The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is Ghana’s National Oil Company (NOC), established in 1983 by PNDC Law 64, to support the government's objective of providing adequate and reliable supply of petroleum products and reducing the country's dependence on crude oil imports, through the development of the country’s own petroleum resources.  The Petroleum [Exploration and Production] Law, 1984, PNDC Law 84, was subsequently enacted to provide the regulatory framework for the exploitation of the country’s hydrocarbon resources. PNDC Law 84, establishes the contractual relationship among the state, GNPC and prospective investors in upstream petroleum operations.   This law also grants GNPC the right of entry into any open acreage to undertake exploration activities.    The corporation, which started operations in 1985, is partner in all petroleum agreements in Ghana.

GNPC is also the national gas sector aggregator in Ghana, and aims to supply efficient fuel to meet Ghana’s increasing energy needs. After the inception of GNPC in 1983, technical assistance was sought from Braspetro, the international subsidiary of the Brazilian National Petroleum Corporation (Petrobras) under UNDP sponsorship in 1985 for the preparation of a strategic organizational plan and recommendations for institutional capacity building.  The organizational plan approved by the Board of Directors involved five main functional divisions and four staff departments.Reviews of the structure havesince takenplace andcurrently incorporate a wider scope of activities consistent with our current strategy. The current staff strength is 300.

GNPC has a seven-member Board of Directors, appointed by the Ghana Government, which exercises oversight responsibility over the corporation, giving it policy direction.