GHANA’S petroleum revenues fell sharply in 2025, dropping to US$770.3 million from over US$1.36 billion the previous year — a 43.27 per cent decline — according to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC)’s newly released annual report.
The collapse in receipts reflects a broader crisis in Ghana’s oil sector. Crude production has now declined for six consecutive years, sliding from a peak of 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to just 37.3 million barrels in 2025, a compounded annual decline of nine per cent.
PIAC said the data confirmed analysts’ long warning about Ghana’s oil fields peaking.
The watchdog committee also flagged a serious accountability gap at Explorco, a subsidiary of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
The state-owned entity has failed to remit US$561,648,785.37 in petroleum revenues owed to the Republic between 2022 and 2024, despite repeated demands from PIAC.
The committee also raised red flags over a US$434.55 million transfer from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) to a Special Purpose Vehicle set up by the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) for the Accra–Kumasi Expressway.
PIAC noted that the government has yet to disclose the project scope, contractor details, contract sum, or payments made — raising transparency concerns over one of the government’s flagship infrastructure projects.
On a positive note, PIAC found that a US$30 million ABFA investment by GIIF in the Accra International Airport has generated US$17.9 million in interest and fees between 2017 and 2025, nearly 60 per cent of the original capital.
PIAC is calling on the government to develop a framework to revive investment in underperforming fields — particularly the TEN field — and demanding that the Finance Minister comply with parliamentary appropriations for disbursements to the District Assembly Common Fund.
FROM KINGSLEY E HOPE, KUMASI
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