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Release
FTOS
March 01, 2016
Petroleum Commission's
"Overview: Ghana’s Oil and Gas Fiscal
Regime"
The FTOS-Ghana
Petition/Campaign Perspective (Part 1)
We, of the Fair-Trade Oil Share-Ghana (FTOS-Gh/PSA)
Petition/Campaign, including GIGS, with the
sole mission of ensuring Ghana receives a
fairer share of its oil revenues, have
reviewed the PowerPoint presentation titled,
"Overview: Ghana’s Oil and Gas Fiscal
Regime: Clarification Meeting with
Parliament". Dated 20th February, 2016, the
document was issued by the staff of the
Ghana Petroleum Commission. That document
was also a point of discussion at a meeting
held at Ada, Greater Accra Region, 20 Feb
16. (Find copy at http://ghanahero.com/FTOS_GH_Campaign.html).
1. GIGS and the FTOS-Gh/PSA
Petition/Campaign Team are grateful to the
Parliamentary Committee on Energy for the
invitation to listen in to the presentation
by the Staff of the Petroleum Commission,
and to make yet another nth pitch for
adoption of the PSA for Ghana's Oil and Gas.
2. Even so, we recognize that it is still
the responsibility of Government of Ghana
and its officials, politicians and
bureaucrats, to ensure all perspectives are
fully heard and documented not only for
Ghanaians, but as well, for all funding
partners and sponsors including those
spearheading the "revenue management"
initiatives.
3. As some others who attended the meeting
at Ada, we are left more confused as ever
about what the staff of the Petroleum
Commission were intending to communicate,
given that they did not present actual oil
production and sales data even though they
have had more than 1 year to prepare. We see
the difficulties not only as the result of
communications and analytical failures, but
also persistence in validating actions taken
in the past that did not adequately protect
the interest of Ghana, and belief by certain
bureaucrats that they can build a mouse trap
that is better than the World Standard.
4. As a result of these failures, here are
"12 Jubilee Oil Barrel” (JOB) Questions for
the Ghana Petroleum Commission and their
Staff:
1. What does "Sovereign Control", the basic
characteristic of the PSA, mean to you, and
how does it relate to "Accountability" and
"Transparency", and all the important things
you do at the Petroleum Commission?
We at FTOS-Gh/PSA have had the chance to
comment thus in a correspondence to the
Editor of a respectable UK Law journal. What
is your position on this?
Dear Sir,
Our attention has been drawn to a
publication in the UKLSA journal, Volume 2,
Issue 1 of 2014 titled, "Issues of Stability
in Ghana's Model Petroleum Agreement", by
Charlene Amankwah. According to C. Amankwah:
"Ghana, as a developing country with a
liberal investment climate, has chosen the
Production Sharing Agreement as the
arrangement by which she seeks to attract
the requisite foreign investment to develop
her petroleum industry while maintaining
sovereignty over her resources."
The over-arching premise of the 2014 paper
holds that Ghana has chosen the Production
Sharing Agreement (PSA) for its sovereign
oil. This is a false premise. It is not
factual. No Ghanaian government has during
the last decade and half actually enacted
(chosen) a PSA for Ghana's sovereign oil,
and certainly not since production of oil
from the Jubilee Oil Fields. As such, that
premise is not only historically inaccurate,
it is as well, legally inaccurate.
2. How much in total did Government of
Ghana/GNPC pay to the oil companies during
2010-2015, for oil "development and
production costs"?
3. What is the total revenue paid to
Government of Ghana/GNPC regardless of
source (royalty, tax, oil, etc.)?
4. What is the total revenue kept by the Oil
Companies as profit, after exploration and
production costs were deducted?
5. What is the total Oil Companies
exploration and production costs considered
Petroleum Commission (and the GNPC)? (Is it
still $8.9 billion?)
6. How many barrels of Oil were lifted at
Jubilee during that period?
7. Why is GNPC paying for oil "development
and production cost" when
the Petroleum Commission admits Ghana does
not have enough money to train sufficient
number of engineers, accountants, and oil
and gas professionals, when those payments
are not required under the PSA?
