Ghana’s earnings from its petroleum sector took a severe hit in 2025, with total government petroleum receipts falling to approximately US$769 million — a sharp contraction of nearly 43% from the roughly US$1.35 billion recorded in 2024, according to figures managed and reported by the Bank of Ghana through the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF).
The decline, driven by a combination of lower production volumes, weaker global crude oil prices, and persistent operational challenges in the upstream sector, represents one of the steepest year-on-year drops in Ghana’s oil revenue in recent memory — and raises fresh questions about the country’s fiscal resilience at a time when development spending remains under pressure.
The revenue deterioration was felt across both halves of the year, though the first half bore the sharper blow.
In the first half of 2025 (H1), petroleum receipts came in at around US$370 million, representing a decline of approximately 56% compared to the US$840–841 million recorded in the same period in 2024. Analysts attributed the steep fall to significantly reduced crude oil liftings from key producing fields, compounded by a softening in international oil prices that eroded the value of every barrel the country did manage to sell.
The second half of 2025 (H2) offered a marginal recovery in relative terms, with receipts reaching US$399.65 million — still down roughly 23% from the corresponding period in 2024. Within that figure, crude oil liftings contributed only US$198.25 million, a 46% drop from the prior year’s H2 performance, with the remainder — approximately US$201 million — drawn from corporate income taxes and minor interest and other income streams.
What Is Driving the Decline?
The revenue slump is not a product of any single factor but rather a convergence of pressures bearing down simultaneously on Ghana’s upstream oil industry.
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Production from flagship fields, including the Jubilee Field and the Sankofa Gye Nyame/TEN complex, has faced headwinds from operational challenges that have curtailed the number of liftings the government could count on. Fewer cargo liftings directly translate to fewer dollars entering the PHF, regardless of what prices are doing on global markets.
And global markets, for much of 2025, were not doing Ghana any favours. Crude oil prices remained under downward pressure for extended periods throughout the year, meaning that even the liftings that did occur generated less revenue than comparable volumes would have in stronger price environments.
Reading the Fine Print:
It is important to note that these figures represent government petroleum revenue — the share of oil proceeds that flow into the Petroleum Holding Fund and are attributable to the state. They do not capture the full gross value of oil produced or exported from Ghanaian waters, much of which accrues to international partners operating in the country’s oil blocks, including Tullow Oil and ENI, among others.
Additionally, some reports have flagged the 2025 total as unaudited at the time of early 2026 disclosures, meaning the figures, while indicative, remain subject to revision as formal audit processes are completed.
Where the Money Goes:
Under Ghana’s petroleum revenue management framework, receipts credited to the PHF are distributed across several designated channels. A portion flows into the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), which finances priority development expenditures.
The remainder is split between the Ghana Stabilisation Fund — a buffer against revenue volatility — the Ghana Heritage Fund, designed to preserve long-term wealth for future generations, and allocations to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the state oil company.
With receipts now running at roughly half their 2024 levels, the pressure on each of these allocation buckets is considerable — and the conversation around Ghana’s oil-dependent fiscal model is likely to grow louder in the months ahead.