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Petroleum Commission Act, 2011
ACT 821
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
Petroleum Commission
1.
Establishment of Petroleum
Commission
2.
Object of the Commission
3.
Functions of the Commission
4.
Governing body of the Commission
5.
Tenure of office of members
6.
Meetings of the Board
7.
Disclosure of interest
8.
Establishment of committees
9.
Allowances
10.
Ministerial directives for the
Commission
Administration
11.
Appointment of Chief Executive
Officer
12.
Functions of the Chief Executive
Officer
13.
Appointment of other staff
Finances of the Commission
14.
Funds of the Commission
15.
Tax exemption
16.
Expenses of the Commission
17.
Accounts and audit
18.
Annual report and other reports
Miscellaneous provisions
19.
Compliance with decisions of the
Commission
20.
Review of decision
21.
Relationship with other
authorities
22.
Regulations
23.
Interpretation
24.
Transitional provisions
SCHEDULE
ACT
OF THE PARLIAMENT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA
ENTITLED
PETROLEUM COMMISSION ACT, 2011
AN ACT to establish the
Petroleum Commission, for the
regulation and the management of
the utilisation of petroleum
resources and to provide for
related purposes.
DATE OF ASSENT:
PASSED by Parliament and
assented to by the President:
Petroleum Commission
Establishment of the Petroleum
Commission
1.
(1) There is established by this
Act a body corporate with
perpetual succession to be known
as the Petroleum Commission.
(2) Where there is a hindrance
to the acquisition of property,
the property may be acquired for
the Commission under the State
Property and Contracts Act, 1960
(C. A. 6) or the State Lands
Act, 1962 (Act 125) and the
costs shall be borne by the
Commission.
Object of the Commission
2.
The object of the Commission is
to regulate and manage the
utilisation of petroleum
resources and to co-ordinate the
policies in relation to them.
(ii) plans for the development
of petroleum transportation,
processing and treatment
facilities;
and
(iii) decommissioning plans for
petroleum fields and petroleum
infrastructure;
(k)
issue annually a public report
on petroleum resources and
activities in Ghana in
accordance with the Schedule to
this Act and publish the report
in the
Gazette;
(I)
receive information from
contractors as provided for
under applicable laws and
regulations;
(m)
analyse petroleum economic
information and submit economic
forecasts on petroleum to the
Minister; and
(n)
perform any other function
related to the object of the
Commission or assigned to it
under any enactment.
Governing body of the Commission
4.
(1) The governing body of the
Commission is a body consisting
of
(a)
a chairperson;
(b) the Chief Executive Officer
of the Commission;
(c)
one representative of the
Environmental Protection Agency
not below the rank of Director;
(d)
one representative of the
Institution of Geo-scientists
nominated by the Institute; and
(e)
three other persons at least one
of whom is a woman.
(2) The members of the Board
shall be appointed by the
President
in accordance with article 70 of
the Constitution.
(3) The President shall in
appointing a member of the Board
have regard to the person's
integrity, knowledge, expertise
and experience in matters
relevant to the functions of the
Board.
(4) The Board shall ensure the
proper and effectivand
experience in matters relevant
to the functions of the Board.
(4) The Board shall ensure the
proper and effective performance
of the functions of the
Commission.
Tenure of office of members
5.
(1) A member of the Board
shall hold office for a
period not exceeding three
years and is eligible for
re-appointment but a member
shall not be appointed for
more than two terms.
(2) Subsection (1) does not
apply to the Chief Executive
Officer of the Commission.
(3) A member of the Board may at
any time resign from office in
writing addressed to the
President through the Minister.
(4) A member of the Board other
than the Chief Executive
Officer, who is absent from
three consecutive meetings of
the Board without sufficient
cause ceases to be a member of
the Board.
(5) The President may by letter
addressed to a member revoke the
appointment of that member.
(6) Where a member of the Board
is, for a sufficient reason,
unable to act as a member, the
Commission shall determine
whether the inability would
result in the declaration of a
vacancy.
(7) Where there is a vacancy
(a)
under subsection (3), (4) or
section 7 (2),
(b)
as a result of a declaration
under subsection (6), or
(c)
by reason of the death of a
member,
the Commission shall notify the
President of the vacancy and the
President shall appoint a person
to fill the vacancy.
Meetings of the Board
6.
(1) The Board shall meet at
least once every three months
for the despatch of business at
the times and in the places
determined by the chairperson.
(2) The chairperson shall at the
request in writing of not less
than one-third of the membership
of the Board convene an
extraordinary meeting of the
Board within seven days of
receipt of the request at the
place and time determined by the
chairperson.
(3) The quorum at a meeting of
the Board is five members of the
Board or a greater number
determined by the Board in
respect of an important matter.
