The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), in a study, has recommended that the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) undertakes a comprehensive risk assessment of its assets and put in place mitigation plans to respond to transition risks.
It was also recommended that the national oil company adopts an investment strategy that ensures it stays afloat in the scheme of new developments.
This came to light at a stakeholder dialogue organised by the NRGI to share the findings and recommendations from the comprehensive global study on how national oil companies (NOCs) are responding to the energy transition.
The energy transition has been referred to as the global energy sector’s shift from fossil fuels such as petrol, diesel, and coal to renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
The study, which delved into the responses of national oil companies to the ongoing energy transition, involved 15 NOCs from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa, as well as Latin America.
Mr Denis Gyeyir, the Senior Africa Programme Officer at NRGI, speaking at the forum in Accra, said the NOCs played a crucial role in the global energy landscape, as they controlled significant reserves of oil and gas resources and more than half of global oil production.
“We’ve recognised other NOCs who are doing different things,” he added.
For instance, the Latin America region was making progress towards becoming a hub where NOCs are transitioning to diversification plans for different activities, including investment in renewable and critical minerals such as lithium.
He said the NRGI had analysed historical data on the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation’s revenue and expenditure over the past few years to complement its findings and make recommendations for its consideration.
Mr Gyeyir said the reasons for the transition were that human activities such as deforestation and the use of fossil fuels had caused environmental pollution, the release of toxic substances and gases into the atmosphere, and that the climate had suffered as a result.
The stakeholders meeting discussed the gaps in planning around the risk of the global energy transition for oil companies in specific countries that can be used in advocacy efforts; and provided ideas on how better management of transition risks can be achieved in line with what other companies are doing.
The forum agreed on the need for the Ghana Petroleum Commission to consider a review of its Act, including a possible listing of the GNPC or its subsidiary, as a way of addressing the numerous governance issues that hinder its sustainability.
Participants at the meeting were from the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance, the Petroleum Commission, international oil companies, civil society, and the media.
