GHEITI calls for amendment to Petroleum Revenue Management Act for onshore oil exploration

2 mins read

The Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative () has urged the government to amend the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) to address institutional overlap in the collection of surface rentals for onshore oil exploration.

GHEITI emphasized that surface rentals should be collected by the Office of the Administrator of Lands (OASL) in accordance with the 1992 Constitution.

GHEITI stated that the OASL, as mandated by , should collect and distribute revenues, including ground rent, using a prescribed formula. Surface rentals refer to the paid by oil contractors for operations over a licensed area.

Currently, international oil companies pay fees to the for offshore oil and gas exploration.

However, GHEITI argued that when exploration activities expand to onshore areas, the collection of acreage fees or ground rent should be taken over by the OASL and distributed as stipulated by the Constitution.

GHEITI highlighted that collecting onshore surface rentals into the Petroleum Holding Fund would be a violation of the Constitution, as these activities occur on land.

To avoid institutional overlap, GHEITI made two recommendations: limiting the 's role in collecting surface rentals for offshore activities and assigning the responsibility of onshore collections to the Office of the Administrator of Lands.

In related news, government, in collaboration with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Swiss Oil Company Limited, and PET Volta Investments Limited, has granted Swiss African Oil Company and PET Volta Investments an onshore oil exploration permit in the Voltain Basin.

The joint venture received the Delta block after approval from .

Thanks for reading and supporting The Ghanaian Standard. Your comments add perspective to this story, share them in the comments section below.

Send us your press releases and news stories at contact@ghstandard.com, or via WhatsApp on +233550919202.

Follow GhStandard on Follow us on Google News

Source: Jibril Abdul Mumuni     
Via: GNA

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Latest from General