Joseph Cudjoe, being assisted by officials of GE to cut the tape to open the facility. Some machines at the facility for deep-water offshore project
GE OIL and Gas, a subsidiary of US multinational conglomerate General Electric (GE), on Wednesday opened a facility at the Takoradi Port to serve as the primary service centre for its deep-water offshore project in Ghana.
The facility has a 1,600 square metres indoor test area with capability for testing three sub-sea trees simultaneously and 4,000 square metres of indoor and outdoor storage.
The new infrastructure is already playing a critical role in supporting the installation of an Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) project in the Western Region by ENI, an Italian multinational oil and gas company.
Lorenzo Simonelli, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GE Oil and Gas, said his outfit would support Ghana’s energy sector.
He noted that the establishment of the facility in Takoradi demonstrated the company’s commitment to developing local partnership to deliver effective solutions to customers.
He mentioned that GE Oil and Gas was committed to partnering Ghana to help support building critical skills and developing infrastructure for the country’s future growth.
Ado Oseragbaje, President and CEO of Sub-Saharan Africa, GE Oil and Gas, said his outfit was excited to provide support to a project that would act as an important energy source for the country for many years with minimum environmental impacts.
U.S Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson, in a remark, pointed out that GE has over the years made significant investment in Ghana’s energy sector to help Ghana to deal with its power crisis.
He mentioned the construction of 200 megawatts power plant in Takoradi by GE to provide reliable power to about one million homes for the more 25 years.
A deputy minister designate for Energy, Joseph Cudjoe, stressed that government would leave no stone unturned in ensuring a successful oil and gas sector.
He stressed the need to build the capacities of the local individuals and companies in the oil and gas sector so they could also compete with their foreign counterparts.
Director of Takoradi Port, Capt. Ebenezer Afedzi, commended GE Oil and Gas for the initiative and indicated that the facility would help the Port realize its vision of becoming the oil and gas service hub in West Africa.
“With this facility in place, more contracts on subsea equipment could be carried out here at the Takoradi Port and also help increase revenue accrued from the port to the state,” he added.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi
