Partner Local Businesses � Foreign Companies Told

Alexander Kofi Mould, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), has urged foreign businesses to partner indigenous ones in order to benefit from the Local Content Bill.

According to him, the Local Content law was passed to ensure good business in the country, stating that �the law has come to stay.�

Parliament, last year, passed the much-touted Petroleum (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulation, 2013 (LI 2204) to put Ghanaians at the forefront of all petroleum activities and ensure that they benefit from the country�s new resource.

The implementation of the law is to ensure that the oil find benefits Ghanaians, while the foreign oil companies also get fair returns on their investment.

Kofi Mould, who was speaking at the 5th Ghana Summit of Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in Accra, yesterday said Ghana�s Local Content Policy and its associated Legislative Instrument epitomize the best chance of not only ensuring increased Ghanaian participation in the oil and gas sector, and also Ghana�s best hope of effectively integrating the sector into the rest of the national economy.

�When the appropriate plans and strategies are crafted and the law is implemented to the letter in this new industry, Ghanaian citizens and companies, especially those in Takoradi, would develop new capabilities that could make them competitive in the petroleum and other industries,� he said.

Mr Mould said such capabilities included infrastructure development, technical capabilities, technology transfer, human resources, quality management, document control, accounting, bid preparation.

The 5th Ghana Oil and Gas Summit and Exhibition is organized by CWC Group in partnership with Kros Ghana.

It is aimed at bringing together experts, academia, policy makers, engineers and other stakeholders to share ideas and best practices.

This year�s event focuses on topics such as maximizing the potential of gas, upstream, challenges and opportunities, local content, showcasing Ghana�s investment potential, update on the Volta Basin and a special Project TEN showcase.

Source: Cephas Larbi/Daily Guide