The Minister of Energy Mathew Owusu Prempeh has told the Ghana Upstream Petroleum Chamber (GUPC)
that he welcomes collaboration with them to ensure that both government and the oil and gas companies derive maximum benefit from the industry.
The Minister was speaking in a meeting with the CEO of the Chamber, David Ampofo, who together with his team paid a courtesy call on the Minister.
Mr Ampofo called on the Minister to bring together companies, GNPC and other regulatory bodies to prosecute a common agenda. He said a situation in which there is “little communication among the parties, is unhelpful and underscores an environment where they talk across each other, rather than to each other”. He also called on the Minister to provide clarification on gas policy and the position of aggregator to enable investment decisions to be made. “Policy Clarity in several areas is key”, he said.
The Minister expressed his willingness to collaborate with industry and emphasized the need for continued engagement. He said there were many challenges facing the industry and he was hopeful that together they could be addressed. He said “It is important for the Chamber to be mindful of the important balancing act between the interests of the industry, government and the people of Ghana”. He also confirmed his strong support for the idea of local content as the most viable way in which Ghanaian businesses can get to play a meaningful role in the energy sector. Regarding the situation on natural gas, he asked the Chamber to provide him with industry concerns as relates to the Tema LNG facility.