Oil revenue governance course in Ghana.

At least 30 people from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania are taking part in a two-week course on the governance of oil, mining and gas revenues organised by the Revenue Watch Institute in conjunction with German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra.

The training, which is open to civil society representatives, government officials and media professionals, is intended to help participants perform an effective oversight role in the management of the revenue from mineral and oil resources by their respective governments. Topics covered include the structure of the global oil, gas and mining industries, reporting on resource revenue, transparency and good governance and the implications of national oil, gas and mining activities for local economic development.

The course has been organised ahead of the scheduled start of oil production in Ghana in June 2010. The discovery of commercial quantities of oil in the offshore Jubilee field in 2007 has generated much excitement in the country but also concerns about how the resource is to be managed.

The Jubilee field is operated by a consortium led by Anglo-Irish oil and gas exploration and production group Tullow Oil and is thought to have potential reserves of around 1.8 billion barrels.

The course runs until 24 July and should be repeated on an annual basis.