Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia (4th from right) with guests including ministers after the 11th International Upstream Forum in Accra
The Vice-President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has
said government is determined to make Ghana a petroleum hub in the West Africa
sub-region with the introduction of efficient and effective regulatory systems.
That, he said, was part of the reasons
government was developing a robust institutional framework and legislations to
ensure environmental safety, fairness, transparency and value for money in the
exploitation of Ghana’s hydrocarbon resources.
The Vice-President made this known during the
opening of the 11th International Upstream Forum (IUF) organised by
the Petroleum Commission in Accra yesterday.
It was the first time the forum was held in Ghana
and Africa in general.
Delegates from seven other countries such as
Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique, United Kingdom, USA, Canada and Norway
participated in the forum.
According to him, government would continue to
collaborate with international agencies to learn international best practices
towards the realisation of the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda.
The event attracted petroleum experts,
regulatory agencies and policymakers to discuss challenges facing the industry,
share ideas and experiences to ensure optimum benefit for resource-rich
nations.
Dr. Bawumia mentioned some legislative
instruments and regulatory frameworks that had been instituted for sound and
safe environmental practices and ensure good governance to attract the needed
investment in the sector.
These included the Petroleum Management Act and
Petroleum Exploration and Production Regulation of 2011 as well as development
of Jubilee Oilfield, TEN Oilfield and Integrated Offshore Cape Three Points.
He said government also aimed at equipping the
youth with relevant skills and expertise to participate in the oil and gas
sector.
He added that government would adopt contemporary
innovative technologies in order to derive maximum benefit for Ghana.
Besides, he disclosed some strategies government had
instituted to improve monitoring and compliance of petroleum laws to ensure
transparent and productive industry.
Some of the strategies included opening new
areas of exploration and production, engineering the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation as a standby operator to invest in the sector, building the
vocational skills of the youth to explore the oil and gas industry and
promulgate a robust regulatory regime for effective governance of the industry.
The Minister for Energy, John Peter Amewu, in a
remark, acknowledged that Ghana was still an emerging zone in the petroleum
industry, and was ready to learn and share ideas with mature jurisdictions for
sustainable utilisation of the resources.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Failbile, welcoming participants, said the commission was poised to become a world-class regulatory body and would continue to foster strategic alliances to help build an efficient upstream sector in Ghana.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
