The Auditor-General has directed the Petroleum Commission (PC) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to rigorously impose statutory penalties on International Oil Companies (IOCs) that fail to pay surface rental fees on time, warning that persistent defaults are weakening petroleum revenue mobilisation and exposing gaps in Ghana’s upstream fiscal enforcement.
The instruction stems from the Auditor-General’s report on petroleum fund management for the period January 1 to December 31, 2024, which revealed that several operators either delayed or did not pay mandatory surface rents into the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF), despite clear legal timelines and penalty provisions.
According to Regulation 5 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2381), petroleum operators must self-assess annual surface rental obligations and remit payments into the PHF by February 28 each year.
Newly ratified petroleum agreements require payment within 60 days of ratification. Non-compliance disrupts revenue predictability and undermines fiscal planning, the Auditor-General noted.
Under Section 3 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815), entities that fail to meet deadlines are liable for a penalty of five per cent of the outstanding amount per day of default, or a higher rate if stipulated by other legislation.
However, the report found that these penalties have largely not been enforced, reducing their intended deterrent effect.
The Auditor-General urged both the PC and GRA to move beyond administrative oversight and actively enforce penalties on defaulting companies to safeguard state revenue.
The report estimated total surface rental proceeds at US$3.46 million by the end of 2024, including US$721,585 for the year and approximately US$2 million in arrears from previous years.
Despite this, only US$512,711.08 was deposited into the PHF, highlighting a widening gap between projected and actual petroleum revenues.
