President John Mahama has called on international oil firms to accelerate crude oil production in Ghana before the global transition to renewable energy makes the country’s petroleum resources economically irrelevant.

Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Tuesday, Mahama warned that Ghana risks being left with stranded oil reserves if exploration and drilling are not fast-tracked while demand still exists.

“Oil is in transition. Everybody who has any assets should be pumping like there’s no tomorrow,” he said. “I will lay a red carpet to anybody who wants to drill and pump oil because in the next decade or two, the world would have made a transition to renewables.”

Mahama, who assumed office in January, criticised the previous Akufo-Addo administration for what he described as regulatory bottlenecks that discouraged investment and stalled progress in the oil sector. He accused the former government of engaging in protracted disputes with major investors, including British-based Tullow Oil and Italian energy giant ENI.

“ENI was held in contempt and they had to move all their expatriate management to Cote d’Ivoire,” Mahama noted. “Now the company is back and they are drilling again.”

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), which oversees Ghana’s petroleum revenue, recently reported a steady decline in crude oil output. Production dropped to 48.25 million barrels in 2023 from 71.44 million barrels in 2019, largely due to reduced investment in new wells.

Mahama blamed the decline on what he called “a lot of disinvestment,” fuelled by regulatory uncertainty and the exit of key players. He cited Tullow’s operational challenges during the previous administration as a major blow to the sector.

Ghana’s offshore oil production currently centres on the Jubilee Field, operated by Tullow, along with the TEN and Sankofa fields involving partners such as Kosmos Energy, PetroSA, and the state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

Despite his push for increased drilling, Mahama maintained that Ghana remains committed to its renewable energy ambitions. He noted that the country’s Renewable Energy Act requires that “at least 10 percent of our energy mix should come from renewable sources.”

The president’s comments come amid heightened global efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption and limit carbon emissions. With many countries setting ambitious targets for net-zero emissions, oil-producing nations like Ghana face mounting pressure to adapt their energy strategies.