The Government of Ghana announced Monday that it has repaid a total of $1.47 billion in energy sector arrears during its first year in office, a move officials say has restored the country’s credibility with international partners and revived a critical World Bank guarantee.
In a statement issued January 12, the Ministry of Finance said the Mahama administration inherited “an energy sector on the brink of collapse” after years of unpaid bills for gas supplied from the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) field. The non-payments had fully depleted the $500 million World Bank Partial Risk Guarantee, a facility created in 2015 to support the Sankofa Gas Project and unlock nearly $8 billion in private investment.
Its exhaustion, the ministry noted, “represented a serious governance failure that undermined Ghana’s international credibility.”
By the end of December 2025, however, the government had repaid $597.15 million, including interest, drawn on the World Bank facility. “As at 31 December 2025, the government has fully repaid US$597.15 million, inclusive of interest, drawn on the World Bank Guarantee,” the ministry said. The repayment, it added, has “fully restored the facility and reaffirmed Ghana’s standing as a credible and reliable partner on the global stage.”
The government also cleared outstanding invoices owed to ENI and Vitol, amounting to about $480 million, and has set aside budgetary provisions to ensure timely payments in the future. Officials described the measures as part of a broader effort to stabilize the energy sector and prevent a repeat of the financial strain that nearly crippled it.
By Ebenezer De-Gaulle