Use mid-year budget to review benchmarks for crude oil prices – Energy analyst

Ahead of the presentation of the Mid-Year Review of the Budget Statement and Supplementary Estimates for the 2023 Financial Year to Parliament, an energy analyst Benjamin Nsiah is impressing on Government to review downwards its projected benchmarks for crude oil prices.

The government had earlier projected a benchmark oil price of 88.55 dollars per Barrel for 2023 at an output of 52 million barrels.

In an interview with an energy analyst,  Benjamin Nsiah said the government must peg the new figure at an appropriate level to properly align with international figures for revenue and expenditure.

“The first of 2023,it was observed that the prices of crude has been stable around USD 75 per barrel and Energy Information Administration of USA  also projected that the second half of the year prices will average at USD 79,” he explained.

“If we don’t have new projections or reduce our anticipation of this market price, there will be a large balance of trade deficit where by our projected revenue from abroad including that of Oil export against our projected imports will have a bigger gap,” he added.