Ghana’s President John Mahama has called on international oil firms to accelerate crude oil production in the country, warning that the global transition to renewable energy could soon render the resource economically useless.

Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Tuesday, Mahama said, “Oil is in transition. Everybody who has any assets should be pumping like there’s no tomorrow.”He stressed the urgency, noting that Ghana’s oil reserves could be left stranded if drilling isn’t intensified while global demand still exists.

“I will lay a red carpet to anybody who wants to drill and pump oil because in the next decade or two, the world would have made a transition to renewables,” he added.Mahama, who assumed office in January, accused the previous administration of stalling progress in the petroleum sector.

He pointed to regulatory delays and disputes with major investors like Tullow Oil and Italy’s ENI.“The sector suffered a lot of disinvestment because the previous government had squabbles with Tullow,” he said. “ENI was held in contempt and they had to move all their expatriate management to Cote d’Ivoire,” though he confirmed the company is now back and actively drilling.

Ghana’s crude oil production has declined from 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to 48.25 million barrels in 2023, according to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).

Despite pushing for aggressive oil extraction, Mahama reiterated Ghana’s commitment to clean energy, stating, “At least 10 percent of our energy mix should come from renewable sources,” as outlined in the country’s Renewable Energy Act.