(Bloomberg) – Ghana is encouraging investors to get the country’s crude out of the ground to avoid the assets from getting stranded amid a global decarbonization push.
The government is ready to roll out the “red carpet” to any investor prepared to drill and pump crude, President John Mahama said at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, on Tuesday.
“Oil is in transition and so anybody who has any assets should be pumping like there’s no tomorrow,” he said.
Oil output in Ghana fell for the past five consecutive years, mainly due to a lack of investment in additional exploration and new fields, according to the country’s Public Interest and Accountability Committee.
Output reached 48.3 million barrels in 2024, compared with a peak of 71.4 million barrels in 2019, according to the body that was set up to regularly evaluate the efficient use of the nation’s petroleum resources.
His call to scale up oil extraction echoes the stance of U.S. President Donald Trump, who urged American producers to pump more oil earlier this year. OPEC has also been increasing output, resulting in Brent prices declining about 13% so far this year to $65.3 per barrel.
Mahama won elections in December after pledging to revive the economy recovering from a debt crisis and a high cost of living.
“The environment got a bit toxic,” Mahama said. “Government did not seem to prioritize the sector.”
