GHANAIAN Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have raised concerns and appealed to the Norwegian government to closely monitor the operations of Aker Energy, a Norwegian company operating in Ghana. The Alliance of CSOs on Extractives, Anti-Corruption, and Good Governance emphasised that Aker Energy’s activities could tarnish Norway’s reputation as a leader in transparency within the extractive industry, Koku Devitor reports.
The coalition of CSOs, which includes organisations such as the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Centre for Extractives and Development Africa, the Integrated Social Development Centre CSOs Open Licensing Monitoring Group, and the Citizen’s Movement Against Corruption, expressed apprehension regarding the transparency and value for money in Aker Energy’s operations.
During a press conference held earlier this week, the 32 CSOs highlighted an incident involving Aker Energy and the Ghanaian government, where the Norwegian company nearly convinced the government to pay $1.65bn for shares in two offshore petroleum blocks whose viability was questionable. It was only through the intervention of local CSOs that the government and the state oil exploration company withdrew from the deal.
‘Fast forward, two years later, the SWDT block has been returned to Ghana for free. The so-called massive find (Nyankom) that GNPC swore that it was getting for a bargain is no longer the tantalising prospect it was sold to parliament,’ expressed the concerned CSOs.
The alliance further revealed that the main block, DWT/CTP, is now under the control of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) Equity Investment after Aker Energy defaulted on a $200 million credit. In light of this development, the CSOs demanded complete transparency regarding the transaction between Aker Energy and AFC, including a thorough audit of the $200 million expenditure.
Additionally, the CSOs questioned the rationale behind using a 14-year-old vessel to construct a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility for a field with a projected production period of 25 years.
The CSOs cautioned that Aker Energy’s activities in Ghana have the potential to damage Norway’s esteemed reputation within the global community. They called upon the Norwegian government to closely monitor Aker’s behaviour in Ghana in order to prevent any negative implications for a country that hosts the global Transparency Initiative.
‘We request the Norwegian government to take particular interest in the behaviour of Aker in Ghana to forestall the negative image for a country that hosts the global Transparency Initiative,’ urged the CSOs.