The Forth Port provides services - petroleum products; forest products; fertilizer; grains and cereals; minerals; manufacturing metals; decommissioning; and oil and gas equipment and materials.

Mr Mark Gaffney, Forth Port Operations Manager explained that vessels utilised the port for key mobilisation and demobilisation facility, taking advantage of its proximity to national and international airports and trunk routes.

The educational tour of Forth Ports of Dundee forms part of the broader maiden Oil and Gas Trade Mission to Aberdeen, Scotland organised jointly by the Petroleum Commission; United Kingdom/Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UK-GCC); and the Scottish Development International (SDI), the overseas trade arm of Scottish Enterprise.

Mr Gaffney briefing the Ghanaian delegation said the port had the capacity to handle a wide range of bulk, agricultural and forest products and served as Scotland’s main agricultural hub with over 250,000 tonnes of agricultural products moving through the port annually.

On the range of facilities managed by the port, Mr Gaffney mentioned storage areas; warehousing; about 150,000 tonnes of dedicated cereal shed storage capability; deep water berths; 24 hour access; no beam or air draft restrictions; and with quayside strength capability of 80 tonnes per square metre.

Mr Gaffney said the port had been identified as one of Scotland’s top locations for renewable manufacturing by Scottish Enterprise under the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan and was within the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Renewables East Enterprise Area.

He said short-term and long-term undercover and open storage facilities were available for fabrication, de-commissioning and re-commissioning and customers had access to on-site craneage, office and staff facilities, subsea fabrication specialists, skilled specialist labour and logistics support.

Mr Egbert Faibille, Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission also shared development in Oil and Gas industry in Ghana, and the country’s quest to learn international best practices in the petroleum value chain.

He said as the Commission aspired to be a world class regulator promoting Ghana as an upstream petroleum hub; “we are embarking on broad consultation across the global to establish critical links at the governmental and private sector levels to position Ghanaians as major upfront players in the Upstream sector”.

Mr Faibille explained that the Commission was mandated to promote, regulate and manage the efficient conduct of upstream petroleum operations and all allied activities and the utilisation of petroleum resources on a sustainable basis for the overall benefit of the citizens of Ghana.

“The Commission is committed to adhering to the highest professional ethics and individual integrity and other values.”Mr Stephen Sekyere-Abankwa, Board Chairman of the Petroleum Commission commended the management team of the Forth Ports of Dundee, Scotland for their willingness to share experiences with Ghana.

He said the Commission would share notes with managers of Ghana Ports Authority and build the right inter-sectorial bridges “so that we all move together towards a common target as stakeholders”.

About 100 delegates from both upstream and downstream sector including Cape3 Services Limited; Vulcan Natural Resources; West Coast Gas Ghana Limited; Gulfshield Offshore Services Limited; Media; and Legal firms are participating in the maiden oil and gas trade mission.

By Francis Ameyibor, GNA Special Correspondent, Dundee, Scotland