The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Joseph Abuabu Dadzie, has downplayed the significance of a recent report by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) that revealed a decline in Ghana’s crude oil production.

According to the PIAC report, Ghana’s crude oil production has dipped for the fourth consecutive year, with production volumes plummeting from 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to 48.25 million barrels in 2023.

However, speaking to Citi News during an inspection of the GNPC’s Operational Headquarters in Takoradi, which is 90% complete, Mr. Dadzie downplayed the impact of the decline, citing high oil prices as a stabilising factor for Ghana’s petroleum revenues.

“We need to increase our production, but we need to also appreciate that revenue is a function of two parameters, thus price and volume. So, we’ve been very fortunate that even though the volumes have declined a bit, we saw in the region of high oil prices, so revenue is still about stable,” Mr. Dadzie said.

He acknowledged that the GNPC has a responsibility to work hard to increase the country’s petroleum volumes and reserves, but expressed optimism that the situation would not remain the same.

On the GNPC Operational Headquarters project, Mr Dadzie said the facility would not become a white elephant.

He expressed satisfaction with the 90% work done on the facility and praised the quality of the finishing work.

“I’m very impressed about the quality of finishing that has been done, and I hope that this will help improve the productivity of the staff who work here,” he said.