Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo replaced his sacked energy minister on Aug. 9 in a reshuffle that still maintained the West African country's high number of ministers—110 in total.
Akufo-Addo sacked Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko on Aug. 6, and in the reshuffle he replaced him with John Peter Amewu, former minister of lands and natural resources. Press reports said Agyarko was removed because the president was unhappy with his handling of an extension to a five-year deal with United Arab Emirates-based AMERI Energy for a 300MW emergency power plant.
Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, former regional minister for the Brong Ahafo region, was named minister for lands and natural resources, while Kofi Adda, a former minister of sanitation and water resources, was appointed the minister of aviation.
Critics and local media say the number of Ghana’s ministers is bloated and is a drain on the public purse, but the government has resisted calls to axe some of them.
Ghana, one of the region’s most dynamic economies, became an energy producer in late 2010, and pumps out around 180,000 barrels of oil per day from three main fields.
But large amounts of this revenue are spent on government salaries, while Ghana has suffered from falls in commodity prices in the past three years that forced it to go to the IMF for a bailout.
It is now in its final year of the $918 million credit deal signed in April 2015 to fix its economy, dogged by high deficits, inflation and public debt.
Recommended Reading
CERAWeek: Tecpetrol CEO Touts Argentina Conventional, Unconventional Potential
2024-03-28 - Tecpetrol CEO Ricardo Markous touted Argentina’s conventional and unconventional potential saying the country’s oil production would nearly double by 2030 while LNG exports would likely evolve over three phases.
DUG GAS+: Chesapeake in Drill-but-don’t-turn-on Mode
2024-03-28 - COO Josh Viets said Chesapeake is cutting costs and ready to take advantage once gas prices rebound.
CERAWeek: Trinidad Energy Minister on LNG Restructuring, Venezuelan Gas Supply
2024-03-28 - Stuart Young, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Energy, discussed with Hart Energy at CERAWeek by S&P Global, the restructuring of Atlantic LNG, the geopolitical noise around inking deals with U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela and plans to source gas from Venezuela and Suriname.
Exclusive: Chevron Balancing Low Carbon Intensity, Global Oil, Gas Needs
2024-03-28 - Colin Parfitt, president of midstream at Chevron, discusses how the company continues to grow its traditional oil and gas business while focusing on growing its new energies production, in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.
Baltimore Port Closure Could Dent US Coal Export Volumes, EIA Says
2024-03-28 - Baltimore handled exports of 28 million short tons last year, making up 28% of total U.S. coal exports.