Ghana has two offshore oil fields with proven resources that have not yet produced a single barrel of commercial crude and the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) is now demanding that the government obtain specific, time-bound investment commitments from their operators before another year passes.
The PIAC 2025 Annual Report, released April 8, names the Springfield and Pecan fields as priority concerns requiring immediate coordinated investment plans. PIAC has called on the government and the Petroleum Commission to develop a framework that can boost investment in existing oil-producing fields, including fields yet to pour first oil, such as Springfield and Pecan.
The Springfield field, operated by Springfield Exploration and Production, has been embroiled in a years-long unitisation dispute with ENI and Vitol over the adjacent Afina discovery. The government formally withdrew a unitisation directive in February 2025 following an arbitration ruling, and the ministry has indicated it retains the right to issue new orders in future. No production start date has been confirmed.
The Pecan field, operated under the Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points block, received Plan of Development approval from the Ministry of Energy. However, as of the period covered by the report, the contractor had not reached a Final Investment Decision, the critical hurdle required before any physical field development can begin.
PIAC’s recommendation to GNPC is direct: work with the Petroleum Commission to develop a framework with specific production targets, investment timelines, and operator commitments. PIAC Chairman Richard Ellimah put the scale of urgency in plain terms at the report launch, noting that Ghana currently produces around 120,000 barrels per day while Nigeria produces close to 1.8 million daily. Without Springfield or Pecan coming onstream, that gap will only widen.
