A report released by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) cited flow assurance issues, inadequate pressure support for the Ntomme field, challenges in water injection on the Enyenra Field, and increasing gas-oil ratio in the Ntomme field, as some of the factors for the decline in the period under review.

The production from the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) declined by 32.7 per cent from 17,802,536 bbls in 2020 to 11,978,064 bbls in 2021.

The Sankofa Gye-Nyame (SGN) Field recorded its fourth full-year production, with a reduced output by 15.8 per cent from 18,699,731.01 bbls in 2020 to 15,736,846.10 bbls in 2021.

For the SGN Field, the highest monthly production was in January, with the lowest monthly production recorded in December. An average output of 43,114.65 bbls of oil per day was produced during the period.

The reduction in crude oil production resulted in an unplanned shutdown at both TEN and the SGN, according to the report.

Some stakeholders in the sector have suggested that the operators of the oil fields be surcharged by the industry regulator because the country could not cash in on the higher commodity prices on the world market last year, but the Petroleum Commission (PC) is adamant, saying it did not find any cause for a surcharge.

The manager in charge of Project Evaluation at the Petroleum Commission, Ebenezer Harmah, in an interview on April 22, 2022, disputed claims that commodity prices only shot up this year and were at the average price last year.

He said the operator was required to do its work with utmost due diligence and care and, therefore, if the Commission had any cause to believe that there was gross misconduct or negligence that led to the production declines, it would sanction.

“They are working with equipment and despite the scheduled maintenance, they can develop faults. There hasn’t been an issue. Normally, we will look at whether they follow their maintenance schedule, and there is also class inspection by independent institutions at periodic times. All these are done so I don’t think it is the fault of the operators,” he said.

On what should be done to prevent or reduce such occurrences to the barest minimum, Harmah recommended timely and proper communication by the operator.

“The regulator will continue to ensure regulatory oversight is discharged creditably. For the operators, when these unplanned shutdowns come, there is a need for communication. You do not initiate the shutdown before you inform other stakeholders and institutions who are dependent on such supplies,” he said.

He added that unplanned shutdowns may still have about a week or less to plan.