The Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, has urged players in the petroleum and energy sectors to position themselves strategically to take advantage of the current development in the global energy markets to make the country a dependable long-term investment destination.

He said global volatility was repricing risk, and that Ghana must compete on certainty in a world shaped by constraining private capital to hydro carbon exploration.

"Ghana must compete on certainty, hence to attract the needed investment for exploration in a highly volatile and competitive environment," the minister said at the launch of the15th anniversary celebration of the Petroleum Commission in Accra last Tuesday.

The Petroleum Commission was established on July 14, 2011, when the Petroleum Commission Act, 2011 (Act 821) received presidential assent.

It was created as an independent body to manage and regulate the country's upstream petroleum sector following commercial oil and gas discoveries.

The energy minister said the global energy landscape had entered a period of heightened risk and uncertainty while energy markets were being reshaped by geopolitics, supply disruptions and sanctions as evidenced by the Russian-Ukraine war, Middle East war, disruption in Venezuela, among others.

"This creates a strategic opening for Ghana as investors look for alternative crude oil supply. 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," he said.

Dr Jinapor said the development called for a fair, transparent and robust regulatory and legislative regime.

He congratulated the commission and said over the past decade and a half, it had steadily grown into a first-rate regulator.

"From managing early data acquisitions to regulating complex, multi-field operations across the Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa-Gye Nyame fields, and enhancing Ghanaian participation in the petroleum sector, the commission has proven that local capacity could meet global standards with absolute integrity.

"As of the first half of this year, with the resilience of the commission, out of a total of $22.3 billion, nearly $5 billion have gone to Ghanaian companies.

Dr Jinapor announced that under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, the upstream petroleum industry had seen some momentous improvement in investor confidence.

"All disputes between upstream oil and gas players and the government of Ghana have been promptly resolved, paving the way for more investments,” he said.

"It is gratifying to state that for the first time in the history of the upstream sector, nearly all super majors have expressed interest in acquiring acreages in our geological basins, in particular the 
frontier areas," he said.

He said petroleum agreement negotiations had started with new deals up in the coming weeks.

He said as testament to the “reset” in investor confidence, the Jubilee and TEN Partners had committed to invest $2 billion in further development activities.

"This investment will result in the drilling of at least 10 new wells, increasing gas production and reducing the Jubilee gas price by approximately 18 per cent, saving the country nearly $300 million in power generation cost," he announced

The Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Emeafa Hardcastle, said over the past 15 years, the commission had established itself as a firm regulatory body, effectively balancing statutory oversight and compliance with the need to maintain Ghana’s status as an attractive investment destination.

"Today, the commission serves as a benchmark for petroleum regulatory frameworks across the African continent.

"Since the passage of the L.I. 2204 in 2013, the commission has been intentional of the growth, survival and participation of indigenous Ghanaian companies in the industry, particularly in the mid-technical services which hitherto was dominated by foreign companies," she said.

Ms Hardcastle said the promotion of in-country value addition and linkages with other sectors of the economy had been paramount, preventing the petroleum sector from being an enclave economy.