{"id":394008,"date":"2018-01-22T17:00:34","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T17:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=394008"},"modified":"2018-01-22T16:47:05","modified_gmt":"2018-01-22T16:47:05","slug":"tougher-supervision-needed-to-regulate-exxon-mobil-steve-manteaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/01\/tougher-supervision-needed-to-regulate-exxon-mobil-steve-manteaw\/","title":{"rendered":"Tougher supervision needed to regulate Exxon Mobil – Steve Manteaw"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Co-Chair of the Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative, Dr. Steve Manteaw, has urged the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to strengthen its regulatory functions.<\/p>\n
He believes this will help regulate entities such as Exxon Mobil, which has strong imprints in the energy sector.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”OPCqjxYurl99XQM45Sy5R0PnG9ZbG4JT”]The Petroleum Production and Exploration Bill, among others, stipulates that Ghanaians should be prioritized in terms of employment in the petroleum\u00a0industry.<\/p>\n
However, some oil exploration companies blatantly flout this provision.<\/p>\n
Last week the government signed a deal with the oil giant, Exxon Mobil, which is awaiting ratification by Parliament. But even before that, Dr. Manteaw believes a lot needs to be done to keep oil companies in check.<\/p>\n
“It requires very mature and experienced regulatory institutions which we don\u2019t have. This puts extra responsibility on citizens. We all have a role to play to ensure that the rules governing the game are observed by Exxon Mobil.\u201d<\/p>\n
“As I speak to you, they [GNPC] are still in the process of building their capacity so I am saying that, for a regulatory institution which is still an infant, you need to be wary when you are bringing in the big companies because they can actually override our institutions,\u201d\u00a0he said to Citi News.<\/strong><\/p>\n Parliament assures scrutiny<\/strong><\/p>\n The Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament has indicated that it will ensure Ghana gets the best out of the deal signed with ExxonMobil.<\/p>\n The agreement is expected to be presented to Parliament for ratification when the House resumes.<\/p>\n The agreement will allow the oil giant to acquire exploration and production rights for the Deepwater Cape Three Points block that is Tano Basin.<\/p>\n Ghanaian ownership is estimated at 30 percent, comprising 10 percent royalties to the government while the GNPC owns 15 percent stake as Carried and Participation Interest.<\/p>\n Earlier concerns from Manteaw<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr.\u00a0Steve Manteaw had accused the government circumventing the law by\u00a0signing the oil exploration deal<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0with Exxon Mobil.<\/p>\n