The 3rd annual Local Content Conference and Exhibition for Ghana’s upstream oil and gas industry has started in Takoradi.

The three-day conference, organized by the Petroleum Commission is under the theme “Five Years of Local Content: Achievement and Challenges.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony, CEO of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibile Jnr said the theme for the conference “is a true reflection of the Commission current position in relations to local content and associated matters”

He said since the LI on the Local Content (LI 2204) was passed two years ago, “the Commission has made a lot of strives in its implementation and I strongly believe that as a country we have not done badly at all even in our peculiar situation regarding the nascent nature of our industry and the limited industry base of our country.”

Mr Faibile added that despite the challenges in the petroleum industry, the sector “has made good progress but obviously there are still challenges to address hence the decision to look back and see where we came from, our current situation and project where we want to be in the short, medium and long terms with definite signpost.”

Deputy Minister for Energy Dr Mohammed Admin Adam  also said within the past five years Ghana has made significant strides in the oil and gas industry

He said the conference is being held at a significant time in Ghana 's history where Ghana has crossed  200,000 barrels of oil per day of crude oil production from three fields as compared to around 60,0000 b/d of oil production from one field at the time of promulgation of the petroleum Local content regulations  L.I. 2204 in 2013. 

“Recount in Ghana today shows that there are four rigs operating in our waters, rising from zero over the past several years, and this demonstrates Ghana’s appeal to investors,” Dr Amin noted. 

He added that this is a record the country must sustain as it strives to make more commercial discoveries to replace depleting reserves, and to increase oil production and revenue for the budget

The conference, one of the industry’s largest gathering on the local front, will provide players networking and ideas sharing opportunities considered critical for the growth of the industry and to enhance local content.

Participants at this year’s conference will hold discussions on the following: 

• Critical success factors and challenges of the implementation of local content
• Measurement of local content implementation strategy
• Local content as a catalyst for economic development
• Joint venture partnership versus strategic partnerships as a vehicle for technology transfer
• Enhancing in-country insurance premium retention
• Maximizing value chain payment and receipts within domestic financial sector among other

Over 600 companies registered with the Petroleum Commission are expected to participate in this year’s conference.

The Conference will also hold a workshop on 2019 procurement plans of IOCs and major Oil and Gas Service companies