Ghana’s crude oil revenue declined by 29.7 percent last year to US$666.38 million, from US$947.67 million in 2019, according to the latest semi-annual report on the petroleum holding fund (PHF).

The revenue comprised proceeds of crude oil exports by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), corporate income tax receipts, surface rental income and interest accrued on the PHF.

The significant fall in revenue reflected largely the impact of the global oil price crash since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, the government had projected crude oil revenue of US$1.57 billion in 2020, but this was slashed to US$660.45 million in the wake of the virus.

Revenue from crude oil liftings from the Jubilee field fell by 50.5 percent year-on-year, while revenue from liftings from the TEN field declined by 23.4 percent.

Fitch Solutions, the international research firm, has described the near-term outlook for oil production in Ghana as subdued given the impact of the global oil price crash on the industry, which has caused major new projects to be suspended.

Further, technical challenges at both the Jubilee and TEN fields are expected to slow the short-term growth in oil output.

Last week, Tullow Oil, which operates the two fields, announced that its share of gross production from the fields will average 40,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in 2021, down from 52,400 bopd in 2020.

For the longer-term outlook, Fitch said the country’s crude oil production remained positive, based on expectations of continued field developments, including development of the Pecan field which has a total expected production capacity of 110,000 barrels per day.

Aker Energy, a Norwegian firm, operates the Pecan field with a 50 percent stake in partnership with Russia’s Lukoil (38 percent), GNPC (10 percent) and Fueltrade (2 percent).