Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam (2nd left) and some members of the Ghanaian delegation
MOHAMMED Amin Adam, Deputy Minister of Energy, has urged investors to take advantage of Ghana’s favourable petroleum market environment because its fiscal regime is investor friendly and offers higher returns to investors.
Speaking at an investment forum on the side-lines of this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Texas, USA, where the world’s elite energy professionals met, Dr. Adam said “the licensing regime is transparent, and provides investor certainty and flexibility.”
He mentioned that Ghana was aspiring to become a hub for refined petroleum products and petrochemicals in the West African sub-region and there were numerous petroleum downstream opportunities available.
“Government has therefore designated a free zone area for the development of petroleum and petrochemical refineries, storage, and transportation facilities for the export of products to largely African markets. This requires collaboration with the private sector to achieve the objectives of the hub,” he emphasised.
The deputy minister stated that government established the Ghana Petroleum Hub Corporation which was necessitated by investors’ demands for removal of “regulatory fatigue, red tapes and long leads times in project development.”
That, he said, was to facilitate the issuance of permits and licences to potential investors “and to play a rapid response role in addressing the challenges investors encounter in delivering on projects.”
In a related development, Dr. Amin Adam, at a brief ceremony, officially opened Ghana’s pavilion at the OTC, at the NRG Park in Houston Texas.
The OTC, an annual event, provides energy professionals with the opportunity to meet to exchange ideas and opinions, to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. It has expanded technically and globally with the Arctic Technology Conference, OTC Brasil, and OTC Asia.
A business desk report