Emeafa Hardcastle, acting CEO of Ghana’s Petroleum Commission, talks to The Energy Year about reviving upstream investor interest through new policy approaches and redefining local content to create greater value. The Petroleum Commission is the government agency responsible for regulating, managing and co-ordinating activities in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector, overseeing exploration, production, compliance and local content development.
What are the main messages emerging from the industry engagement you’ve carried out since taking office in January 2025?
Since assuming office, we have engaged with many players in the industry. The key message we have gathered is simple: that we must take immediate action to revive investor confidence, to turn around the fortunes of the industry and increase contract opportunities for Ghanaian companies.
At the Petroleum Commission’s annual Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) in November 2025, our theme was “Revitalising Ghana’s Petroleum E&P Sector,” directly acknowledging this message. This has been the underlining strategy and core messages we have relayed across all promotional activities undertaken since January.
From your perspective, what is required to turn around Ghana’s upstream sector?
In spite of the acceleration of the global energy transition and the world moving toward cleaner fuels, it is vital that Ghana harnesses its petroleum resources for national development and energy security. To do so, we are focused on three key words: “Revitalising,” “Innovating” and “Redefining.” Putting these three words into action demands bold thinking, strategic collaboration and a renewed commitment by all stakeholders, including government, IOCs and service companies.
Revitalising Ghana’s petroleum E&P sector is not only about drilling more exploration and appraisal wells or producing more hydrocarbons. We must focus on unlocking new geological frontiers, such as the Accra-Keta and Voltaian basins, and attracting investment into the ultra-deep waters of our Tano Basin through transparent and expeditious licensing. Achieving this will require streamlining regulatory processes and ensuring that Ghana remains a competitive and stable destination for E&P investments.
Consequently, revitalisation requires deliberate and focused policy and regulatory initiatives involving all stakeholders. The revitalisation will address the following issues, among others: natural field depletion of maturing assets, operational challenges (complex reservoir management), regulatory and policy issues (inconsistent fiscal policies, protracted licensing, and burdensome taxes), investor uncertainty and energy transition concerns.
Government, industry, civil society and communities must work together to ensure that petroleum production serves Ghana’s long-term interests. Further to Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions and ESG goals, we must align our upstream ambitions with our climate commitments, our industrial goals and our social priorities.
With the assumption of office of the new government in January 2025, the president has made it a priority to resolve all disputes between upstream oil and gas players and the government of Ghana to restore investor confidence and trust in the sanctity of Ghana’s petroleum contracts. H.E. President of the Republic John Dramani Mahama is delivering on this, and we are seeing results, with renewed E&P investor interest and confidence in Ghana.
What major developments has the Petroleum Commission been driving in the past year?
So far, we have received expressions of interest from three industry giants and one large independent company and engagements with them are currently ongoing. The government negotiation team is at an advanced stage of finalising a new petroleum agreement with Shell for the South Deepwater Tano block.
Furthermore, two operators of the existing producing fields have also signed agreements to make further investments in our geological basins – Jubilee partners, Tullow and Kosmos have committed to USD 2 billion in additional investments in new wells and subsea facilities in Jubilee and TEN fields and Eni just signed a memorandum of intent with the government to invest USD 1.5 billion in additional investments in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) and Cape Three Points Block 4 contract areas. The team is also currently in discussions with Eni on increasing the production of oil and gas, particularly to boost gas output from the present level of 240 mcf [6.8 mcm] per day to 350 mcf [9.91 mcm] per day by 2028.
The Petroleum Commission is also engaging other regulatory agencies to ensure the resolution of some common challenges faced by contractors and subcontractors. The Commission continues to engage the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre to address issues of concern to the industry.
How is the Commission approaching the digital transformation of Ghana’s oil and gas sector?
Being the most technology-driven industry, perhaps apart from ICT, the global E&P sector continues to be transformed by technology and innovation. Ghana cannot be left behind in this new trend and innovation must be our compass, as it facilitates breakthroughs in exploration, drives down petroleum costs, minimises gas flaring and carbon emissions, and ensures sustainability in E&P activities.
The Petroleum Commission, as the regulator of the industry, is committed to facilitating this transformation by working with operators, academia and tech innovators to build a smarter, more agile sector. All hands must be on deck in this direction to ensure that we avoid stranded resources while meeting Ghana’s obligations under the Paris Agreement and global ESG requirements.
What is your strategy for strengthening local content and creating value for Ghanaians?
After implementing Local Content Regulations for over a decade and developing significant in-country capacity, the Commission is refocusing its local content strategy to in-country value creation and value addition. Consequently, we are pushing a principle we describe as “Do it in Ghana first and do it with Ghanaians will come next.” In this vein, the enhancement of local content development through domestic investments and operations irrespective of nationality should be at the heart of all efforts towards revitalising Ghana’s E&P sector and driving innovation. The Petroleum Commission, pursuant to its mandate, continues to play a pivotal role in shaping local content in the upstream petroleum industry.
In recent years, the Commission has intensified efforts to ensure that Ghanaians are not just participants but leaders in the oil and gas value chain. For instance, through its Monitoring and compliance framework, the Commission has strengthened its oversight of the industry, ensuring that international oil companies adhere to local content regulations. This includes mandating the use of Ghanaian goods and services, promoting joint ventures with local firms, specifying minimum local content levels and enforcing employment quotas that prioritise Ghanaian talent.
In redefining local content, we at the Petroleum Commission are aiming to cultivate a robust ecosystem where Ghanaian businesses and nationals can thrive in the industry, shift local content from a compliance-driven approach to a true value creation model and thus incentivise performance-based local content outlook rather than checklist compliance.
Despite this, we are also shifting from some traditional tenets of prescriptive local content strategies to more business-friendly strategies and setting realistic local content targets based on plausible economic assumptions. With West Africa emerging as a new frontier of deepwater exploration, Ghana must create a regional content environment where countries in the subregion can share their rich experiences and benefit from potential synergies among our indigenous companies.
Finally, what message do you have about the future of Ghana’s petroleum sector?
Ghana’s oil and gas sector stands at a defining moment; one that requires decisive action to reverse its declining trajectory. Today the industry is challenged by declining production, and a relatively uncompetitive regulatory environment. Left unchecked, these challenges will not only lead to sustained decline but also limit the country’s ability to fully harness its petroleum resources for national development.
By addressing these challenges and ensuring a transparent, investor-friendly and modernised legal framework that fosters stability, transparency and efficiency, Ghana can unlock its vast potential untapped reserves in an economically viable oil and gas sector.
The choice is clear: embrace reform and reclaim Ghana’s position as a leading petroleum hub in Africa, or risk premature stagnation as production dwindles. To our international partners: we invite you to deepen your collaboration with Ghana and Ghanaian enterprises, share technology and invest in innovation. There is still a lot to be done to revive Ghana’s E&P sector, but the groundwork is being set. We look forward to working with you to develop a budding upstream petroleum industry for our mutual benefit.