UK businesses set to explore emerging opportunities in Ghana oil industry
The Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce have identified Ghana as a country with many dynamic and buoyant opportunities for UK business.
The chamber said in most recently, American multinational oil and gas company, ExxonMobil Corporation has announced its entry into Ghana’s oil and gas space and will begin full operations in the country this year, joining other leading international oil companies such as Tullow Oil and Kosmos Energy.
The engagement to harness these emerging opportunities in the country follow the successful visit in February, where the UK Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) identified the possibilities within the country’s emerging oil industry.
Firming it up
As a result the UKGCC is returning to Aberdeen on a trade mission with a delegation of government agencies and senior directors from leading energy firms in Ghana. The interaction will among other things see the Petroleum Commission telling the business community in United Kingdom why Ghana is a desired choice and showcase the current developments in the country’s oil and gas industry.
The visit came at an opportune time, when the country’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum had announced plans to award as many as nine offshore blocks off the country’s west coast in 2018 and 2019.
The ministry indicated that six of the oil blocks would be awarded this year with the remaining three next year in a mix of competitive tenders and direct negotiation.
The blocks would be allocated through a 23-member team, known as Licensing Bid Rounds and Negotiation (LBRN) committee under the chairmanship of the chief director of the ministry, which will oversee the awarding of the oil blocks to domestic and international oil companies.
Scottish interest
The UKGCC chamber indicated Scottish interest in the country’s supply chain has continually grown in recent years, as the country presents a great opportunity for companies looking to explore the West African oil and gas sector.
UKGCC said the trade mission would ensure participants get the chance to meet the majority of the delegation and make the right contacts; the event will take a format similar to a speed networking module.
It expressed the hope that the interactions and session would both raise the companies’ profiles with a range of new contacts and increase the opportunities for them to meet their potential partner in Ghana.
Egbert Faibille Jnr., Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission (PC) expressed the hope that the move would ensure stronger collaborations toward improving the capacities of Ghanaian companies.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
