The Minority in Parliament has taken strong exception to what it calls misleading and premature attempts by the Mahama administration to claim credit for recent oil discoveries in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector.
Addressing the press on Monday (7 July), the Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, stated that the recent Declaration of Commerciality (DoC) for the Akoma and Eban fields in the Cape Three Points Block 4 was the result of long-term planning and strategic investment undertaken by the previous Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government — not a feat of the new administration, which has been in office for just seven months.
On 4 July, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, led by Minister John Abdulai Jinapor, issued a statement describing the declaration as a “clear testament” to the government’s commitment to sustainable development in Ghana’s hydrocarbon sector. But the Minority dismissed this as a “shambolic attempt” to attribute success where none was earned.
“This milestone”, Adomako-Mensah said, “is being opportunistically paraded as an achievement of the Mahama administration when, in fact, all the groundwork — from discovery to appraisal — was undertaken under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government.”
Chronology of Discoveries
According to the Minority, Eni Ghana (E&I), the contract operator of the CTP Block 4, first discovered gas and condensate at the Akoma-1X well on May 9, 2019. Two years later, in July 2021, E&I reported another significant oil find at the Eban-1X well.
The discoveries, they said, were a result of deliberate policies by the previous government to promote exploration and reserve replacement.
Further, in 2022, E&I requested approval to conduct a joint appraisal of both discoveries to save cost and accelerate development. This request was granted by the Akufo-Addo administration in a formal letter dated July 28, 2022. The outcome of that joint appraisal — now known as the Eban-Akoma complex — led to the recent declaration of commerciality.
The Minority emphasised that under the CTP Block 4 Petroleum Agreement, it is the responsibility of the contract operator — not the government — to determine and declare commerciality after an appraisal. “That is precisely what E&I did. The Mahama administration has simply received a report and is now claiming ownership of a process it never started,” Adomako-Mensah argued.
Highlighting Previous Discoveries
The Minority also provided a list of oil discoveries made during the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia years as proof of their superior performance in the sector:
• Pecan Southeast (Aker Energy) – 2018 – Estimated 10 million barrels
• Nyankom 1X (AJM) – 2019 – Estimated 168 million barrels
• Afina 1X (Springfield) – 2019 – Estimated 150–300 million barrels
• Akoma 1X (E&I) – 2019
• Eban 1X (E&I) – 2021
They explained that the Akoma-1X well even led to two separate discoveries at different geologic levels, increasing the overall count of discoveries from six wells to seven.
A Call for Honesty
“This kind of revisionism does not help our upstream petroleum governance,” said Adomako-Mensah. “It takes years of planning, permitting, and appraisal to get to this point — certainly not something achieved in half a year. We urge the government to be truthful and give credit where it is due.”
The Minority reiterated that while they support progress in the sector, achievements must be grounded in facts and proper attribution. “The upstream sector thrives on consistency and investor trust. Politicising such developments for short-term applause undermines both,” they concluded.
