The establishment of Ghana’s petroleum register is an important step to improving transparency in the upstream petroleum sector of Ghana. The establishment of the petroleum register fulfils Section 56 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Law, Act 919 which mandates the Petroleum Commission (the Commission) to establish and maintain a petroleum register of petroleum agreements, licenses and authorizations in the petroleum sector, and to make the petroleum register publicly available. Contract disclosure continues to arouse the interest of citizens, civil society organizations and global actors. In view of that, it becomes important to assess Ghana’s petroleum register even at its early life to strengthen any existing gaps before it costs the country.

ACEP has assessed the petroleum register firstly against its legal requirements using the provisions of Section 56 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Law, Act 919 and Regulation 20 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) (General) Regulations 2018. Secondly, the petroleum register was analyzed against some international best practices.