Hon Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister of Energy and Petroleum has counseled foreign investors seeking to invest in Ghana’s energy sector to endeavor to partner serious local companies to ensure that there is shared value, transfer in knowledge and technology thereby helping indigenous companies attain international stature, citing the partnership between GNPC and Technic, a French company as perfect and worthy of emulation.
He disclosed that government is in the process of rolling out a strategic plan aimed at opening up more business opportunities in the upstream petroleum sector for both local and foreign investors, adding that the government has since the discovery of oil laid the foundation to ensure that foreign investors come to the country with confidence.
Hon Buah who made the remarks during a courtesy call on him by delegation from GEP AFTP (a French Oil and Gas Suppliers Council which has since 1953 been the trade association for most companies registered in France and working for the oil and gas industry), said French companies in the country have distinguished themselves well over the years so will be willing to see more French investors coming to Ghana, particularly the oil and gas sector.
The Energy and Petroleum Minister further said Government is moving to ensure transparency on how revenue derived from the oil is managed, stating, “Government has passed the Petroleum Revenue Management Law and the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) to curb the oil sector of bureaucracy, corruption and unnecessary frustrations which tend to hinder investments”.
Deputy French Ambassador to Ghana Cécile Vignaud who accompanied the delegation to the Ministry said government’s stride in ensuring transparency in oil sector is one of the reasons why the Council, which consists of 400 companies with expertise in the oils and gas sector, is in the country for a three-day familiarization tour to look for business opportunities.
Leader of the Delegation Mr Claude Boutil who sounded very optimistic of Ghana’s prospects as an emerging economy, said France is taking the initiative to invest abroad because “France does not have many oil and gas activity inland but we invest all over the world with key attention to the country we invest, so building capacity of our local partners is our priority.
Source: Mckyntosh Essuman Aidoo
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