Energy Minister To Lead Ghanaian Delegation to Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2021 in Houston, Texas
- Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister for Energy of the Republic of Ghana has officially confirmed his attendance at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2021 in Houston, Texas, USA from 16th to 19th August 2021.
- Ghana is one of Africa’s promising natural gas regions, with significant investment opportunities that will be demonstrated during the OTC at the country’s pavilion.
- Hon. Dr. Prempeh will be leading a delegation of senior industry players including the heads of the Ghana Gas Company Ltd, Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC), and the Petroleum Commission. Senior officials from the Ministry of Energy are included in the delegation, with discussions and dialogue to focus on Ghana’s natural gas, LNG generation and the role of oil in the future of the continent’s energy dynamics.
- One of the events among several to take place during the conference is the West Africa Oil & Gas Forum.
The Minister for Energy, Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has officially confirmed his attendance at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2021 in Houston, Texas, USA from 16th to 19th August 2021.
OTC ranks among the largest 100 tradeshows held annually in the United States and is among the 10 largest meetings in terms of attendance.
Ghana has significant investment opportunities arising out of its oil and gas sector and these opportunities position the country to be a leading player on the African energy market, with significant implications for her industrialisation, jobs, technology and skills transfer and ultimately her economic agenda. The areas that will be highlighted during the conference include;
Acreages for exploration: Ghana has four (4) sedimentary basins namely: Voltaian Basin, Central Basin, Eastern Basin, Western Basin. All of the country’s current production comes from the Western Basin. This presents an opportunity for investors to invest in the other (3) basins. GNPC has conducted seismic surveys over the Voltaian basin, and these will provide potential investors with adequate data to make favourable investment decisions concerning Ghana. Plans are also underway to acquire data on the other two under explored basins to ensure data availability for similar reasons.
Farm in opportunities: Farm-ins present an opportunity for prospective investors to operate in Ghana through an existing Petroleum Agreement without having to go through the application process. There are opportunities in the following Petroleum Agreements: West Cape Three Points Block-2, Central Tano Block, East Keta Block, Deepwater Cape Three Points West Offshore Block, Expanded Shallow Water Block Offshore and Offshore South West Tano Block.
Gas Market: The natural gas sector is relatively new in Ghana, however, the sector has experienced some significant infrastructure development e.g the Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project. The Gas Processing Plant (GPP) at Atuabo has an installed capacity of 150 mmscfd. However, given the potential for increased associated gas production from the offshore fields, plans are underway to upgrade the GPP’s Capacity to 300 mmscfd as part of the Phase 2 of the WCGIDP. There is also the opportunity for private sector entities to partner Ghana Gas to construct pipelines that will transport natural gas to various demand centres across the country.
Petroleum Hub: Ghana aspires to become a hub for refined petroleum products in the West African sub-region and beyond by the year 2030. Government will provide land and basic infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity etc. but will require private sector participation to provide the facilities within the hub. Investments are therefore required in the following areas:
- Crude oil refining (3 refineries to be established. Each with a capacity of 300,000 bpsd)
- Storage of petroleum products (tank farm to be constructed for storage of crude and refined products)
- Bulk distribution infrastructure throughout the country (2 or more Jetties with multiple berths to be constructed)
- Establishment of a petrochemical industry (five petrochemical plants to be constructed)
Ghana’s delegation includes senior officials from the Ministry and various sector agencies as well as the oil giants, Tullow and Kosmos.
Among others, the Ghanaian delegation shall be joined by Ghana’s Ambassador to the US, H.E. Hajia Alima Mahama. Meetings with high-ranking personalities from companies the oil and gas sector in Texas, are also on the agenda.
The OTC also provides for an exhibition by various countries and institutions and Ghana is not left out, with key exhibitors including the Ministry, GNPC, Petroleum Commission and the Ghana Gas Company Ltd, among others, all with a view to attracting investments into the country in the sector.
One of the events among several to take place during the conference is the West Africa Oil & Gas Forum. West Africa’s offshore deep and ultra-deep space has continued to attract oil explorers and producers in increasing their operations, especially in Southern and Western Africa, where major projects have either stated or have been unveiled, awaiting resource appraisal and development.
The growth of West Africa’s offshore exploration and production activities have been mainly driven by efforts of governments in their region, to provide key incentives and supporting policies to unlock the investment opportunity, as well as a growing number of international oil and gas companies interested in exploring alternative fields to replacing the maturing offshore producing sites in countries such as Nigeria and Ghana. Nigeria is the leading gas producer in West Africa and has 99% of the region’s total proved resources.
The West Africa Oil & Gas Forum will address some of the issues emanating from the oil and gas industry in the sub-region. Dr. Prempeh will deliver the keynote speech.
Ghana’s participation in the OTC will afford international financiers and potential investors the opportunity to engage the country’s energy sector leaders on the energy investment opportunities available, together with the supporting infrastructure such as legal, fiscal regimes and telecommunications.
Source :Kessbenonline.com /johnawuniktv@gmail.com
