Adnan Adams Mohammed
Ghana’s benchmark crude oil production for this year has been projected at an average of 126,994.49 barrels of crude oil per day (approximately 127,000) translating to an annual output of 46.35 million barrels.
These were arrived at based on a three-year simple average of each producing field’s actual and projected outputs in line with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) as announced by the finance minister in Parliament, last week, in accordance with the First Schedule (Section 17) of the PRMA (Act 815) as amended.
The Benchmark price for 2025 has been calculated as a seven-year moving average of prices at US$74.70 per barrel for crude oil and the Gas price is projected at US$7.11 per MMBtu. These are expected to yield projected petroleum receipts of US$1,011.36 million for 2025
“Mr Speaker, the Benchmark Revenue for 2025, which is the total petroleum receipts, net of the programmed receipts for GNPC is estimated at US$818.69 million”, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson noted when presenting the 2025 budget statement.
“Of this amount, a total of US$573.08 million representing 70% of the Benchmark Revenue has been allocated to the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), while the Ghana Petroleum Funds (GPFs) are programmed to receive US$245.61million.”
The GPFs receipts are would be distributed between the Ghana Stabilization Fund
(US$171.93 million) and Ghana Heritage Fund (US$73.68 million) in the ratio
of 70% to 30% in line with the PRMA.
The total receipt was calculated as per Ghana group share (liftings) of the total Benchmark crude oil output projection (46.35 million barrels) of 9.20 million barrels consisting of: royalty volume of 2.56 million barrels; and carried and participating interest volume of 6.64 million barrels, whilst, the Benchmark gas output, has been estimated at 118.14 trillion btu for 2025.
In monetary value terms, Ghana’s share of liftings are made up of Royalties (US$191.52 million), Carried and Participating Interest (US$495.92 million), Corporate Income Tax (US$319.70 million) and Surface Rentals (US$4.22 million).
Of the total receipts of US$1,011.36 million, US$192.67million has been programmed for the National Oil Company (GNPC) in respect of the equity financing cost (US$139.15 million) and share of the net Carried and Participating Interest (US$53.52 million)
Meanwhile, in the medium-term, total petroleum receipts are projected at US$1,159.66 million, US$1,209.33 million, and US$1,232.25 million, for, 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively. This is based on Benchmark price per barrel of US$78.98, US$79.21 and US$75.50 for 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively.
The Government maintained the cap on the Ghana Stabilization Fund at US$100 million, in line with Section 23(3) of the PRMA.