The 4th Ghana Oil and Gas Awards (GOGA) ceremony has been held once again to recognise achievements of individuals, local and international companies who have distinguished themselves in Ghana's oil and gas sector.

GOGA also rewarded those that have played significant roles in moving the industry forward.

Speaking to Newsghana.com.gh, the Director of Xodus Communications Limited, organizers of the event, Richard Abbey Jnr, said the event, held at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel in Accra on December 8, 2017, served as a “platform for the Oil and Gas industry to demonstrate and celebrate the advances made in the areas of environment stewardship, efficiency, innovation, leadership, corporate social responsibility and health and safety.”

According to him, every event has its own vision and purpose, just like the Ghana Oil and Gas Awards (GOGA).

The annual event, dubbed '10 years of Oil Discovery, 4 years of celebrating excellence', aimed to give a perfect opportunity to raise the profile of stakeholders within the context of this important industry, gain peer recognition and further heighten visibility with a professional audience.

Abbey disclosed that 110 entries were received from 35 companies and the nominees represented a cross-section of the oil and gas stakeholders, ranging from government, upstream, midstream, downstream, regulators, civil society, financial institutions, insurers and many others.

Meanwhile, about 35 companies and six individuals competed for the various categories of the awards.

The participating companies included AI Energy Group, Eagles Petroleum, Damco Rigworld, Fidelity Bank Ltd, Ecobank, Frimps Oil Co. Ltd, Vivo Energy, Total Petroleum, and Ghana Oil Company Ltd.

The others were Consolidated Shipping Agencies Gh, BAJ & Freight Logistics Ltd, Jonmoore International Ltd and Apex Shipping & Commercial Company Ltd., K Horgle Transport &Co Ltd, CEO Oil & Gas Company Ltd, Modec Ghana, ENI Ghana Exploration & Production Company, Rigworld International Services limited.

The rest were All Nations University College, Petrosol, Tema Fuel Company, Cirrus Oil, Puma Energy, Ebony Oil and Gas, Blue Ocean Investment Co. Ltd Go Energy, Hills Oil Marketing Company Ltd, Transatlantic Catering Services, Adonai Shipping Ltd, Modec Ghana Ltd, Kosmos Energy ,Top Oil, Tullow Oil, Seaweld Engineering Ltd, Petroleum Solution, GNPC-Technip, Lain’e Services, Fircroft Recruitment Agency, Natural Resource Governance Institute and many others.

Rigworld International Services Limited was initially founded as an Upstream Oil and Gas Service and Logistics Company that operates with the vision of becoming the leading service company providing excellent services to all its customers in the country and beyond. Over the years the Rigworld Group has expanded and grown from strength to strength with the launching of a world class training facility in Takoradi for the sector this past November.

Recognised for its hard work and dedication by all standards in the oil and gas industry, the Rigworld Group gained seven slots for major nominations for this year's award ceremony.

With a team of highly trained and experienced men and women who go to every length to sustain the company’s high records in the industry, the Rigworld Group swept four prestigious awards at the 2017 GOGA.

Damco Rigworld got the Promising Oil and Gas Company of the year award, Transatlantic Catering Services, its offshore catering service, got the Oil and Gas Service Company of the year.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kofi Amoa-Abban, grabbed the CEO of the year (Upstream) award and Indigenous project of the year award for the newly opened Rigworld Training Center, marking a significant achievement.

Other award winning companies included All Nations University College, Petrosol, Tema Fuel Company, Cirrus Oil, Blue Ocean Investment Co. Ltd Go Energy, Hills Oil Marketing Company Ltd, Transatlantic Catering Services, Adonai Shipping Ltd, Modec Ghana Ltd, Kosmos Energy ,Top Oil, Tullow Oil, Seaweld Engineering Ltd, Petroleum Solution, GNPC-Technip, Lain’e Services, Fircroft Recruitment Agency, Vivo Energy, ENI Ghana Exploration & Production Company, NPA and many more.

In attendance were the Deputy Minister of Energy in Charge of Petroleum, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Deputy Minister of Energy in Charge of Finance and Infrastructure, Hon. Joseph Cudjoe, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, CEO, Chamber of Telecommunications, CEO - NPA, Hassan Tampuli, Hon. Ibrahim Awal Mohammed, Minister for Business Development, Mr. Agyeman Duah, President of AOMCs, CSOs, Captains of Industries, to name a few.