The Government of Ghana has launched a public register of petroleum contracts as a means of enhancing transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.
The register, however, does not include the Exxon Mobil contract which was signed in 2015.
The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghana to assess its Deep Water Cape Three Point (DCTP) region in 2015 and had its entrance in the country’s oil and gas industry confirmed by the CEO of the Ghana Investments Promotion Centre (GIPC), Kofi Grant.
Exxon Mobil is an international oil giant which is regarded as one of the world’s largest integrated international oil company with daily production of about 4 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) with revenue stream worth $218.6 billion as of 2016.
Concerns have been raised by a section of the public about the omission of the Exxon Mobil contract in the newly published petroleum agreements and contracts register.
However, the Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of petroleum, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam explained that the exclusion of the Exxon Mobil contract was as a result of the ongoing process to ratify the deal in parliament.
The Minister further assured Ghanaians that the Exxon Mobil contract will be put out for Ghanaians to see the outcome of the negotiations.
However, Co-Chairperson of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) publicly expressed his sentiments about the lack of public information about the Exxon Mobil deal and clearly termed such an act by government as ”unlawful”Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil is set to begin oil exploration in Ghana and has also invested in the exploration of Ghana’s hydrocarbon development.
Source: Business.com.gh / Hannah Bonful
