Interview: Matthew Opoku Prempeh
What is Ghana’s value proposition as an oil and gas investment destination, and what can be done to enhance its appeal to foreign investors?
MATTHEW OPOKU PREMPEH: Ghana’s sedimentary basins hold significant gas and high-quality, light sweet crude oil prospects. The legal, regulatory and fiscal regimes governing the upstream industry are predictable, transparent and progressive, ensuring businesses get a return on their investment and attracting companies to the industry.
We must acquire high-quality data for all sedimentary basins in order to enhance competitiveness, enabling drill-ready blocks and reducing exploration-to-production timelines. Policymakers aim to replace frontloaded payments with staggered ones across the life of a petroleum agreement, alongside building infrastructure to connect upstream and downstream operations.
Another crucial step is to use 2D seismic data for the Voltaian Basin to demarcate licensing blocks, with the Eastern Basin already designated for licensing through direct negotiations. The Petroleum Commission has signed multi-client agreements with seismic acquisition firms for 3D seismic data. The government is collaborating with the private sector, mobilising expertise and foreign direct investment to support successful hydrocarbons exploration and production in these blocks.
Which steps must be taken to enhance the development of renewable energy resources?
PREMPEH: A medium-term policy objective is to achieve 10% renewable energy installed capacity in the generation mix by 2030. This target translates to 1353 MW of installed capacity. As of mid-2023 the country had a renewable energy installed capacity of about 151 MW, representing approximately 3% penetration. To achieve the remaining 7% installed capacity, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Commission have developed an open-source renewable energy data repository for stakeholder decision-making. Moreover, the Renewable Energy Act was amended in July 2021 to meet industry needs, and implement competitive procurement through a transparent tender process.
Ghana’s renewable energy resources are in areas far from major load centres, offering investment opportunities in transmission infrastructure to enhance efficient delivery. Access to suitable land remains a challenge for large-scale projects, but the government promotes rooftop solar installations through net-metering schemes to boost capacity, and alleviate energy costs for small businesses and industries. Additionally, renewable energy centres of excellence are being established to develop expertise for project design, construction, operation and maintenance.
Hydro projects are currently exclusively developed as solar-hybrid plants in order to maximise resource efficiency and optimise costs. This approach is part of Ghana’s energy transformation framework to provide investor-friendly prospects for advancing low-carbon and renewable energy technology.
To realise the energy transition in line with African Continental Free Trade Area goals, the government’s industrialisation agenda is leveraging resources to make Ghana a premier location for the manufacture of green technologies including cook stoves, solar modules, inverters, lithium batteries and e-mobility systems. Incentives such as tax breaks, subsidies and import duty exemptions are provided as necessary to promote green technology manufacturing and systems.
How can Ghana achieve universal access to electricity, and what opportunities does this present?
PREMPEH: Ghana’s electricity access rate is 88.8%, which is among the highest in Africa. Yet, there is considerable scope for widening rural electricity access, particularly in island and riverfront communities. To achieve universal access, the MoE is implementing solar mini-grids and standalone systems in rural areas, with feasibility studies under way for potential investment in mini-grids in Kwahu Afram Plains North and South.
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