Ghana and Uganda are seeking to strengthen the management of their petroleum resources through closer cooperation between their upstream petroleum regulators, with a focus on regulatory effectiveness, local content and responsible resource development.
The initiative followed a high-level peer-learning engagement between Ghana’s Petroleum Commission (PC) and the Board of Directors of Uganda’s Petroleum Authority (PAU), during which the two institutions exchanged practical experiences from their respective petroleum sectors.
Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Ms Emeafa Hardcastle, said the engagement provided an opportunity for the two African regulators to examine what had worked in their countries, confront challenges and identify approaches that could improve petroleum governance.
She said Ghana was ready to share lessons from its transition from petroleum exploration and development into commercial production, particularly in areas such as the legal and regulatory framework, policy development, expenditure oversight, health and safety, environmental management, investment facilitation and local content.
Ms Hardcastle stressed the importance of ensuring that petroleum resources generated tangible benefits for citizens and local businesses.
“We want Ghanaians to be active participants in the petroleum industry, not spectators,” she said.
UGANDA’S FIRST-OIL JOURNEY
For Uganda, the engagement comes as the country advances its major upstream petroleum projects towards first oil.
Speaking for the Ugandan delegation, a member of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda Board, Professor Vincent Bagire, said Ghana’s experience was particularly valuable to Uganda as it moved from exploration and development towards production.
He said the delegation was interested in learning from Ghana while also sharing lessons from Uganda’s own petroleum development.
Prof Bagire said the objective was not to compare the two institutions but to identify practical approaches that could enhance regulatory effectiveness in both countries.
“We have come to Ghana to learn, to share and to build a relationship that goes beyond this meeting,” he said.
VOLTAIAN BASIN, ON-SHORE DEVELOPMENT
The peer-learning engagement also has implications for Ghana’s growing interest in onshore petroleum development.
Ghana’s Petroleum Commission said Uganda’s experience in managing onshore petroleum resources, engaging communities and implementing environmental safeguards provided useful lessons as Ghana explores opportunities, including activities in the Voltaian Basin.
The Chairman of the Petroleum Commission Board, Mr Ernest Thompson, said African petroleum regulators needed to learn from one another as the industry became increasingly complex.
He commended Uganda for its progress in advancing its upstream projects and said Ghana had followed the country’s experience in onshore resource management with interest.
Mr Thompson expressed the hope that the engagement would eventually lead to a more formal knowledge-sharing arrangement between the two institutions.
FOCUS ON LOCAL CONTENT, SAFETY
Technical sessions during the engagement covered Ghana’s petroleum laws and regulations, policy framework, institutional arrangements, upstream operations, local content and health, safety and environmental management.
The presentations were followed by discussions in which officials from both countries exchanged experiences on the practical challenges of regulating upstream petroleum activities.
The two sides also considered common challenges facing the industry, including attracting investment, ensuring efficient resource management, maintaining environmental and safety standards and responding to changes in the global energy landscape amid the energy transition.
The engagement ended with a commitment by Ghana and Uganda to deepen cooperation and sustain knowledge exchange, as both countries seek to maximise the contribution of their petroleum resources to national development.
