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GOGSPA hails passage of local content law

Ghana Oil and Gas Service Providers Association (GOGSPA) have hailed the passage of the local content law and called for its immediate implementation to ensure that local companies and the country benefit.

According to Mr Nuetey Adzeman, Executive Director of GOGSPA, the endorsement of the Petroleum Local Content and Local Participation Regulations, 2013 (L.1.2204) in the face of  stiff opposition from foreign upstream oil and gas companies, was a clear demonstration of the country’s commitment to support indigenous companies.

He said it was important to note that, since the discovery of the oil, local companies providing service to the industry had to struggle with foreign companies providing services from catering to haulage and heavy supplies.

 Mr Adzeman said it was important to note that if the country would benefit from the resource, which had a life span, its nationals had to be involved in all aspects.

GOGSPA, he said should be seen as a strong force, which was ready to provide services to the new industry and employment generation since the inception of the industry.

“Currently we have more than 60 highly qualified companies members and are providing jobs for more than 12,000 people and contributing in tax to the development of the country and if given the chance to be active players, GOGSPA could quadruple the number,” he said.

 “We at GOGSPA will like to say that, the only way we can retain a substantial amount of the investments for the development of the TEN Project and those yet to follow is through full participation of the local companies,” Mr Adzeman said.

 He said several concerns were raised by foreign companies just to ensure that the bill was not passed into law saying, “We at GOGSPA see the endorsement by the House which followed a report by the Parliamentary Committee on Subsidiary Legislation, which held that the concerns raised by upstream companies were untenable and that the regulations were not in contravention of the supreme law of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.”

 The passage of the law, he said, was timely and very important and a great boost for the local service providers in the new oil and gas sector, in the light of current global trends thus creating an environment for the resource to be a blessing and not a curse.

The association’s main focus was to ensure fair representation of the local companies in the new oil and gas industry but was seriously resisted.

GOGSPA, he said, was also delighted that the discretionary powers to determine the persons qualified to enter into a petroleum agreement or receive petroleum license was given to the Energy Minister and the Petroleum Commission under the regulations.

 Regulation 48, which he said provides that “within three months after the commencement of these regulations, a contractor or subcontractor, licensee, or other allied entity engaged in a petroleum activity shall comply with these regulations must be regulated by all.”

 It was important to note that Ghanaian professionals with in-depth knowledge in the oil and gas sector outside Ghana wanted to return home to lend a helping hand to the new industry but are not sure of the future.

Their unwillingness to return was due to the absence of the local content law that would ensure that their investments would be protected.

Those who returned home had to struggle with Foreign Service providers for the few jobs, which should have been the preserve of the local companies.

He expressed  gratitude to the Parliamentarians who accordingly approved the LI, and the Energy and Petroleum Minister as well as petroleum commission and all others who contributed.

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