Ghana set to become the petroleum hub in West Africa

desmond frimpong

June 11, 2018 1:33 PM

According to the vice president, the project will accelerate the growth of Ghana’s petroleum downstream sub-sector, make it a major player in the economy and, therefore, ensure the development of sustainable value, wealth creation and the progress of industry.

As part of Ghana’s strategic anchor initiatives, the West African country is putting measures in place to be the petroleum hub of the West African sub-region.

The initiatives intend to establish a petrochemical industry in the country to supply refined petroleum products to meet the demands of West Africa and the continent at large.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana, made these known when addressing the 2nd Edition of the Ghana International Petroleum Conference in Accra.

He also explained that a successful implementation of the project would apart from creating employment, have enormous benefits for the players in the industry as well as the nation as a whole.

Again, he said “Petroleum Hub Project would increase the presence of major international oil trading and storage companies, create regional trading champions and encourage joint ventures between local and international companies for knowledge transfer and wealth creation as well as provide value addition to Ghana’s petroleum industry.”

Dr Bawumia, in his speech, said the development of a hub in Ghana would cause an increase in the country’s refining capacity beyond current levels, both to meet domestic demand and for export.

He then urged local industry players including Petroleum Service Providers (PSPs), especially the Bulk Oil Distributors (BDCs), to change their business models to take advantage of the expected increase in business, as there would be more products for export than their current model of importing the shortfalls in production.

The two-day conference brought together industry leaders across the world to explore and discuss varied ideas and strategies that would ensure the achievement of the government’s vision.

desmond frimpong