Ghana's petroleum revenue rose 52% to US$561.41 million in the first half of 2026, up from US$370.34 million in the same period of 2025, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) said on Thursday.
The committee, which monitors how the country manages its oil money, said the rise came mainly from higher crude oil prices. Ghana sold its oil at an average of US$92.81 a barrel, about 22% above the government's budget benchmark of US$76.22. Corporate income tax collections rose 37%.
Crude oil output also grew. Production rose 11.73% to 20.58 million barrels, from 18.42 million barrels a year earlier. The Jubilee field produced 12.82 million barrels, the Sankofa Gye Nyame field 5.07 million barrels and the TEN field 2.68 million barrels. Gas flaring fell sharply at all three fields.
PIAC raised concerns over how the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) used its share. GNPC received US$85.98 million in the period. Of the US$40.14 million it received to fund its stake in the Jubilee field, it spent only US$23.45 million on Jubilee production and development. The remaining US$16.69 million went to other costs, including staff pay and the building of its head office. Unpaid surface rentals from oil companies stood at about US$2.41 million, plus US$1.73 million owed under cancelled agreements.
The committee, chaired by Richard Ellimah, said it left out a chapter on how oil revenue was spent because the Ministry of Finance did not provide the data. It urged the ministry to treat the higher receipts as temporary, since they were driven by oil prices rather than lasting growth in output.