The Managing Director of Eni Ghana, Federico Ricco, has reaffirmed the company's commitment to strengthening local content development and expanding opportunities for local businesses in the country's upstream petroleum industry.
Speaking at the 2026 Local Content Conference and Exhibition in Takoradi, Mr Ricco said Eni's experience with the Offshore Cape Three Points project demonstrated the value of combining international investments with a strong commitment to developing local capabilities.
The conference was themed: "Enriching Local Content for Sustainable Growth: Building a Resilient Upstream Sector through Reforms and Partnerships to Spur Competitiveness and Investment."
Investment
Since the start-up of the Sankofa field, he said Eni and its partners have made significant investments not only in infrastructure and production facilities but also in people, skills development, technology transfer and the strengthening of the local supply chain.
He revealed that at present, approximately 90 per cent of its workforce are Ghanaians, while a substantial part of its operational activities is carried out by local companies.
He attributed these achievements to years of investment, collaboration and a shared commitment involving Eni, the government, the industry regulator, Petroleum Commission, its partners and businesses that have grown alongside its operations.
Mr Ricco emphasised that local content was not merely a regulatory requirement but an integral part of how Eni operates, develops its projects and creates lasting value in the countries where it operates.
Opportunities
He noted that the progress made so far had transformed investments into opportunities, opportunities into capabilities and capabilities into lasting value for the industry in the country. The achievements, he said, represented the beginning of a more ambitious journey, with the next priority being to expand the role of Ghanaian companies in the development and execution of major upstream projects.
Local companies that have progressively developed the capacity to support and manage complex operational activities, he said, must now be given opportunities to participate in increasingly complex engineering, construction and project execution activities.
He also identified opportunities for Ghanaian businesses to expand beyond the domestic market and position themselves as regional service providers. With significant upstream investments expected across West Africa in the coming years, he said Ghanaian companies could support projects across the wider West African energy industry, strengthening their capabilities and competitiveness.
Mr Ricco stressed that realising these opportunities would require collective efforts to unlock the next wave of upstream investments in the country.
New investments and attraction
He acknowledged the continued efforts of the government, the sector ministry and the Petroleum Commission to strengthen the competitiveness of Ghana's upstream sector and to attract new investments.
The managing director also expressed appreciation for the ongoing industry engagement and initiatives aimed at creating a more attractive and predictable investment environment, stating that these efforts would translate into concrete agreements and new projects reaching final investment decision, opening a new chapter of growth and opportunities for local businesses.
Mr Ricco further signified that additional resources had already been identified through Eni's exploration activities, making their development and eventual production a shared priority with the government and partners.
New blocks
The continued exploration of new blocks, he said, would also be necessary to identify resources required to power the country for decades, while maintaining a continuous pipeline of new development projects was essential in an industry characterised by long investment cycles.
The Managing Director observed that Ghanaian companies had invested significantly in people, equipment and technical capabilities to support petroleum operations, adding that a steady flow of new projects would give them the confidence and opportunities to sustain these investments, retain skilled professionals and undertake increasingly complex activities.
Eni Ghana reiterated its commitment to working closely with the government, the Petroleum Commission, its partners and the local business community to translate these opportunities into tangible outcomes for the country’s economy and local industry.