A Petroleum Hub Amid Energy Transition? Why the $70 Bn Dream Project May Be a Misplaced Priority

In a time when nations are racing toward cleaner energy and climate-smart investments, the experts are saying Ghana appears to be taking a detour, straight into the heart of an industry that seems to be on a decline.

The about $70 billion Petroleum Hub Project is attracting criticism from industry players, not just for the cost involved but for what it represents. This move is being described as a direct contradiction to Ghana’s own energy transition goals.

For Denis Gyeyir, Country Manager of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), the project is not just questionable, it is a risky venture.

In a recent interview with The High Street Journal, he laid out a number of justifications for this position that ordinary Ghanaians, taxpayers, and future generations cannot afford to ignore.

A Project at Odds With the Energy Transition

Denis Gyeyir maintains that the global energy transition agenda is clear. There is a clarion call for a shift away from fossil fuels in favour of renewables. Yet Ghana is planning to do the opposite, with a project that could take years or possibly decades to complete, by which time the world may have already moved on.

In essence, while the world is gradually turning away from fossil fuels, Ghana, which is a party to the Paris Agreement, is rather diving deeper with about $70 Billion investment.

Ghana already has energy transition goals with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). For Denis Gyeyir, he cannot fathom why a country with an energy transition framework will take that route. Gyeyir emphasized that “any activity or project that deepens your involvement in the fossil fuel sector in the long term… that should worry us.”

 $70 Billion but at What Cost?

To put it plainly: $70 billion is nearly equivalent to Ghana’s entire GDP. Such kind of project is likely to be financed by government borrowing and investors.

The country manager for NRGI indicated that financing from investors will also come with another price: high-risk premiums. Fossil fuel projects are no longer investor favourites, and those who do invest demand more to cushion against uncertainty.

 “Even if an investor puts money into it, there will be a risk premium. They will want to charge a high interest on it because fossil fuels generally are not attractive as we speak these days. And so there’s the need to add a risk premium to it,” Gyeyir told The High Street Journal.

He emphasized that, “There’s a risk premium to it. So that makes it unwise.”

More Than Just One Bill

Ghana’s petroleum hub isn’t just about building refineries and petrochemical plants. It requires upstream investment, exploring and drilling for more oil, meaning even more capital, more debt, and more environmental impact.

He explained that Ghana is not just talking about building the infrastructure. The infrastructure will require that the country commit to extracting more oil to feed these refineries, hence requiring more exploration. This means Ghana is locking itself into a fossil fuel future, while the world is fleeing.

“The other side of it is that an investment in a petroleum hub project will also require upstream investment. So it’s not just the $70 billion that you need for the project. You also need to invest upstream to drill the oil, to explore and drill the oil. That is another debt there,” he noted.

Renewables: The Smarter Path Forward

To the average Ghanaian struggling with rising costs, unstable electricity, and worsening floods, this may feel abstract. But here’s the reality: that $70 billion could build solar farms, wind parks, irrigation systems, rural power grids, all while creating jobs and reducing energy poverty.

To him, it is unwise to invest such a huge amount in something the world is leaving behind. Instead, Denis Gyeyir believes the appropriate route is to channel those same resources into renewable energy, where the world is going.”

This, he says, is the better alternative since renewable energy projects are faster to implement, cheaper in the long term, and in line with both climate goals and modern industrial needs.

Misplaced Priorities in a Time of Crisis

At a time when schools lack desks, hospitals are underfunded, and communities struggle with climate change, committing tens of billions to fossil fuels feels out of touch, especially when cheaper, cleaner alternatives are available.

Ghana is at a crossroads. One path leads to sustainable, forward-looking investments that serve both people and planet. The other digs deeper into a sunset industry, risking money, time, and environmental integrity on a project that may not stand the test of time.

The country manager of the NRGI is convinced that the Petroleum Hub, as grand as it may sound on paper, could turn out to be Ghana’s most expensive mistake, unless a serious national conversation is had, and soon.

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