Contact
Thomas Kojo Stephens is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law and lectures in both the LLB and LLM Programs, lecturing among others, Petroleum Law, Introduction to Oil, Gas Law, Oil and Gas Contracts, Research Methodology and Proposal Writing, Natural Resources Law, Conflict of Laws/Private International Law, and the Law of Succession.
He is a Senior Partner at Stobe Law and the Head of the Transactional, Oil and Gas Practice, as well as the Consultancy Group of the firm. He is the principal consultant to a number of high-profile entities in the petroleum industry, and a lead professional on projects for both local and international clients. He is the jurisdictional author for a number of international publications in Petroleum Law and has written on different facets of the industry. He is also an external reviewer for a number of international journals focused on the upstream oil and gas industry. He is an Advisory Board Member of the International Energy Law Advisory Group (IELAG - Brazil), and a Principal Trainer and Consultant at the International Energy Law Training and Research Company (IELTRC – Portugal and Brazil). He completed in 2020, his term as the Vice-Chairman of Ghana’s Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), a statutory body with oversight over the management and use of Ghana’s petroleum revenue.
CREDENTIALS
- PhD (Petroleum Law, Policy and Regulation)- University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
- LLM- Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
- QCL/BL - Ghana School of Law, Accra, Ghana
- LLB - University of Ghana School of Law, Accra, Ghana
- BA (Political Science and Philosophy (Highest Honours)) - Emory University in Atlanta, GA
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Petroleum Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Conflict of Laws/Private International Law
- Law of Succession
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2021 (Forthcoming)
Acheampong T and Stephens TK (eds), Petroleum Resource Management in Africa: Lessons from Ghana (McMillan, 2021) Forthcoming
Stephens TK and Dzikunu S, “Examining Ghana’s New Exploration and Production Act and other Legislative Developments” (ed.) in Acheampong T and Stephens T (eds), Petroleum Resource Management in Africa: Lessons from Ghana (McMillan, 2021) Forthcoming
2020
Stephens TK “Ghana” in Pereira E, Wawryk A, Trischmaann H, Banet C, and Hall K (eds), “The Regulation of Decommissioning, Abandonment and Reuse Initiatives in the Oil and Gas Industry: From Obligation to Opportunities” (Wolters Kluwer 2020) 351-368
2019
Dowuona-Hammond C and Stephens TK, “From Total Immunization to an Economic Balancing Act: The Trajectory of Stabilization Clauses in Ghana’s Petroleum Agreements” (2019) OGEL (2) pp 1-19
Stephens TK, “Framework for Petroleum Revenue Management in Ghana: Current Problems and Challenges” (2019) Vol 37 No 1 Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law, pp 119-143
2018
Stephens TK and Acheampong T, “Local Content in Ghana” in Pereira E and Gormley Tonje P (ed) Local Content in the Petroleum Industry (PennWell Corp. 2018) pp 187-211
2017
Stephens TK and Dzikunu S, ‘Ghana’ in Pereira E and Talus K (ed), Upstream Law and Regulation: A Global Guide (Globe Law and Business, 2017) pp 103-122
2016
Stephens TK, “In their Name and for their Welfare: Rethinking Ghana’s Constitutional Provisions for the Natural Resources Sector in the Light of Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry” (2016) XXVIII UGLJ, pp 159-212
Stephens TK, ‘The Long Meandering Journey: The Development of Ghana’s Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, (2016) XXIX UGLJ pp 103-152
2015
Stephens TK, ‘Ghana’ in Pereira EG and Talus K (ed) African Upstream Oil and Gas: A Practical Guide to the Law and Regulation (Globe Law and Publishing 2015) pp 181-206