Youth Angry-Over Elusive Jobs In Oil Industry

A number of unemployed youth in the Western Region have expressed disappointment with the slow pace of the development and growth of the oil industry�s downstream sector. The downstream sector of the oil industry was expected to generate most of the local jobs expected from the exploitation of crude oil in the country. Some of the youth described promises of jobs in the sector as �elusive.� Others said issues concerning the whole oil industry remained �a mystery� to them as they appeared not to understand what was happening. Anticipation among Ghanaians, especially those from the Western Region, of landing jobs in Ghana�s burgeoning oil industry had been high with some hopeful would-be employees undertaking various types of oil-related training to enable them land jobs in the industry. Earlier estimates spoke of hundreds of employment outlets in areas such as surveying, digging trenches and laying pipes. Others anticipated the creation of more jobs in the hospitality, transport and construction sectors. In an interview with The Finder, an executive member of the Ghana Oil and Gas Service Providers Association (GOSPA), Mr. Ebo Fergusson agreed that the downstream sector had so far been inactive. Mr. Fergusson, who was among those advocating for the quick development of the sector, pointed out that piping Ghana�s processed gas from its oilfields offshore to onshore would open up the downstream of the oil business. This, he noted, would eventually complement the effort of the up and mid stream sectors to create the chain of ancillary industries capable of absorbing thousands of the unemployed youth. In the short term, he said, until the piping of the gas from offshore to onshore for related activities was carried out, many allied industries would have to wait, obviously holding back the job creation potential of the oil and gas industry. According to Mr. Fergusson, cheaper energy, power generation and the supply of electricity to industries would be enhanced when gas development was carried out as planned by stakeholders. �Look, adequate gas in the system can improve the system significantly to help many industries flourish,� he said. He explained that activities such as commercial gas processing, pharmaceuticals, fertilizer manufacturing, cosmetics, leather, catering, citrus activities and waste management, including ship-generated waste would all be generating jobs when the country began to harvest gas from the oil field. Experts and government officials had maintained that the country�s oil industry, though relatively young, was steadily progressing, with the up and mid stream sectors taking the lead. They believed the downstream sector held the key to jobs creation. The Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of petroleum, Mr. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, recently reiterated that the development of the downstream was the focus of government at the moment. The exploitation of gas from the Jubilee fields is the reason for the creation of the Ghana Gas Company (GGC) by government.