations for oil exploration in the Voltaian Basin. Mr. Bedzrah stressed that funds approved for exploration must produce tangible results, adding that the committee would require clear evidence of progress before supporting future budget allocations for the programme.
The appeal was made during a working visit to the Petroleum Commission as part of the committee’s oversight activities to assess its operations and management procedures.
During the engagement, the Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Emeafa Hardcastle, took the committee through the commission’s working procedures and mandate, which includes regulating, managing and coordinating upstream petroleum activities.
She said that since she assumed office in 2025, the government had pursued measures to reverse the decline in crude oil production, sustain output and reposition Ghana as an attractive destination for investment in Africa’s increasingly competitive petroleum sector. The government had also secured fresh commitments of about US$35 billion to help revitalise the sector, she added.
As part of the oversight exercise, the committee is expected to conclude its monitoring visit with engagements at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL).
EcowasNewsOnline.com
