Ghana is pressing ahead with wide-ranging reforms in its oil and gas sector as government seeks to revive investment, tighten governance and align petroleum development with the country’s long-term energy transition agenda, according to the latest Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) Oil and Gas Sector Reconciliation Report .
Although the report reconciles production and revenue data for 2023, it places strong emphasis on current reforms and policy shifts shaping the sector’s outlook in 2024 and 2025, at a time when declining output, fiscal pressures and global decarbonisation trends are forcing a rethink of Ghana’s petroleum strategy.
A key development is government’s ongoing review of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2016 (Act 919). Investors have long raised concerns about Ghana’s fiscal terms, particularly the scope of carried interest obligations borne by contractors without reimbursement.
According to GHEITI, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, working with the Attorney-General’s Department, the Petroleum Commission and GNPC, is revising the law to make the fiscal regime more flexible, predictable and competitive in a tightening global investment climate .
The reforms are also being driven by the approval of the Onshore Petroleum Exploration and Production Policy, 2024, which aims to unlock Ghana’s onshore sedimentary basins.
The policy introduces a production-sharing system for onshore operations, replacing the offshore-style hybrid royalty-tax framework, and proposes overriding payments to support local content development, host communities, decommissioning and data acquisition. Legislative amendments are currently underway to align existing petroleum laws with the new policy .
Institutional clarity has emerged as another urgent issue. The report highlights ongoing overlap between GNPC and Ghana National Gas Company over the national gas aggregator role, a situation that continues to create regulatory uncertainty and investor risk.
GHEITI’s Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) has renewed calls for government to formally clarify responsibilities to stabilise gas market governance and reduce policy ambiguity .
State participation and revenue assurance remain under the spotlight. GHEITI reports that GNPC and its subsidiary Explorco have not paid corporate income tax on revenues from their interests in the Jubilee and TEN fields since 2021, largely due to non-compliance with ring-fencing provisions.
Addressing this gap has become a priority as government seeks to protect public revenues amid fiscal consolidation and IMF-supported reforms.
Environmental regulation is also tightening. The enactment of the Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124) strengthens oversight of petroleum activities, including emissions control, waste management and decommissioning obligations.
In addition, draft Environmental Protection (Petroleum) Regulations are being finalised to curb gas flaring, improve environmental permitting and strengthen emergency response frameworks across upstream and midstream operations.
These regulatory changes coincide with Ghana’s broader energy transition push. Government has adopted the Ghana Energy Transition and Investment Plan, targeting net-zero emissions by 2060, ten years earlier than previously projected.
The renaming of the Energy Ministry to the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition reflects this strategic shift, alongside initiatives such as renewable energy mini-grids, smart solar street lighting and the proposed establishment of a Renewable Energy Authority.
To revive upstream activity, government has withdrawn earlier unitisation directives that stalled exploration work, reopened appraisal of discoveries such as Afina in the West Cape Three Points Block 2, and signed memoranda of understanding with Jubilee and TEN partners to extend petroleum agreement timelines.
Discussions are also underway to construct a second gas processing plant to deepen domestic gas utilisation and reduce reliance on crude oil exports.
GHEITI concludes that while Ghana’s transparency and reconciliation systems remain robust, the insights generated by the data now demand decisive action.
Resolving fiscal and institutional ambiguities, enforcing SOE tax compliance and aligning petroleum development with climate commitments are seen as critical to stabilising the sector and safeguarding Ghana’s long-term economic and intergenerational interests.
