Oranto/Stone Energy, after exiting Ghana’s offshore oil and gas field years ago, has since not cleared an amount of $67,438.36, being outstanding surface rental invoice during its operations at the Saltpond oil field.

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has since then tried every means possible to get Oranto/Stone Energy to honour the outstanding amount, but all efforts in that respect, have been zilch. Almost repetitively, the GRA has over the years, explained that “it cannot locate Oranto”.

Since 2013, the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) has echoed the need for this anomaly to be rectified but to no avail. It is worthy to note that, the GRA has made some progress, but this is in only identifying the fact that, Oranto has been operating in other countries such as Angola, Chad, and Mozambique while subsequently, making contact with the company.

“According to the Authority, since the issue has assumed a cross-border dimension, it has escalated beyond the GRA, and is being handled at the ministerial/governmental level.”
PIAC Report

To date, PIAC still finds these eventualities hazy, as it stated in its 2014 Annual Report, when it first identified these issues, saying “it is unclear why this invoice has not been honoured, especially considering the fact that Oranto paid surface rental during the period under review”. Oranto is said to have paid surface rental amount of $73, 207.54 in 2014.

Golden Pumpjack and spilled oil on dollars

PIAC’s Recommendation to GRA

The PIAC iterated in the 2021 Annual Report that “…the GRA should collaborate with the relevant authorities in these jurisdictions to retrieve the principal together with the interest,” adding that must take this action “as a matter of principle.”

Should Oranto eventually pay the outstanding surface rental invoice, this will include an additional penalty for default as stipulated in section (3) 4 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815).

“Where the liability of an entity to make a payment is not discharged on or before the due date, the entity shall pay as a penalty, an additional five percent of the original amount for each day of default or the default rate established under any other law, whichever is higher.”
PRMA

PIAC recommended, in line with the above law that “GRA must find and compel Oranto/Stone Energy to pay the outstanding invoice with applicable penalties for the period during which it has being in default.”

Oranto/Stone Energy was awarded the Saltpond Annulus offshore shallow water block for a six-year period. It had a license that extended 1,500 sq. km within the Saltpond and Central Ghanaian basins and operated in water depth of 45 metres.

Saltpond lies to the east of the Tano Basin, which contains the Jubilee oil and gas complex, and to the West of the Keta Basin. The license was operated with a tax rate of 35 per cent charged to the partners of the oil field and royalty of 12.5 per cent for oil and 7.5 per cent for gas.

The Saltpondpond oil field is currently in the process of decommissioning with the cost of such an exercise borne by the national oil company (NOC), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), as this weighs on the company’s resources.