Egbert Faibille Jnr. addressing the gathering
The passage of Local Content Regulations by the government in 2013 has created a conducive environment for indigenous Ghanaian companies to succeed in the industry.
In the first oil field development prior to the passage of the Local Content Regulations, only 6.5 per cent of contracts were awarded to Ghanaian companies.
However, a decade after the passage of the Regulations, about 20 per cent of value of contracts has been awarded to Ghanaian companies.
Minister for Energy, Matthew Opoku Prempeh disclosed this at a press briefing to precede the official opening of the 2023 Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) in Takoradi.
Over 1,000 participants from Ghana, and countries across Africa and beyond are participating in this year’s Local Content Conference and Exhibition currently underway in Takoradi.
The three days conference is being attended by participants from Nigeria, the Gambia, Uganda, Angola, Senegal, Trinidad & Tobago and European countries.
It is on the theme, “Ten years of Local Content in Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry; Achievements, Challenges and Prospects.”
The Local Content Conference and Exhibition is an annual programme organized by the Petroleum Commission. This year’s event has brought together International Oil Companies (IOCs), International Service Companies, Indigenous Ghanaian Companies (IGCs) and other stakeholders of the upstream petroleum sector.
The participants will deliberate on issues affecting upstream petroleum operations in Ghana and its derivative, local content.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh said, “Over the past 10 years we have covered a long and successful road. Our drive towards optimal local content and participation has contributed to the successes chalked”.
“I am proud as a Ghanaian to say that Springfield, a fully Indigenous Ghanaian E&P company drilled and successfully discovered in deep waters, the Afina-1X well at West Cape Three Points in 2019”.
He said the feat was commendable and must be celebrated as the first of its kind in the history of the country’s oil and gas industry.
“It also demonstrates the increasing capacity of Ghanaians to take charge of the exploitation of our hydrocarbon resources particularly in the wake of the energy transition,” he added.
Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission Egbert Faibille Jnr., remarked “This year’s conference is epochal because it marks 10 years of the coming into force of the Petroleum Local Content and Local Participation, Regulations, 2013; L.I. 2204”.
“I salute all Ghanaian companies who availed themselves of the opportunities created by L.I. 2204 and its amendment,” he pointed out.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi