Petroleum Sector To Receive $20bn Next Year

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has projected that more than $20 billion will be injected into the country’s petroleum activities in the next five years, the sector Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, has said.

He said the focus of the government was to ensure that Ghana’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) got a fair share of the huge investments coming into the country, “which, indeed, will translate into the transformation of Ghanaian businesses, job creation and the overall expansion of the economy”.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) in the Western Region, Mr Buah said the oil discoveries being made would attract investments.

He said the government took the decision to establish the EDC in the Western Region, with support from the Jubilee partners, to act as a focal point for co-ordination between the oil and gas companies and SMEs.

“We believe that the activities will not remain an enclave for the oil and gas sector but open up opportunities for other sectors such as mining, aviation, petrochemical and the wider economy, with the attendant linkage effects,” he said.

He said the Petroleum Commission Act provided for a Local Content Committee to implement and monitor local content targets for the sector, as prescribed in the LI.

The minister said the centre would provide the necessary training that would equip Ghanaian SMEs with the skills that would enable them to meet international standards and expectations of oil and gas companies.

The representative of the Jubilee partners and President of Tullow Oil Ghana, Mr Dai Jones, said the centre was part of the commitment to ensure local participation.

Mr Nuety Adziman, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Oil and Gas Service Providers Association (GOGSPA), expressed the hope that locals would be given the opportunity to benefit from the investment.