Upstream Oil and Gas in Ghana

Thomas Kojo Stephens is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law and lectures in both the LLB and LLM Programs, lecturing among others, Conflict of Laws/Private International Law, Research Methodology, Energy Law, and Natural Resources Law, and supervises in the PhD Program.He is a Senior Partner at Stobe Law and the Head of the Transactional, Energy Practice, as well as the Consultancy Group of the firm. He advises numerous entities in the petroleum sector and serves as principal consultant for a number of high-profile entities. He is the jurisdictional author for a number of international publications in Petroleum Law and has written on different facets of the industry. He is an Advisory Board Member of the International Energy Law Advisory Group (IELAG), a Principal Trainer at the International Energy Law Training and Research Center (IELTRC), and was a Vice-Chairman of Ghana’s Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) from 2018 to 2020, a statutory body with oversight over the use of Ghana’s petroleum revenue.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of Acronyms and Abbreviations INTRODUCTIONOverview PART I: CONSTITUTIONAL, STATUTORY AND ORGANIZATIONALFRAMEWORKS FOR THE REGULATION OF GHANA’S UPSTREAMPETROLEUM INDUSTRYChapter 1 – GHANA’S UPSTREAM PETROLEUM INDUSTRY1.0 Introduction1.1 Ghana’s Sedimentary Basins1.2 Pre-Commercial Discovery1.3 Post-Commercial Discovery Chapter 2: CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THEREGULATION OF GHANA’S PETROLEUM INDUSTRY2.0 Introduction2.1 Natural Resources: Background to Ghana’s Constitutional Framework after Independence (Republican Era)2.2 The Transpositions to the 1992 Constitution2.3 The 1992 Constitution2.4 ConclusionChapter 3: STATUTORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE REGULATION OF GHANA’S PETROLEUM INDUSTRY3.0 Introduction3.1 Overview of Statutory Framework of Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry3.2 Ghana’s Statutory Framework for the Petroleum Industry – Pre-CommercialDiscovery3.3 Ghana’s Statutory Framework for the Petroleum Industry – Post-CommercialDiscovery3.4 Evolution of the Current Legislative Framework for the Regulation ofPetroleum Operations – Post-Commercial Discovery3.5 Approach to Development of Legislation for the Regulation of PetroleumOperations3.6 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 20103.7 Major Defect in the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 20103.8 ‘Death’ of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 20103.9 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 20133.10 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 2014.3.11 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, 20163.12 Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2016 (Act 919).3.13 Conclusion Chapter 4: ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THEREGULATION OF GHANA’S PETROLEUM INDUSTRY4.0 Introduction4.1 Approaches to Organizational Framework for Regulation4.2 The Organizational Structure of Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry4.3 Establishment of the Petroleum Commission4.4 The Petroleum Commission Act, 2011 (Act 821)4.5 Ghana National Gas Company PART II: THE CONTRACTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THEREGULATION OF GHANA’S UPSTREAM PETROLEUM INDUSTRYChapter 5: LICENSING5.0 Introduction5.1 Licensing in Ghana Pre-20165.2 Some Events that Precipitated a Desire to Move to the CompetitiveBidding System5.3 Licensing in Ghana Post 2016 - Competitive Bidding5.4 ConclusionChapter 6: THE CONTRACTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE REGULATION OF GHANA'S PETROLEUM INDUSTRY6.0 Introduction6.1 The Model Petroleum Agreement6.2 Petroleum Costs6.3 Conclusion PART III: PETROLEUM REVENUE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK, DEVELOPMENTS, AND EVOLVING MATTERS IN THE INDUSTRYChapter 7: PETROLEUM REVENUE MANAGEMENT IN GHANA7.0 Overview7.1 Sources of Petroleum Revenue7.2 The Petroleum Holding Fund7.3 Earmarked Locations for Distribution of Funds7.4 Summary of the Disbursement of the Revenue as Prescribed by the PRMA7.5 The Petroleum Wealth Fund (PWF)7.6 Institutions under the Framework of the PRMA7.7 Challenges with Petroleum Revenue Management in Ghana7.8 Conclusion Chapter 8: EVOLVING MATTERS AND CONCLUDING OVERVIEW8.0 Introduction8.1 The Energy Transition: Global Developments and the Impact on Ghana8.2 Proposed Efforts to Counteract Adverse Impact of Global Developments arising from the Energy Transition 8.3 Concluding Review Index