Skip to main content

Stable market key to attracting oil companies – Norwegian minister

Oil companies are prepared to do business in countries with high tax rates if the market they are entering also offers stability, according to Erik Solheim, Norway’s Minister for the Environment and International Development.

Solheim, who was speaking exclusively to the global publishing, research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG), would like to see Ghana adopt Norway’s format of putting a higher tax on oil and gas rather than taxing windfall profits.

“The most important thing for oil companies is predictability,” he said. “In Norway’s case, investors still want to come and it will be the same for Ghana if companies feel confident that the taxation rate, though high, is consistent over time.”

Norway has played a key role in assisting Ghana since its major oil discovery in 2007 by helping her draft its Revenue Petroleum Management Bill. It has also advised the government on a number of processes including taxation and negotiating with oil companies.

Solheim believes that following best practices is pivotal to minimising environmental risks during hydrocarbons exploration. “There have been a lot of technological improvements over the last few years, so we always need to look at the best practices and undertake sound, transparent studies before embarking on new oilfield activities,” he said.

He was also confident that emerging oil countries like Ghana would be well placed to contribute to upstream activities in Norway when its hydrocarbon production eventually declines. “We want Norwegian oil businesses to invest abroad as long as their investments are in accordance with the best practices and sound management,” he said. “As such, countries such as Ghana will become increasingly important.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MTN Ghana & MTN MoMo CEOs win laurels at Ghana CEO Awards

  The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh ,   has been adjudged  CEO of the Year  –  Telecom  at the  2 nd  edition of the  Ghana CEO  Vision  and  Awards   held  in Accra. At the same event, the CEO of Mobile Money Limited (MTN MoMo), Shaibu Haruna was also adjudged CEO of the Year – FinTech Service Provider. Selorm  Adadevoh’s award  is in recognition  of  his   achievements   in the areas of   sustainability, leadership excellence, innovation and others  in the telecoms space  which  has contributed to  job creation to support the  growth of Ghana’s economy. Patrick Afari (r), General Manager, Supply Chain Management and General Services receiving CEO of the Year – Telecom Award on behalf of Selorm Adadevoh Receiving the award on behalf of Selorm, Patrick Afari, General Manager, Supply Chain Management and General Services ,  expressed appreciation to the organizers for the award. He  noted that  th e  award will go a long way to inspire MTN to do more for Ghanaian

EB-ACCION DISBURSES US$15 MILLION

By Fred SARPONG Ecobank-Accion (EB-Accion), a partnership between Ecobank Ghana Limited and Accion International has disbursed amount to the tune of $15 million to over 36,000 borrowers in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in the country, since the institution was set up barely six months ago. Frances Adu-Mantey, the Managing Director of EB-Accion disclosed this to Business Week in Accra last week during the official opening of Accion Hub headquarters in Africa. The institution’s current portfolio stands at GH¢4 million. She stated that currently, EB-Accion have over 6100 customers who save with them throughout the four branches of the institution. According to her, in order to improve the services of the institution, Ecobank Share Services center will facilitate the technology aspect of the bank by networking all the branches of EB-Accion. Maria Otero, President and Chief Executive Officer of Accion International said that the center’s staff in Accra will provide supp

Amantin & Kasei Community Bank posts impressive growth, with over GH¢1m profit

 Amantin and Kasei Community Bank, at Amantin in the Bono East Region has posted impressive growth in all the performance indicators during 2022 financial year under review. The bank recorded profit after tax of GH¢1,055,662, representing 35.66% more over the 2021 figure of GH¢778.151. This achievement stemmed out of 49.24% gross income growth from GH¢8,143,526 to GH¢12,153,537. Total deposits of the bank went up by 36.20%, changing from GH¢50,959,848 in 2021 to GH¢69,405,591 in 2022. The bank increased loans and advances by 22.15% from GH¢14,128,017 to GH¢17,257,614. Total assets showed an appreciation of 29.32%, amounting to GH¢77,918,288 as against GH¢60,250,693 in the previous year. On the other hand, the bank posted a marginal increase in short term investments portfolio from GH¢24,439,761 to GH¢26,585,698, indicating 8.78% change. The Chairman of Board of Directors, Amantin and Kasei Community Bank, Dr. John Oduro-Boateng, disclosed this during the 18th annual general meeting of