According to the Public Interest Accountability Committee’s (PIAC) 2023 Annual Report on the Management and Use of Petroleum Revenue, Ghana’s crude oil production decreased by 6.78% in 2023, making up part of an average annual decline of 9.2% over the previous four years.
Ghana produced 48,247,036.61 barrels of oil in 2023 as opposed to 51,756,481 barrels in 2022, according to the data. Following a peak production year of 2019, when 71,439,585 barrels were produced, this drop continues the pattern. In 2020, production was down 6.32 percent to 66,926,806 barrels; in 2021, it was down 17.75% to 55,050,391 barrels; in 2022, it was down 5.98% to 51,756,481 barrels; and in 2023, it was down 6.78% to 48,247,036.61 barrels.
According to the research, the output projection for 2023 signifies the fourth year in a row that annual production volumes have decreased since 2010.
Three fields—Jubilee, TEN, and Sankofa Gye-Nyame (SGN)—produce Ghana’s crude oil. Production started in December 2010 at the Jubilee Field, and it continued at TEN in August 2016 and SGN in May 2017.
With 30,444,217 barrels produced in 2023, the Jubilee field produced 63% of the nation’s total crude oil output. The SGN field produced 11,086,541.61 barrels (23%) and the TEN field produced 6,716,278 barrels (14%).
Emerita Professor Ardayfio-Schandorf, the PIAC Chairperson, ascribed the reduction in production to a lack of funding for the exploration of new areas and the aging process of established fields, which resulted in lower output.
Gas production, on the other hand, slightly increased. Associated gas (AG) and non-associated gas (NAG) combined generated 255,171.97 million standard cubic feet (MMSCF) of raw gas in 2023, an increase of 0.64% from 253,555.05 MMSCF in 2022.
The largest volume of combined AG and NAG was generated from the relatively gas-concentrated SGN field (127,203.02 MMSCF), followed by the Jubilee and TEN fields (77,900.05 MMSCF and 50,068.90 MMSCF, respectively).
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