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 ...