The co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Dr. Steve Manteaw, has revealed that Ghana's oil fields are nearing their peak, leading to a decrease in crude oil production.

In an interview, Dr. Manteaw stated, "The last time I checked, we had produced half of the Jubilee Fields, a third of TEN, and about a tenth of Sankofa Gye Nyame."

He warned, "If we don't add to our reserves, we could have no oil industry in 10 to 15 years."

This statement comes after a PIAC report showed that Ghana's crude oil production has fallen for the fourth year in a row in 2023.

Experts believe that urgent measures are needed to tackle the problem.

Dr. Manteaw observed that despite the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)'s attempts to draw investors, the efforts have not yielded significant outcomes.

"Sometimes, it feels like we're just throwing money away. The investments aren't coming, partly because EXXON Mobil left our oil industry, citing the pricing of our blocks and the size of their discoveries as reasons.

"If we had larger blocks, they would have a better chance of finding oil in quantities that are economically viable.

"Another issue inferred from our last bidding round is data quality; we lack sufficient high-quality data to attract investors," he explained.

Mark Agyemang, Technical Manager of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) disclosed that they have been alerting about a drop in crude oil production since 2018.

He mentioned that operational, regulatory, and governance issues have led to a significant reduction in oil production.

As a result, there have been no new petroleum agreements in the sector since 2018.

"Jubilee is 12 or 13 years into its production life, with an expected lifespan of 25 years. It's now about halfway through its production life, so a decline is natural as reservoir pressure decreases.

"To counteract this, they must employ artificial methods, such as gas or water injection, to extract more oil," he said.

Furthermore, the management of the Tweneboa Enyenra Ntomme (TEN) Oil Field has acknowledged operational challenges to PIAC and is actively working on solutions, added Agyemang.