The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has announced that gas sales generated $952 million in revenue last year, highlighting the growing importance of gas in the country's petroleum sector. According to Hamis Ussif, GNPC's Deputy Chief Executive for Finance, Commercial and Administration, this figure demonstrates the significant contribution of gas to GNPC's operations. The disclosure was made at a Technical Consultative Workshop organised by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) on 25 September 2026.
The gas sales revenue underscores the commodity's growing significance to GNPC, with reliable gas supply being critical to Ghana's energy security, industrial development, and broader economic stability. Gas helps power generation, easing reliance on more expensive liquid fuels, which conserves foreign exchange and supports economic stability. The government is currently managing an IMF-backed programme, and the gas revenue figure comes as a boost to the country's finances.
The importance of gas extends beyond the power sector, with industrial users in Tema, Takoradi, and elsewhere increasingly turning to the fuel. GNPC and its partners have announced roughly $3.5 billion in upstream investments intended to boost gas supply to the domestic market. This investment aims to strengthen the gas value chain and ensure an efficient supply of gas to meet growing demand.
In addition to the upstream investments, GNPC is working with partners on a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project targeted to begin operations by the end of 2027. The project has a capacity to supply up to 400 million cubic feet of gas per day. Ussif emphasized the need for a bankable structure capable of drawing investment across the upstream, processing, transportation, and distribution segments of the gas value chain.
However, not everyone at the workshop struck an entirely upbeat tone. Dr Kwame Sarkodie of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) cautioned that Ghana would need to significantly expand its gas supply capacity to meet rising future demand. He projected that demand could reach about 750 million cubic feet per day by 2030, well above what domestic fields currently supply.
Dr Sarkodie warned that without stronger domestic production and infrastructure, including gas transport networks reaching beyond the coast into the middle and northern belts, Ghana's dependence on imported gas could deepen. The warning highlights the need for GNPC and the government to address the supply gap and ensure a stable gas supply to meet growing demand.
The GNPC gas sales revenue figure comes at a time when the government is under pressure to shore up its finances. The figure, combined with the recent disclosure that output at the Jubilee oil field had exceeded 80,000 barrels a day, paints a picture of a national petroleum sector generating substantially more revenue than earlier projections suggested. Parliament's Energy Committee is separately reviewing the practice of requiring domestic refineries to pay in US dollars for crude oil produced within the country.
Key points
- GNPC's gas sales revenue reached $952 million in 2025.
- The corporation is investing $3.5 billion in upstream projects to boost gas supply.
- Ghana's gas demand is projected to reach 750 million cubic feet per day by 2030.
