A former Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Theophilus Ahwireng, has urged Ghana to explore beyond the fiscal aspects of the oil and gas sector to maximise the value of its petroleum resources.
According to him, while fiscal elements play a significant role in the sector, they should not limit the country from tapping into other opportunities for greater benefits.
He cited Norway, Trinidad, and Tobago as examples of countries leveraging additional areas to extract more value from their petroleum resources.
Speaking at a public lecture organised by the College of Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, on Friday, February 21, Mr Ahwireng emphasised the need for authorities to adopt a broader approach.
The lecture, themed “Capturing the Optimum Value of Petroleum Resources – Looking Beyond Fiscal Elements,” featured discussions on strategies for enhancing the country’s petroleum sector.
Mr Ahwireng, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director of MODEC Production Services Ghana JV Limited, urged policymakers to explore new avenues to maximise the benefits of Ghana’s petroleum resources.
“I think there is a very big component on the petroleum value aside from the fiscal which entails royalty, tax, government participation, etc. Norway and the West African pipeline project, is an example of how you can think outside the box and create value from the resource. Anytime you are undertaking any exercise in the business you must be prudent.
“If you can spend 10 million dollars to do something, and you spend 20 million dollars, what it means is that the extra 10 million dollars will be taken from the revenue before your taxes are calculated. So it is on you and me to work hard to use minimum resources in the extraction process,” he stated.
