The three-day conference and exhibition is on the theme, “Revitalising Ghana’s Petroleum Exploration and Production Sector: Driving Innovation and Redefining Local Content for a Competitive Energy Economy.

63 speakers are expected to address the conference, 80 panellists would engage in discussions with more than 1,000 participants.

Existing partners

Ms Hardcastle said aside from the supermajors, two operators of the existing producing fields had also signed agreements to make further investments in the country’s geological basins.

The jubilee partners, operated by Tullow and  Kosmos, have committed  $2billion in additional investments in new wells and subsea facilities in Jubilee and TEN fields,  and Eni has also just signed a memorandum of intent with the government to invest $1.5billion in additional investments in OCTP and block 4 contract areas.

In other areas of importance, she said the government negotiation team is currently in discussions with Eni to increase production of oil and particularly gas, from the present level of 240 to 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day by 2028.

Also, the Petroleum Commission, as part of its coordination functions, she stated, would continue to engage other regulatory agencies to ensure the resolution of some common challenges faced by contractors and subcontractors to create a more perfect ambiance for business to address issues of concern to the industry.

“While we work on finding a lasting solution to industry concerns, we thought it useful and upon your request to bring these regulatory agencies to this conference to clarify the common issues affecting our industry,” she said. 

Enhancing Local Content

In the areas of local content, the CEO of the Petroleum Commission said the enhancement of local content development should be at the heart of all efforts towards revitalising the country’s exploration and production (E&P) sector and driving innovation.

In redefining local content, the acting CEO said the commission was not merely setting rules, but cultivating a robust ecosystem where Ghanaian businesses and nationals could thrive in the industry.

The commission, she said, was shifting from some traditional tenets of unfriendly local content strategies to more business-friendly strategies and setting realistic local content targets based on plausible economic assumptions and about institutional strengthening, development of individual skills and enterprise capacity building

Through the commission’s monitoring and compliance framework, she said that it had strengthened its oversight of the industry, ensuring that international oil companies adhered to local content regulations.

“This includes mandating the use of Ghanaian goods and services, promoting joint ventures with local firms, specifying minimum local content levels and enforcing employment quotas that prioritise Ghanaian talent,” Ms Hardcastle stated.