Editorial: Downstream petroleum space requires digital tracking & audit technologies

Government officials and stakeholders are urged to focus on upstream resource governance. This is similar to how downstream operations have improved with monitoring systems.

Mr. Amoah highlighted SML's success in helping GRA recover about GH¢20 billion. This recovery occurred over four years in downstream petroleum revenues. He believes that proper monitoring of the upstream segment could generate “two to three times more” revenue for the state.

“We are losing too much because producers report what they choose,” he said. He emphasized that this situation must change.

Previously, Mr. Amoah was a critic of SML. However, after reviewing their operations, he changed his view. “SML is not a political gimmick; it is a technical solution,” he stated.

The country relies heavily on oil and mineral revenues for economic stability. There are increasing calls for better oversight and revenue assurance from civil society and policy advocates.

SML has built its reputation in downstream petroleum through digital tracking technologies. They recently announced their upstream system is now active across Ghana’s three Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels.

According to SML, this system allows agencies like GRA and the Ministry of Finance to validate volumes in real time. It also helps detect anomalies, eliminating long-standing data blind spots.