(4) The chairperson shall
preside at meetings of the Board
and in the absence of the
chairperson, a member of the
Board elected by the members
present from among their number
shall preside.
(5) Matters before the Board
shall be decided by a majority
of the members present and
voting and in the event of an
equality of votes, the person
presiding shall have a casting
vote.
(6) The Board may co-opt a
person to attend a Board meeting
but that person shall not vote
on a matter for decision at the
meeting.
Disclosure of interest
7.
(1) A member of the Board who
has an interest in a matter for
consideration by the Board shall
(a)
disclose the nature of that
interest and the disclosure shall
form part of the record of the
consideration of the matter,
and
(b)
not participate in the
deliberations of the Board in
respect of that matter.
(2) A member ceases to be a
member of the Board, if that
member has an interest in a
matter before the Board and
(a)
fails to disclose that interest,
or
(b)
participates in the
deliberations of the Board in
respect of the matter.
(3) A member of the Board shall
declare all the properties and
assets owned or liabilities owed
by that member in accordance
with article 286 of the
Constitution.
Establishment of committees
8.
(1) The Board may establish
committees consisting of members
of the Board or of members and
non-members of the Board to
perform a function.
(2) Without limiting subsection
(1),
the
Commission shall establish a
Local Content Committee to deal
with the local content and local
participation programme.
(3) A committee of the Board
shall be chaired by a member of
the Board.
(4) Section 7 applies to members
of a committee of the Board.
Allowances
9. Members of the Board and
members of a committee of the
Board shall be paid the
allowances approved by the
Minister in consultation with
the Minister responsible for
Finance.
Ministerial directives for the
Commission
10.
(1) The Minister may give
directives in writing to the
Board on matters of policy and
the Board shall comply.
(2) Directions given by the
Minister shall not adversely
affect or
interfere
with the performance of the
functions and exercise of the
powers of the Commission under
this Act.
Appointment of Chief Executive
Officer
11.
(1) The President shall in
accordance with article 195 of
the Constitution, appoint a
Chief Executive Officer for the
Commission.
(2) The Chief Executive Officer
shall hold office on terms and
conditions as specified in the
letter of appointment.
(3) The Chief Executive Officer
shall be a person of high moral
character and integrity with the
relevant qualifications and
experience related to the
functions of the Commission.
Functions of the Chief Executive
Officer
12.
(1) The Chief Executive Officer
is responsible for
(a)
the day to day administration of
the affairs of the Commission
and is answerable to the Board
in the performance of functions
under this Act, and
(b)
the implementation of the
decisions of the Board.
(2) The Chief Executive Officer
shall co-operate with other
heads of agencies and
organisations involved in
petroleum activities.
(3) The Chief Executive Officer
shall perform any other
functions
determined by the Board.
(4) The Chief Executive Officer
may delegate a function to an
officer of the Commission but
shall not be relieved of the
ultimate responsibility for the
performance of the delegated
function.
Appointment of other staff
13.
(1) The President shall in
accordance with article 195 of
the Constitution appoint for the
Commission other staff that are
necessary for the proper and
effective performance of its
functions.
(2) Other public officers may be
transferred or seconded to the
Commission or may otherwise give
assistance to it.
(3) The Chief Executive Officer
may engage the services of
advisers and consultants subject
to the approval of the Board.
Finances of the Commission
Funds of the Commission
14.
(1) The funds of the Commission
include
(a)
moneys provided by Parliament;
.
(b)
moneys that accrue to the
Commission in the performance of
its functions;
(c)
donations and grants to the
Commission for its activities
under this Act; and
(d)
any other moneys that are
approved by the Minister
responsible for Finance.
(2) The moneys for the
Commission shall be paid into a
bank account for the purpose
opened by the Commission with
the approval of the Controller
and Accountant-General.
Tax exemption
15.
(1) The Commission is exempt
from the payment of taxes.
(2) Subject to article 174 (2)
of the Constitution, the
Commission is entitled to a
waiver of a fiscal imposition or
charge.
Expenses of the Commission
16. The expenses of the
Commission shall be paid from
moneys pro- vided for the
Commission under section 14.
Accounts and audit
17. (1) The Board shall keep
books of account and proper
records in relation to them in
the form approved by the
Auditor-General.
(2) The Board shall submit the
accounts of the Commission to
the Auditor-General for audit
within three months after the
end of the financial year.
(3) The Auditor-General shall,
not later than three months
after the receipt of the
accounts, audit the accounts and
forward a copy of the audit
report to the Minister.
Annual report and other reports
18. (1) The Board shall within
one month after the receipt of
the audit report, submit an
annual report and financial
statement to the Minister
covering the activities and the
operations of the Commission for
the year to which the report
relates.
(2) The annual report
shall include the report of the
Auditor-General.
(3) The Minister
shall, within one month after
the receipt of the annual
report, submit the report to
Parliament with a statement that
the Minister considers
necessary.
