The Nigerian High Commission at the weekend expressed the confidence of Nigerian investors in the Ghanaian economy, promising more investment flow from the oil rich West African State to boost Ghana’s fiscal environment. Mr Mohammed Kurmawa, Deputy Head of Mission at the Commission, who made this known, said his country was also poised to enhance the capacity of Ghanaians in the downstream oil industry. Mr Kurmawa was speaking at the inauguration of the state-of-the art machine shop of Africa Oilfield Services Ghana Ltd (AOS Ghana Ltd), a subsidiary of AOSOrwell at Apowa near Takoradi in the Western Region. AOS operates a joint venture and partnership with international Blue-chip, manufacturers of oilfield equipment, which has made it possible to extend its portfolio and scope. AOSOrwell is a leading oilfield services company with a track record of providing multiple product lines to the industry, and has provided value added technical services solutions to clients in Nigeria and the West African market since 1985. Mr Kurmawa said the investment showed the willingness of Nigerians to take advantage of the congenial business environment in Ghana. Mr Emmanuel Quao, Regional Manager of the Association of Ghana Industries, commended AOS Ghana Ltd for its significant investment in the Ghanaian Oil Industry and pledged the willingness of the association to support the productive ventures of the company. Mr Isaac Saforo, AOS Ghana Ltd Country Manager, said the machine shop was the by-product of 18 months of hard work to service Ghana and other West African countries like Cote d’ Ivoire and Liberia. He said the company had created industrial awareness through road shows that talked about the challenges and benefits of Ghana’s oil industry. Mr Femi Omotayo, AOSOrwell Chief Executive Officer said the machine shop was a fulfilment of a promise the company made to Ghana last year, adding: “At AOSOrwell we keep our promises. With over 30 years of excellent service, we are here to stay in Ghana and share our success in the oil industry.” He said the company would expand to Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and South Africa to make the corporate entity a global brand. The machine shop is equipped with a wide variety of high quality machines, designed for the oil field and engineering industry. The collection of machines such as the latest CNC lathes and milling machines are designed to internationally recognised and accepted standards to meet client demands. Mr Gordon McCulloch, Machine Shop Manager led the guests at the inauguration to inspect the facility, which includes Mazak 14 ½” inch Hollow Spindle CNC Lathe; HASS 10 7/8” inch Hollow Spindle CNC Lathe; HASS CNC Vertical Machining Centre; AMC fully Rotational Bucking Unit; All Ancillary equipment required to process API and Premium Connections. The API and Premium Connection Qualified Machinists and Inspection Personnel is a highly experienced company with a proven track record in West Africa since 1985. As part of the facility tour, Mr Krishnasamy Manikumar, who is in charge of Quality Assurance and Quality Control demonstrated and explained how the machines work. AOS services the upstream sectors of the oilfield through specialisation in Drilling and Well Intervention Fishing Services; Drilling tools rental Services (Incl. DSI-PBL); Directional Drilling Services; Electric wire line Services; Pipe Recovery services; Machine shop manufacturing and repair services API Certified; Production Logging Services; Pressure Control/testing Services; Production enhancement solutions; Specialised Welding Services. Since its inception, AOS has continually grown through its investments in personnel, equipment and new technologies. It has a number of technical agreements in place and its capacity to deliver reliable, safe, efficient and quality services to customers’ continues to expand. In 1997 AOS became the first company in Nigeria to achieve ISO 9002 certification through the British Standards Institution for its drilling jar division. In March 1998 the certification was successfully extended to all aspects of AOS operations throughout Nigeria. Source: GNA