Tullow trains 14 for emergency response in Ghana's oil sector
A 14-member high level team, made up of key government, security and medical institutions, listed to manage any emergency that may arise in Ghana’s emerging oil industry are in Scotland for capacity training.
The team, which was led by General Charles Mankatah, Chairman of the National Security Council for Oil and Gas, went to understudy how emergencies related to the oil and gas industries are handled at Aberdeen in Scotland.
The trip was sponsored by Tullow Ghana Limited, Operator of the Jubilee Field, which played a lead role in establishing the Ghana Offshore Emergency Liaison Forum (GOELF).
The forum has representatives from the Military, Police, Fire Service, the health sector, National Disaster Management Organisation, Environmental Protection Agency and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
Representatives from the GOELF constituted the team to Aberdeen. They spent time with agencies and organisations involved in emergency response in the North Sea.
They also sought to understand how the North Sea had developed its emergency response capabilities to its current level, and met those who have been influential in that development.
The team visited the Maritime and Aeronautical Rescue and Co-ordination Centres in Aberdeen, the Grampian Police and Fire Control Rooms, and the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, among other institutions were they were taken through a number of presentations.
The trip allowed the GOELF members to meet their counterparts in the area of emergency response and security to discuss the challenges that Scottish organisations have faced since oil was first discovered, and how a multi agency approach to emergency response was essential to protect people, assets and reputation.
At the end of the visit, the delegation came home with some ideas of the challenges ahead for Ghana in its quest to develop an oil and gas industry.
They had the benefit of learning from previous mistakes made elsewhere in the industry. They participated in discussions about best practices with their colleagues from the UK and built relations that could prove very valuable to Ghana’s oil industry.
Mr. Gayheart Mensah, Communications Manager of Tullow Ghana Limited says “Tullow’s sponsorship of the trip shows the level of commitment of the company to health, safety and emergency response in Ghana.
It also demonstrates Tullow Ghana Limited’s commitment to capacity building, and helping to develop a sustainable oil industry in Ghana.
Tullow Ghana Limited, Operator of the Jubilee Field, and its partners have expressed the hope that the visit will help build a strong combined emergency and security response to protect Ghana’s offshore workers and assets, and make Ghana’s emerging oil industry a shining example in the Gulf Region.
Tullow (49.95 per cent) operates the Deepwater Tano licence and is partnered by Kosmos Energy (18 per cent), Anadarko Petroleum (18 per cent), Sabre Oil and Gas (4.05 per cent) and the GNPC (10 per cent carried interest).
Source: GNA