Ghana’s Jubilee Fields Oil and Gas Extraction: Accountability and Prospects

Abstract

Ghana commenced the oil and gas extraction in commercial quantities in the year 2011 and hence the country was listed among oil and gas producing countries in the sub-Saharan Africa. Accordingly, Ghanaians’ optimism widened because the oil and gas sectors were the change agent for social infrastructure and better living standards. Suddenly, however, Ghanaians’ optimism started to dwindle due to the lack of accountability mechanism to protect their interest. This study explored the Ghanaians’ misgivings regarding the accountability mechanism in the oil and gas sectors. Primary data for this study was collected from interviews and survey. Findings revealed that the majority of Ghanaians are pessimistic about the prospects of the oil and gas sectors for ensuring parity in national development. It concluded that Ghanaians have little information about the accountability mechanism to protect their interest and therefore recommended a policy action to strengthen the accountability and prevent the resource curse syndrome.