Ghana's participation in the African Petroleum Producers' Organisation was confirmed by Parliament on Tuesday (APPO).
The APPO (previously known as the African Petroleum Producers' Association) was founded on January 27, 1987, to serve as a forum for African oil-producing countries to cooperate and harmonize efforts, collaborate, and share information and skills.
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, and South Africa were all members of the APPO as of December 31, 2021, up from eight in 1987.
If Ghana's participation in the APPO is ratified by Parliament, the country will have access to the Africa Energy Investment Corporation (AEICorp), which would mobilize private-sector capital for the development of Ghana's Petroleum Hub through qualifying African and international companies.
It would also allow Ghana to fully engage in all of the organization's operations.
Article 75 of Ghana's 1992 Constitution states that any treaty, agreement, or convention signed in the name of Ghana by or under the authority of the President must be ratified either by an Act of Parliament or by a resolution of Parliament supported by the votes of more than half of the members of Parliament.
Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy, who proposed the resolution for the House to accept the Committee's report on Ghana's request for ratification of the APPO by Parliament, Ghana sought for membership in the APPO on February 16, 2011, and a committee of experts unanimously approved it at its 41st meeting on June 23, 2011.
He said that the annual subscription costs for Ghana's membership and oil-producing operations were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Having rigorously evaluated the APPO's situation, the Committee believes that Ghana will greatly benefit from membership in the Organization," he stated.
Ghana's membership would give the nation the right to participate in the Organization's crucial decision-making, access to investment through AEICorp, and the chance to utilize the Organization to support the growth of Ghana's growing petroleum sector for optimal results, he added.
The Committee observed that Ghana had applied and received the required two-thirds majority approval of member nations, leaving the ratification and signature of the Organization's status as the final stage for Ghana to become a full member of the APPO.
Mr. Edward Abambire Bawa, a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Mines and Energy, who seconded the motion, expressed his delight that Ghana had decided to join the APPO, stating that AEICorp, one of the Organization's organs, would provide capital funding for hydrocarbon development in member countries.
Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, a Deputy Minister of Energy and Member of Parliament (MP) for Karaga, said the APPO, in its current form, would benefit Ghana in a variety of ways because Africans needed to work together as a continent to develop their hydrocarbon resources and maximize benefits for their people.
Because of the energy revolution, he said, funding for oil and gas projects is now dropping; he added that APPO was trying to build an African Energy Bank that would mobilize resources to assist the development of the continent's hydrocarbon resources.
Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah, a former Energy Minister and member of the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy, stated that ratification will allow Ghana to reap the benefits of the agreement.