By Mildred-Siabi Mensah/Emmanuel Gamson
Takoradi, Oct. 03, GNA-A three-day Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) has opened in Takoradi to promote local content and participation to grow the upstream petroleum sector.
The Seventh LCCE, organised by the Petroleum Commission, was on the theme: “Attracting Exploration and Production Investments to Boost Local Content-New Pathways.”
It brought together major local and international stakeholders in the petroleum industry to discuss and share ideas and perspectives on how to grow, attract and retain investments to boost local contents.
Mr Egbert Faibille Jnr, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Petroleum Commission, speaking at the opening of the conference said the theme reflected the compelling need to accelerate the exploration of hydrocarbons to avert stranded resources, and to replace reserves to sustain and increase production.
He said: “If we are not able to attract and retain investments into Ghana’s upstream sector, local content will stagnate, so this is what has warranted the theme for this year’s Local Content Conference and Exhibition.”
According to him, since the commercial discovery of oil in the Jubilee Field in 2007, the industry had rapidly evolved, attracting major international oil companies and fostering local enterprises.
“Having achieved its first commercial hydrocarbon production from the Jubilee Field in December 2010; barely 40 months after its discovery, Ghana saw a significant uptake in exploration activities leading to over 30 new discoveries offshore Ghana,” Mr Faibille indicated.
He said that notwithstanding the initial growth and successes, the industry had recently taken a downward trend in new investments, production volumes and general activity levels due to extraneous variables.
He, thus, gave the assurance that the Ministry of Energy and the Petroleum Commission were committed to doing everything possible to attract new investments into Ghana’s petroleum space for accelerated growth.
Mr Herbert Krapa, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Energy, said no other nation had stronger credentials as a worthier investment destination in West Africa than Ghana.
“The rule of law, anchored on good governance, free speech, freedoms and liberties, finds in Ghana a more fertile ground for growth than perhaps anywhere else,” he added.
He noted that despite recent challenges, Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector remained hugely attractive, with endless opportunities for prospective investors.
He said: “We are working to make our investment climate more favourable now than ever before. Our regulatory regime guarantees sanctity of contracts and unrestricted profit and dividend repatriation, and investors are assured of transparency, fairness and regulatory predictability.”
Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, appealed to stakeholders in the petroleum sector to invest 70 per cent of their local content and corporate social responsibility in the region because “The Western region, by virtue of our oil and gas resources, has become a major ally of the industry.”
He said the economic structure and dynamics of the region had evolved over the last decade because of oil and gas activities within the area.
He, therefore, implored international oil companies and, and all allied companies to always look within the Region for partnerships and investments in businesses to spur the growth and development of the region.
GNA