Building local capacity in the oil and gas industry
Local Content in the oil and gas industry is considered critical to sharing prosperity. Right from the outset, there was a clamour for Ghanaian companies and personnel to get involved rather than have a situation where expatriate companies did all the work. The government came out with a Local Content and Participation Law to address this situation.
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The law called for increased Ghanaian ownership and participation in the industry. The transfer of skills was essential for this to happen. The more Ghanaians employed in the industry, the better. All said and done, Ghanaian professionals and companies are to be important players in the industry by gaining knowledge and experience from the international oil companies. As an industry with a major supply chain of supporting businesses, there are numerous opportunities for this to happen, but it must be the result of deliberate action.
Ten years after discovery of the Jubilee field, Kosmos Energy Ghana is 100 per cent run by Ghanaians. In addition, the company has been instrumental in supporting the establishment of Ghanaian companies. Zeal Environmental Technologies stands out. It is an Integrated Oilfield Waste Management Company with 150 workers of diverse professional background. Mr Kwaku Ennin is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and his claim to fame is in "turning waste to wealth". According to Mr Ennin, the company disposes of waste in an environmentally sound manner through processing and incineration.
The company originally operated the Takoradi Port Reception Facility to receive and manage maritime waste at Takoradi, given that commercial vessels are not allowed to dispose of waste at sea. They sourced for the management of oilfield-generated waste and got it.
If this was not done by a Ghanaian company, the industry would have had to carry waste outside for management at significant cost to the industry.
"We need to keep every cedi we can from going away," says Mr Ennin. Kosmos identified Zeal, recognised the services it was delivering to the industry and decided to support Zeal in building its capacity to provide the best quality services to the industry.
Zeal has benefited from a transfer of knowledge and now the industry can rely on a local company to provide such an important service. “If they don't have capacity, train them,” is what Kosmos has done.
Zeal is not only serving Ghana. As Kosmos gets production underway in other parts of the Atlantic Margin (Mauritania and Senegal), Mr Ennin is already smelling opportunities outside Ghana.
Zeal has the potential to become a Ghanaian multinational company working outside Ghana's borders. The company has expanded its services to include Vessel Tank Cleaning for supply vessels. Before them, the Jubilee partners were doing this in La Cote d'Ivoire.
This kind of partnership in which a Ghanaian company is assisted to build capacity and possess the right tools and equipment to deliver an important service is essential for the smooth operation of the industry and keeps operating costs down.
Mr Ennin says on this 10th anniversary of the discovery of oil, he can not help but remember two people at Kosmos who provided moral support from the beginning: Gary Brooks and Kwame Boakye.