THE Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) is pushing for Ghana’s National Oil Company (NOC) – the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) – to be abreast with other NOCs across the world in terms of their implementation of innovative initiatives towards a smooth energy transition.
The Institute at a recent stakeholder session, which included the media and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), stressed “GNPC can learn from what other NOCs with energy transition plans are doing”.
NRGI is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving countries’ governance over their natural resources to promote sustainable and inclusive development.
Senior Africa Programme Officer of the NRGI, Dennis Gyeyir in his presentation findings from a survey conducted by the Institute advised the GNPC to conduct a thorough risk analysis of its operations and activities in line with the global energy transition process.
It said a comprehensive transition approach is needed to address the impact of the energy transition on various stakeholders. To this end, it said GNPC as a national oil company (NOC) is expected to identify its risks, assess and analyse these risks and put in place a mitigation plan.
The Corporation will need to come up with an investment plan that takes into account the issues of energy transition such as the sustainability of the business.
Mr. Gyeyir, who shared the findings of a survey on how NOCs are responding to the energy transition, observed that many of the companies that have high readiness for the transition are companies located in Latin America like Ecopetrol of Columbia, Amex of Mexico and YPF of Argentina.
The survey covered 15 NOCs in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa. The exercise among others, concluded that a few of the NOCs surveyed acknowledge the risk of energy transition, with fewer assessing risk and making assessments public.
“It is imperative to have ready scenario plans that will position the company to strategically respond to emerging market issues,” he added.
He maintained that companies that want to thrive long-term — and their investors — should be looking out beyond oil and gas to low carbon emissions and other strategic anchors that will ensure sustainability.
The NRGI noted that NOCs play a crucial role in the global energy landscape, as they control significant reserves of oil and gas resources. However, as the world transitions towards a more sustainable and low-carbon future, NOCs, particularly new producers such as Ghana, are likely to face numerous challenges and opportunities.
The NRGI in its survey advocated that NOCs diversify their portfolio, invest in research and development, improve efficiency in resource management, and improve
Clean energy
The NRGI wondered how GNPC could position itself as an ‘energy company’ without overstepping its boundaries and asked further “what technical capabilities exists within GNPC and the country to switch towards an energy company?”
Does the NOC have the necessary financial resources to invest directly in large scale REs and how does this compare to the costs of a PPA?
Decarbonization
The NRGI sought to find out how reducing Scope 1-2 emissions could affect GNPC’s competitive positioning, particularly in attracting funding.
How might the NOC financial position be impacted by being a “first mover” in reducing emissions, in comparison to taking a “wait-and-see” approach?
