By Issah Mohammed, GNA
Accra, Sept. 24, GNA – The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) says the decline in Ghana’s crude oil production could be reversing, following a significant increase in output from the Jubilee field.
Mr Hamis Ussif, the Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Finance, Commercial and Administration at GNPC, said Jubilee production had risen to more than 80,000 barrels per day, compared with about 40,000 barrels per day that had been projected two years ago as the field continued along its earlier decline trajectory.
“Thankfully, today we have made the Jubilee well in excess of 80,000 barrels per day,” he said.
Mr Ussif attributed the increase to work undertaken by GNPC and its partners over the past several months.
He was speaking at a Technical Consultative Workshop organised by the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC), on the theme: “Building a Resilient Gas Economy: Collaborative Strategies to Ensure an Efficient Gas Value Chain.”
The reported increase in Jubilee production comes against the backdrop of sustained concerns over declining crude oil output from Ghana’s mature petroleum fields.
Mr Ussif said the Corporation and its partners were undertaking investments aimed at strengthening the upstream petroleum sector and increasing oil and gas production.
He said about $3.5 billion in upstream investments had been announced by GNPC and its partners, with the investment expected to increase gas supply to the country.
He said the investments would support efforts to strengthen Ghana’s petroleum production base while ensuring adequate gas supply for power generation and industrial activities.
Mr Henry Mensah, Director of Operations, Petroleum Commission, said Ghana’s gas resources had become strategically important to energy security, industrial growth and power generation.
He said natural gas had helped reduce the country’s reliance on expensive imported liquid fuels and had consequently delivered savings to the economy.
Mr Mensah said unlocking the full potential of Ghana’s gas resources required adequate security of supply, improved operational efficiency in gas infrastructure, enhanced competencies among Ghanaian workers and a robust policy framework to support industry growth.
He said the Commission expected the technical consultations to generate recommendations capable of informing government policy and the future direction of the gas sector.
Dr Kwame Sarkodie of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), however, cautioned that Ghana’s petroleum and gas sector continued to face significant production and supply challenges.
He said Ghana’s mature oil fields, including Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa-Gye Nyame, were experiencing reservoir decline, making the management of associated gas pressures, delivery and gas-to-oil ratios increasingly complex.
Dr Sarkodie also said Ghana had lost significant economic value through gas flaring, citing disclosures that about 28.5 million units of gas, representing approximately 10.4 per cent of raw gas produced, had been flared in a single year.
He estimated the value of the lost energy at about $170 million, describing the elimination of routine gas flaring as both an environmental and economic necessity.
He said Ghana’s domestic gas demand could reach about 750 million cubic feet per day by 2030, while domestic fields were currently supplying less than projected future requirements.
That situation, he said, could increase Ghana’s dependence on imported gas unless investment in domestic production and the wider gas value chain was strengthened.
Dr Sarkodie called for greater commercial clarity to encourage upstream operators to invest in non-associated gas exploration and production.
He also proposed measures to address the financial challenges affecting the gas and power sectors, including ring-fenced payment structures for gas processing and transportation utilities.
Beyond production, he called for expansion of Ghana’s gas transportation network beyond the coastal areas into the middle and northern parts of the country to support industrial development.
GNA
Reporter: Issah Mohammed
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
24 Sept. 2026