Ghana: Jinapor Meets Upstream Petroleum Chamber To Discuss Measures To Reverse Oil Production Decline

Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, has met with the Ghana Upstream Petroleum Chamber to review developments in the country’s upstream petroleum sector and discuss measures to restore investor confidence and reverse the decline in oil production.

Jinapor said the government’s priority was to deepen reforms aimed at making Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector more competitive and attractive to investors.

“A key priority for government is to continue and deepen the reforms that have contributed to restoring confidence in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector and creating a more attractive environment for investment,” Jinapor said in a post on Facebook.

He said reversing the decline in oil production was high on the government’s agenda, alongside increasing gas production to meet growing domestic demand, particularly for power generation.

“To achieve these objectives, government is pursuing a number of policy, regulatory and infrastructure interventions,” Jinapor said, adding that an ongoing review of the upstream legal and regulatory framework was intended, among other things, to improve the sector’s competitiveness and investment attractiveness.

“Our objective is to maximise the value of the oil and gas produced in Ghana by processing and utilising more of our resources domestically,” he said.

Jinapor also said increasing domestic gas supply, particularly for power generation, would be critical to improving energy security and reducing Ghana’s reliance on imported natural gas and other energy products.

The minister said the meeting also provided an opportunity for the government to discuss concerns raised by the Chamber and strengthen collaboration between the government and industry.

“I greatly value this constructive engagement with the Ghana Upstream Petroleum Chamber. A strong partnership between government and industry is essential to building a more competitive, predictable and sustainable petroleum sector,” he said.

Ghana’s crude oil production has declined for six consecutive years, falling to 37.3 million barrels in 2025 from a peak of 71.44 million barrels in 2019, according to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).