Minority misleading Ghanaians on oil discoveries – Energy Ministry

The Ministry of Energy has pushed back strongly against claims made by the Minority in Parliament, describing their criticisms regarding recent oil discoveries as both misleading and unfortunate.

This response comes in the wake of a press conference held on Monday, July 7, by Collins Adomako-Mensah, Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee.

He accused the NDC government of attempting to claim credit for the Akoma and Eban-1X oil discoveries, which he said were made during the Akufo-Addo administration.

According to Adomako-Mensah, the discoveries made in 2019 and 2021 by ENI Ghana under the Cape Three Points Block 4—were officially reported to the Ministry of Energy, the Petroleum Commission, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in accordance with existing petroleum laws.

He argued that both the appraisal and reporting processes were carried out in full compliance with Ghana’s legal framework under former President Akufo-Addo’s leadership.

However, the Ministry of Energy has dismissed these assertions, insisting that its recent statement concerning the declaration of commerciality was strictly informational and not aimed at politicising the process or assigning credit to any administration.

Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Monday, July 7, the Ministry’s Spokesperson and Head of Communications, Richmond Rockson, rejected the accusation that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) is trying to take undue credit.

He clarified that the Ministry’s intent was to update Ghanaians on a significant milestone in the oil and gas sector, not to attribute ownership of the project to any political regime.

Rockson reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to transparency and non-partisanship in communicating developments within Ghana’s energy sector.