Some participants at the press briefing
Over 1,000 participants from Ghana, and countries across Africa and beyond are expected to participate in this year’s Local Content Conference and Exhibition currently underway in Takoradi.
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 organised by the Petroleum Commission, which brings together International Oil Companies (IOCs), International Service Companies, Indigenous Ghanaian Companies (IGCs) and other stakeholders of the upstream petroleum sector.
The three-day conference is being attended by participants from Nigeria, the Gambia, Uganda, Angola, Senegal, Trinidad & Tobago and Europe.
The participants will deliberate on issues affecting upstream petroleum operations in Ghana and its derivative, local content.
The conference will enable the participants take stock of their activities over the past years and acknowledge their achievements and challenges, with the aim of recalibrating to achieve even more.
It will also help to identify their challenges and come up with ideas and strategies to address the challenges, and identify the prospects to harness for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders.
Addressing a press briefing to precede the official opening of the 2023 Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) on Tuesday, Egbert Faibille, Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission said the role the media has played and continues to play in advancements in local content development cannot be overlooked.
“The Commission does not take for granted the support the media continues to give to it in the delivery of its mandate. It is our hope that the interface between the Commission and the media will be deepened,” he noted.
He said, “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.”
He indicated that the coming into force of L.I. 2204 has brought tremendous opportunities for Ghanaian businesses and also job opportunities for qualified Ghanaians.
“I salute Ghanaian companies who avail themselves of the opportunities created by L.I. 2204 and its amendment.
“Some of the Indigenous Ghanaian Companies have consistently developed their respective capacities to operate in the upstream petroleum sector and also invested in the country,” he added.
He also commended foreign companies that have demonstrated commitment to the country by awarding contracts to Ghanaian firms, offering employment to Ghanaian professionals and transferring knowledge, skills and technology to Ghanaians.
“The Commission intends to use the Conference to provide a unique platform for all stakeholders in the upstream petroleum sector to interact, network and provide solutions to advance local content development in Ghana,” he revealed.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi