KEY players in Guyana’s oil and gas sector and Ghana’s petroleum industry will soon meet to discuss further collaboration and potential investment, at a local content conference, slated to be held in Georgetown.
Speaking at a virtual discussion about the countries’ respective oil and gas industries and local content laws, President of the recently established Ghana, Guyana Chamber of Commerce, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, announced, on Wednesday, that a three-day conference will be held in Guyana from August 9th-12th.
Otchere-Darko said that many key players from Ghana’s petroleum industry and private sector are hoping to collaborate with their counterparts in Guyana.
“What we want to do is see how Ghana can share with our counterparts in Guyana, particularly the private sector, facilitated of course by the petroleum commission, Ghana Gas, GNPC [Ghana National Petroleum Corporation] from our side and also, on your side, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Local Content Secretariat and of course the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce [GCCI] and the associations involved in the sector,” Otchere-Darko, told those at the virtual gathering.
The aim is for the two countries to learn from each other in areas of oil and gas production and local content laws.
He further stressed the importance of local content legislation and how it benefits all party players and the regular citizens
“You see that sooner rather than later it [local content] becomes cheaper because you build the local capacity and that local capacity then can play a big role in the sector. You don’t need to bring in expertise from across the oceans. So, it benefits not just the country but also the international oil companies operating in the country.”
Otchere-Darko noted that the conference is in line with the bilateral agreements that were inked between the two nations in December 2022.
Those agreements he said are paving the way for the further strengthening of co-operation between the countries’ sister agencies in the areas of oil and gas and investment.
“It was not just a document that was signed, it’s because the two countries are serious in their commitment in working together, learning from each other and we are early starters compared to Guyana but looking at the size of the industry in Guyana there is a lot we can also learn.”
Meanwhile, Petroleum Coordinator, Bobby Gossai Jr, who delivered remarks on behalf of Guyana’s Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat who was unable to attend due to other engagements, said Guyana is looking to further build its local content capacity to not just only benefit the country’s oil and gas sector but also other industries.
“We want to build the employment of Guyanese and related services; we want to build local capacity such as institutions and businesses and we also want to ensure that the procurement of goods and services not only for the direct approach of the oil and gas sector but the indirect approach which can be adhered to the agriculture sector or services sectors, as it relates to mining or the hospitality or as it relates to the condition of key services that allows for the maintenance and the production of goods and services that are needed for the oil and gas sector.”
Ghana, he believes has an impactful track record which Guyana is seeking to mirror.
“One of the lessons we have learnt in Ghana is that we must continuously engage the business community and you must continually look at how you can put measures in place to allow for other growth of sectors.”
As Guyana’s economy continues to advance, Gossai noted that officials here are keen on fostering partnerships with other nations especially those in the private sector.
Sharing anecdotes of a message from Minister Bharrat, Gossai said that Guyana will continue to push for more effective private-sector collaboration and remains committed to ensuring that the synergies between the two nations grow further.
