Mr. Egbert Faibile, the Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, has praised the media for their critical role in advancing gains with the country’s Local Content Law. “The Commission does not take for granted the support the media continues to give to it in the delivery of its mandate. We hope that the interface between the Commission and the media will be deepened,” he noted. Mr Faibile said this during a press session to herald the annual Local Content Conference organized by the Commission for players in the upstream Industry.
Over 1,000 participants from countries across the globe are expected to participate in this year’s Local Content Conference and Exhibition on the theme: “Ten years of Local Content in Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry; Achievements, Challenges and Prospects.” It will bring together International Oil Companies (IOCs), International Service Companies, Indigenous Ghanaian Companies (IGCs) and other stakeholders of the upstream petroleum sector.
This year’s conference is epochal because it marked 10 years of the coming into force of the Petroleum Local Content and Local Participation Regulations, 2013; L.I. 2204 which had brought tremendous opportunities for Ghanaian businesses and job opportunities for qualified Ghanaians. The conference would enable the participants to take stock of their activities over the past years and acknowledge their achievements and challenges to recalibrate to achieve even more while, finding innovative solutions to teething problems. “I salute Ghanaian companies who availed 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 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, he said, intended 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. The participants would deliberate on issues affecting upstream petroleum operations in Ghana and its derivative local content. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Energy Minister, urged the Commission to look at turning the fortunes of the Conference into an international one to lead the charge in the continent. He praised the commitment of the Commission for shouldering the responsibility of making the LI work effectively in Ghana.
Source:newsghana.com