(4) The Board shall also submit
to the Minister any other report
which the Minister may require
in writing.
Miscellaneous provisions
Compliance with decisions of the
Commission
19. Subject to section 20 of
this Act, a contractor,
subcontractor or any other
person involved in petroleum
activities shall comply with
decisions,
orders or instructions of the
Commission made in writing
pursuant to its object and
functions under this Act and any
applicable laws and regulations.
Review of decision
20. (1) A person aggrieved by a
decision of the Commission under
this Act may lodge a complaint
with the Minister within thirty
days after receipt of the
decision.
(2) The Minister shall within
thirty days after receipt of the
complaint take a decision on it.
(3) In the event that
(a)
the thirty days expire without a
decision of the Minister,
the person aggrieved may pursue
the matter in Court; or
(b)
a person is dissatisfied with
the decision of the Minister,
that person may apply to the
Court for a review of the
decision of the Minister.
Relationship with other
authorities
21. (1) Government departments
and public agencies shall
co-operate fully with the
Commission in the performance of
its functions under this Act.
(2) The Commission shall have an
operational office in the
Western Region and any other
region where petroleum is
discovered in commercial
quantities.
Regulations
22. The Minister may, on the
advice of the Board, by
legislative instrument, make
Regulations
(a)
for the exploration, development
and appraisal of petroleum and
related operations;
(b)
for the production of petroleum
and related operations; and
(c)
to provide for any other matter
necessary for the effective
implementation of the provisions
of this Act.
Interpretation
23. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires,
"appraisal programme" means a
programme carried out, following
a discovery of petroleum for the
purpose of delineating the
accumulation of petroleum to
which the discovery relates in
terms of thickness and lateral
extent and estimating the
quantity of recoverable
petroleum therein;
Petroleum
Commission Act, 2011
"Auditor
General" includes an auditor
appointed by the Auditor-
General;
"Board" means
the governing body of the
Commission established under
section 4;
"Chief
Executive Officer" means the
person appointed under section
11;
"Commission"
means the Petroleum Commission
established under section 1;
"contractor"
has the same meaning given to it
in the Petroleum (Exploration
and Production) Act, 1984, (P.N.D.C.L.
84);
"Corporation"
means the Ghana National
Petroleum Corporation
established by the Ghana
National Petroleum Corporation
Act, 1983, (P.N.D.C.L. 64);
"Court" means
the High Court;
"data
acquisition" includes the
process of acquiring geological,
geophysical, engineering and
economic data for petroleum
exploration;
"fiscal
metering" means the planning,
design, installation,
calibration, commissioning,
monitoring and inspection of any
devices or equipment for the
measurement of quantity of
petroleum
produced;
"local
content" means the use of
Ghanaian human and material
resources, services and
businesses for the systematic
development of national capacity
and capabilities for the
enhancement of the Ghanaian
economy;
"Minister"
means the Minister responsible
for Energy;
"petroleum" means crude oil or
natural gas or a combination of
both;
"petroleum activities" means any
activity, engaged in within and
outside Ghana related to the
exploration for, development and
production of petroleum, the
acquisition of data and drilling
of wells and the treatment,
storage, pipeline transportation
and decommissioning and the
planning, design, construction,
installation, operation and use
of any facility for the purpose
of the activities;
"petroleum
fields" means the geographic
area under which one or more
petroleum deposits or reservoirs
lie and which is or has been
operated pursuant to applicable
laws, regulations and
agreements;
SCHEDULE
(Section
3
(k))
Annual Public Report on
Petroleum Resources and
Activities
The report shall contain
information including the
following:
(a)
open areas for petroleum
exploration and production;
(b)
reconnaissance licences issued
and petroleum agreements
ratified;
(c)
petroleum activities conducted,
including but not limited to
data acquisition and the
drilling of wells, exploration,
appraisal, development and
production (volume of oil and
gas produced) phases of the
petroleum value chain;
(d)
production permit issued by the
Commission, relinquished
production permit and active
production permits;
(e)
sales or transfer of interest;
(f)
development and production in
individual fields;
(g)
transportation system including
new pipe lines constructed
and the fields to which they are
related;
(h)
research and development
projects;
(i)
taxes including royalty and
acreage fees paid by
contractors;
(J) health, safety and
environment;
(k)
decommissioning activities;
(I)
resource status in relation to
the
(i) total volume of petroleum
sold and delivered,
(ii) shutdown fields,
(iii) producing fields,
(iv) reserves in producing
fields,
(v) discovered resources for
which the plan of
development is yet to be
approved,
(vi) resources in discovered
fields which are currently
considered not commercial,
(m)
volume of original hydrocarbon
in place, recoverable
reserves and remaining
recoverable reserves (net of
production) of existing fields."
Date of
Gazette
notification:
12
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