Ingrid Mollestad (M) with stakeholders
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) yesterday commemorated 16 years of partnership under the Oil for Development programme (OfD) in Accra.
The Oil for Development programme was inaugurated in 2008 after the discovery of the offshore Jubilee field but after a successful partnership between Ghana and Norway for 16 years, the government of Norway concluded that the OfD will discontinue the programme at the end of this year.
In the light of that, stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, representatives from the Petroleum Commission, Ministry of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation, (MESTI) Ministry of Energy among others converged at an event to discuss among others the achievements made during the cooperation and how lessons learnt during the partnership over the years could benefit the future management of Ghana’s petroleum resources.
MESTI Director of Research Statistics and Information and Management, Cephas Adjei Mensah, representing the sector Minister, Ophelia Mensah Hayford said the first phase of the programme which started from 2010 to 2014 and supported by a grant of Norwegian Krone NOK of 40 million, saw a significant effort in building institutional capacity and establishing regulatory frameworks for environmental management in the oil and gas sector.
He said due to the success of the initial phase, a second phase was initiated between 2015 and 2019 to strengthen Ghana’s capacity to manage its petroleum resources in an environmentally sound manner while the third and final phase which occasioned the commemorative event concludes this year with marked progress and a lasting impact on Ghana’s oil and gas sector.
He said the partnership has also led to significant strides particularly in the sector’s environmental management, leading to poverty reduction efforts in affected communities, the development of the Environmental Management Petroleum Policy for Oil and Gas Industries (EMPOGI) and improvement in its communication strategy among others.
Norweigian Ambassador to Ghana, Ingrid Mollestad, said Norway has over the years supported about 30 other countries including Ghana in the petroleum sector based on their experiences, achievement and mistakes made in the management of its resources.
She said Ghana-Norweigian partnership was aimed at promoting sustainable oil management resources for economic growth and welfare of future generations.
According to her, 16 years of such cooperation also supported Ghana’s economy in the management of its oil with strong and competent institutions, technical knowledge, development of regulatory system, health and safety and security in petroleum resources among others.
She further commended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Petroleum Commission among other state agencies for the strong legal institutional framework developed to improve the management of the country’s resources while it hopes to cooperate with Ghana in other areas in the future.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah