Ghana Gas Company operating ‘illegally’

The Danquah Institute has stated that Ghana National Gas Company, headed by Dr George Sipa-Yankey, is operating illegally as it was not created by an Act of Parliament and currently  appears to be breaching the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Act, 1983 (PNDCL 64), which set up the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.

The Executive Director of the Danquah institute, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko made this known at a press conference organised by the Institute and held at the Ghana International Press Centre on Wednesday 21st December 2011.

On the 24th of November 2011, the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) signed an agreement with Sinopec of China to construct Ghana's first gas infrastructure scheduled to be completed by 2012. The Chinese firm, according to Dr Sipa-Yankey, will pre‐finance the start of work pending the release of the first tranche of the $3 billion China Development Bank loan.

However, according to Gabby the Ghana Gas Company, first and foremost, is usurping the role of the GNPC, a similar scenario to what GNPC did to TOR and virtually making t redundant.

To buttress his point, the DI man quoted the relevant functions and objectives of the GNPC as spelt out in PNDC Law 64, which among others states that “The objects of the Corporation are to undertake the exploration, development, production and disposal of petroleum”.

Section (2) of the law, according to Gabby, states that, “This [objects of GNPC] includes but is not limited to (a) promote the exploration and the orderly and planned development of the petroleum resources of Ghana; (b) ensure that Ghana obtains the greatest possible benefits from the development of its petroleum resources”

In order to achieve the objectives of the GNPC as spelt out in Section (2), Gabby stated that Section (3) of PNDC Law 64 provides the GNPC with powers to “purchase, lease, establish, complete, expand, repair and manage such factories, plants, installations and facilities as are necessary in connection with the exploration, development, production and disposal of petroleum and subject to such approval as may be required by any enactment, provide and manage road, marine and aviation communications as well as means of transport and other facilities; and to execute agreements with purchasers for the export of crude oil and natural gas.”

“Clearly, the decision to make the Ghana National Gas Company the implementing company of the project contravenes Sections 2 and 3 of PNDCL 64. For parties to this agreement to ignore this fundamental statutory issue at their own risk,” Gabby charged.

Gabby continued, “since Government has an obligation to confirm to Parliament that the CDB funds will be on-lent to the project sponsors or implementers of the various beneficiary projects of the CDB financing, including Ghana gas, it is important that the relationship between GNPC and Ghana gas is sorted out before Government proceeds any further with the gas infrastructure project.”

According to Gabby, if this is not sorted out, any agreement between Ghana gas and Sinopec, or any other entity, may be illegal.

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