The quest of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to retrieve an outstanding surface rental invoice of US$67,438.
36 from Oranto/Stone Energy since February 2013 has hit a snag due to cross-border dimensions.

The oil company, said to have left Ghana, is allegedly operating in three other African countries – Angola, Chad, and Mozambique- according to the GRA.

This is contained in the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) 2021 Annual report on the management and use of Petroleum Revenue.

“GRA has subsequently contacted the Company, but no payment has been made. According to the Authority, since the issue has assumed a cross border dimension, it has escalated beyond the GRA, and is being handled at the ministerial/governmental level,” the report stated.

PIAC has, therefore, reiterated its call, urging the GRA to collaborate with the relevant authorities outside the country’s jurisdictions to retrieve the principal together with the interest, adding that, “GRA must take this step as a matter of principle.”

Oranto/Stone Energy was in May 2008 awarded the Saltpond Annulus offshore shallow water block for a six-year period.

It had a license that extended 1,500 square kilometers within the Saltpond and Central Ghanaian basins and operated in water depth of 45 metres.

Saltpond lies to the east of the Tano Basin, which contains the Jubilee oil and gas complex, and to the west of the Keta Basin.

According to Oranto, the license was operated under a petroleum agreement with a tax rate of 35 per cent and a fiscal royalty of 12.5 per cent for oil and 7.5 per cent for gas.

The agreement provides for an additional oil entitlement to the Ghanaian government based on an agreed rate of return formula.

The Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC) had a 10 per cent carried interest in the agreement with Oranto Petroleum having 87.5 per cent and Stone Energy having a 2.5 per cent stake.