Abstract

The commencement of commercial oil and gas production and receipt of petroleum revenues in 2010 led to the passing of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) 815 and 893 in 2011 and 2015 respectively. A critical review of the PRMA 815 and 893 using desktop review and SWOT analysis as study methods, reveals several weaknesses, including, lack of fiscal discipline, revenue volatility and discretionary powers on revenue utilization. Also, there is a weak linkage between petroleum revenue utilization and other sectors of the economy. However, the PMRA comes with its own strengths, as the Act has in place mechanisms such as the Stabilization and Sinking/Contingency Funds to improve existing and evolving challenges to the Ghanaian economy. Major threats to petroleum revenue sustainability are internal and external risk factors such as petroleum reserve depletion, global price volatility and pandemics such as COVID19. Therefore, the study recommends a broader consultation in the utilization of petroleum revenues, hedging price volatility, increasing transparency through empowering the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) and providing an inclusive management of petroleum revenues in Ghana.

This paper will be part of the OGEL Special Issue on "Review of the Energy Sector in Ghana". More information here https://www.ogel.org/news.asp?key=647