Freddie Blay giving his address at the awards and get-together
Acting Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, has lauded the contribution of Ghana Oil Company (GOIL) to the sustenance of the petroleum downstream sector in Ghana.
He, however, challenged the company to venture into the upstream petroleum sector.
Mr Blay, a former Board Chairman of GOIL, disclosed this at the 2017 Long Service Awards and end-of-year party of the company to honour distinguished staff who have served the company between 10 and 35 years.
He congratulated the board, management and staff of the company for putting GOIL on an enviable pedestal.
GOIL was adjudged the third largest company in Ghana by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre-sponsored Ghana Club 100 list of companies, and is now the second best-listed company on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) it listed a decade ago.
Mr Blay challenged the company to continue to work hard to stay ahead of the competition.
Board Chairman of the company, Kwamena Bartels, pledged the commitment of the Board to work with management and staff to propel the company to chalk more successes.
He lauded the efforts of the immediate-past board for moving the company forward and gave assurance that the new board would strive to chalk more successes.
Group CEO and MD Patrick Akorli encouraged management and staff to continue to give off their best in the coming years.
He said GOIL was scaling up its health and safety measures in response to recent development in the industry, assuring that GOIL would take the lead in this front.
Sixteen staff were rewarded for long service to the company.
They included the Chief Operating Officer, Alex Josiah Adzew, who was presented with an ward for 25 years of service, Vida Stephens, who was also acknowledged for 30 years of service, and Felix Ohene Ayare, who served the company meritoriously for 35 years.