8. Knowing that Tullow is based in the UK,
and Kosmos is based in the US, how is the
Petroleum Commission (and their staff)
neutral parties when (1) the Ghana Petroleum
Commission is being funded by UK's DFID in
the amount of £1,900,000 (USD 2,650,000, and
DFID has thus far paid at least £22,000 (USD
30,5000) to the Ghana Petroleum Commission,
and (2) Ghana is the sovereign owner of the
oil.
9. Why and how can Ghanaians trust that the
Petroleum Commission and its
politician-benefactors, given the conflict(s)
of interest, can, and will in fact fight for
a Fair-Share of Oil and Gas revenues for
Ghana directly from Tullow and Kosmos, a
Fair-Trade Oil share that would also allow
those Oil Companies to "Take" their
fair/economic share, in profit?
10. Even if "Government Take" was 50% (which
is doubtful because the Commission Staff
also did not present any numbers proving
that), what is wrong with a "Take" of 69.3%
(Louisiana, USA) or a "Take" of 89.4
(Malaysia)?
11. Why are "accountability" and
"transparency" so unimportant to Petroleum
Commission staff that the 48-page PowerPoint
presentation neglected to address those
sovereign, democratic values and principles?
12. If some Ghanaians are smart enough to
develop for Ghana, Ghana’s own Type of
Petroleum Fiscal System – “The Hybrid
System" - the World Standard PSA for Ghana's
Oil and Gas be damned - how is it that Ghana
does not now have Team(s) of "highly
professional negotiators", which the
Commission Staff proposes is a "Main
Disadvantages" of the Government of Ghana? (Relatedly,
does the Staff seriously think there are no
other, better, or more "professional
negotiators" outside the Petroleum
Commission who can be of service to Ghana at
low cost, even pro bono?).
5. THEREFORE, in the absence of full and
complete answers to those 12 basic and
essential questions, given the low price of
oil currently in the world market, and
failure to adopt the World Standard Oil and
Gas Fiscal System (PSA) that will better
protect Sovereign Ghana, maybe it is time
Ghana stopped the development, production,
and sales of Ghana's oil until the
Mahama-NDC administration causes:
(1) Answers to our 12-JOB questions
truthfully, completely, and timely, in a
Fair-Trade Oil Share-Ghana (FTOS-Gh) fashion
(2) Introduction of "Transparency",
"Accountability", and "Sovereign Control" as
bedrock "Oil and Gas Development and
Production" principles to better achieve for
Ghana Total, Full Maximum Benefits (TFMB),
in pursuance of Ghana's development goals
and objectives.
(3) By directive, immediate adoption by
Ghana of the World Standard Production
Sharing Agreement (PSA) as the preferred
form of contract for all of Ghana's Oil and
Gas resources, without any adulterations, in
the interest of Fair Trade/Fair Share Oil.
NOTE: This call to cease development,
production, and sales of Ghana' oil until
the 3 specified conditions are met, is also
provided as an update to all those who have
already signed, contributed, and/or are
otherwise supporting the Fair-Trade Oil
Share Ghana (FTOS-Gh/PSA) Petition/Campaign
for Ghana's Oil and Gas.
(In Part II, we will provide our perspective
on other matters referenced in the Petroleum
Commission Power Point presentation,
"Overview: Ghana’s Oil and Gas Fiscal
Regime: Clarification Meeting with
Parliament", dated, 20th February, 2016).
GhanaHero.Com Interest Items:
1. Fair-Trade Oil Share-Ghana (FTOS-GH/PSA
Petition/Campaign):
Read about it, join it, sign it: https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa).
2. www.GhanaHero.Com/FTOS_Gh_Campaign, for
more information.
(Join the action! Read mo! Listen mo! See
mo! Reflect mo!).
Prof Lungu & Associates / GIGS / ANON /
FTOS-Gh/PSA /
©Prof Lungu is Ghana-Centered/Ghana-Proud.
@professorlungu - Twitter (#FTOS_Gh)
Prof Lungu is based in Washington DC, USA.
Subj: Petroleum Commission's Overview -
Ghana’s Oil and Gas Fiscal Regime - The
FTOS-Gh Petition_Campaign Perspective(1)
Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com©27
February, 2016.
(http://ghanahero.com/Visions.html).
Sign petition:
https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa
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