- says ‘we produce 100,000 barrels, report 60,000’
- translating into US$350m – US$450m annual losses
- urges SML Ghana’s real-time monitoring system
By Ebenezer Chike Adjei NJOKU
Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, has raised fresh concerns over revenue leakages in the upstream petroleum sector, urging government and regulatory authorities to adopt real-time monitoring technologies to curtail losses and strengthen fiscal oversight.
Speaking at the fifth anniversary celebration of the operationalisation of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd. (SML), Mr. Amoah described the scale of under-reporting in the upstream sector as “alarming,” citing internal data and a confidential Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) report that estimates annual revenue losses of between US$350 million and US$400 million due to discrepancies in declared oil volumes.
“We cannot continue to produce 100,000 barrels of oil and only report 60,000. Where the 40,000 barrels go remains a question because we lack the mechanisms to verify entries at each stage of production and export. The state is losing enormous sums, and without transparency, we will keep subsidising opacity,” he explained.
He urged government officials and key stakeholders to prioritise upstream resource governance in the same way downstream operations have benefited from monitoring systems in recent years.
Referring to SML’s success in helping the GRA recover an estimated GH¢20 billion in downstream petroleum revenues over a four-year period, Mr. Amoah argued that the upstream segment, if properly monitored, could generate “two to three times more” in state revenue.
“If we are celebrating downstream gains, we must remember that the upstream is where the real volume sits,” he said.
“We are losing too much because the systems in place allow producers to report what they choose. This must change,” he added.
Mr. Amoah acknowledged that he had initially been one of SML’s harshest critics, citing misinformation and public suspicion surrounding the company’s contracts. However, after personally reviewing the company’s operations and systems, he reversed his position.
“I was not charitable towards SML when I saw the initial numbers but once I saw the technology and the data for myself, it became clear that SML is not a political gimmick—it is a technical solution to a longstanding problem,” he said.
The COPEC executive’s remarks come at a time of growing scrutiny over the management of the nation’s extractive resources. With the country relying heavily on oil and mineral revenues to stabilise its economy and meet public expenditure needs, calls for tighter oversight and improved revenue assurance have gained traction among civil society and policy advocates.
In response to these concerns, SML used the occasion to unveil its new real-time monitoring systems for the upstream oil and solid minerals sectors.
The company, which has built a reputation in the downstream petroleum space through digital tracking and audit technologies, announced that its upstream system is now deployed across Ghana’s three Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels.
“Once hydrocarbons are processed, our systems provide granular, real-time data that allows agencies to track every stage—from production to storage to offtake,” Hamdan Abubakar, Head of Engineering at SML said. “Every litre is accounted for. When a vessel arrives to load, we can verify exactly how much is being offloaded,” he added.
The technology integrates flow meters, tank-level sensors, and offtake meters, offering a comprehensive audit trail that supports production forecasting, budgeting, and reconciliation. According to SML, the system enables agencies such as the GRA and the Ministry of Finance to validate volumes and detect anomalies in real time—eliminating long-standing data blind spots.
SML also introduced a Solid Mineral Monitoring System, which focuses initially on the gold sector. The platform uses AI-driven tools to analyse the weight, purity, and composition of gold bars, enabling authorities to calculate royalties and trace the commodity from mine site to refinery. Data from the system will be co-managed by the GRA and the Minerals Commission.
“With this system, we are not only improving transparency but removing manual bottlenecks that allow for under-declaration,” Dr. Yaa Serwaa Sarpong, Director of Support Services at SML explained.
“It is about using innovation to give the state real control over its resources,” she further stated.
The upstream and solid mineral systems are expected to become fully operational by the third quarter of 2025, pending integration with industry stakeholders.
“These tools are not merely dashboards, they are decision-making enablers for the state. They allow regulators to act on facts, not estimates. That is where fiscal power begins,” Dr. Sarpong said.
COPEC’s Duncan Amoah said since the technology exists to protect our national interest, the onus is on policymakers to ensure that systems are allowed to function without interference. “Otherwise, we will remain a nation that extracts but cannot account,” he said.
