This thesis establishes the link between law, democratic governance and the institutional capacity needed for maximum control of hydrocarbon resources by the producer state, with the emphasis particularly on Ghana. The discoveries of hydrocarbon resources under the territorial waters and continental shelf of Ghana has set in motion a review of the pre-existing petroleum legislative framework in the country. The review is aimed at meeting the challenges of the nascent oil and gas industry taking into account modern trends adopted in the management of these resources. Prior to the discoveries, the national oil company, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) performed the role of commercial participation as well as monitoring and regulation of the industry on behalf of the Ministry of Energy. The GNPC also performed policy advisory functions. The position of the GNPC then could aptly be described as a classic case of conflict of interest. The enactment of the Petroleum Commission Act of Ghana, 2011 (Act 821) has, however, redefined the role of GNPC, as the upstream regulatory role is now performed by the Petroleum Commission in conjunction with allied agencies leaving the national oil company to concentrate on commercial activities. The central goal of the thesis is to analyse the extent to which the present regulatory regime related to the present Petroleum Commission Act suffers from the conflict of interest it was actually designed to resolve and to examine the means available to tackle these conflict of interest challenges drawing lessons where appropriate from mature hydrocarbon producing countries such as Norway, the UK and the USA. It is recognised in this thesis that no state can effectively develop its hydrocarbon resources unless it operates a democratic system of governance that promotes the rule of law, checks and balances, and independence of state institutions. It is, therefore, concluded in this thesis that the reformation of the Petroleum Commission itself in terms of the enabling Act and the internal culture and vii innovations within the Commission holds the key to the insulation of the Commission against conflict of interest risks. It is also concluded that constitutional amendments and statutory interventions that touch on Ghana's democratic governance framework with the aim of strengthening the Commission as an independent public agency are ways of tackling the conflict of interest challenges affecting the Commission. Consequently, proposals are made for reform.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:680975 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Osei-Hwere, Richmond |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=228645 |
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