According to the 2022 annual report of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Ghana has experienced a continuous decline in crude oil production for the third year in a row.
In 2019, the country produced 71,439,585 barrels of oil, but this figure dropped to 66,926,806 barrels in 2020, indicating a decrease of 6.32 per cent.
The decline persisted in 2021, with oil production further decreasing to 55,050,391 barrels (17.75%), and again to 51,756,481 barrels in 2022 (5.98%), resulting in an average decline of 10 per cent over the three-year period.
During a presentation of the 2022 PIAC annual report in Keta, Vice Chairman Nasir Alfa Mohammed emphasized the urgency for Ghana to accelerate the sustainable development of its petroleum resources in order to reverse the declining trend in oil production.
Mr Alfa highlighted the importance of attracting new investors and completing ongoing projects promptly.
He stated, “For three consecutive years, crude oil production has been declining…So the average decline over the three-year period is 10 per cent.”
The report also revealed that Ghana achieved the highest total petroleum revenue since the commencement of oil production, reaching $1.4 billion in 2022.