In the ten years following the Local Content Regulation’s (LI 2204) implementation, locals’ share of petroleum contracts has increased from 6.5% to roughly 20%, according to Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
Speaking at the opening of the 2023 Local Content Conference in Takoradi, which was attended by prominent figures from the oil and gas industry, Dr. Opoku Prempeh hailed this as enormous advancement.
Speaking at the press conference prior to the Local Content exhibition opening, he stated that the discovery of oil was facilitated by the advancement made possible by the enactment of LI 2204.
“The first oil development prior to the passage of the Local Content Regulation awarded only 6.5% of contracts to Ghanaian companies. After the passage of the regulations, about 20% of the value of contracts have been awarded to Ghanaian companies. We haven’t done bad at all. Let me point out that our drive towards optimal local content and participation also contributes to the successes we have achieved. I’m proud as a Ghanaian even now to say that we have a fully indigenous Ghanaian Exploration and Production company that has drilled and drilled successfully and discovered oil in the deep waters of this country. It’s not any easy feat,” he said.
The Energy Minister, while praising the achievements of the Petroleum Local Content Conference, which has become a flagship platform where oil and gas industry players meet to discuss the industry, said it is about time the conference is opened to the international community for other experiences to be brought in.
Also speaking on the theme for this year’s Petroleum Local Content Conference, “10 years of Local Content in Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry: Achievements, Challenges, and Prospects,” the Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr., said the implementation of LI 2204 has brought tremendous opportunities for Ghanaian businesses and job opportunities for qualified Ghanaians.
In terms of capacity building for locals, the Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission added that it has also seen growth as ten more Ghanaians would soon be enrolled in pipefitting.
“Even though all oil and gas pass through pipelines, this country has never had any technical institution teaching and certifying anybody as a qualified pipe-fitter. We have identified that concern, and we have worked with our Minister, and we have sent 9 to Canada to train and are back at Takoradi Technical University, Kikam Technical, TTI, among others. We have also sourced funding of $250,000 from Yinson to start training ten more Ghanaians at a Polytechnic in Singapore in January for a 10-month training period in pipefitting. So by the time they come back, we will have a foundation faculty of 19 to train and certify pipefitting,” he added.
The Petroleum Local Content Conference takes place this year over four days. Stakeholders reflecting on ten years of local content development in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector, including the MD of Tullow Ghana, Wissam Al Monthiry, MD of ENI, Giuseppe Valenti, CEO of PECAN Energies Ghana, and Kadijah Amoah, among others, will make a variety of presentations on the second day.
