Human resource said to be essential in petroleum industry

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Deputy Minister of Energy on Thursday, said aside capital and technological know-how, developed human resource was the most important requirement of a well managed petroleum industry.

He noted that human resource was used to harness both the capital and the technological know-how to produce results in the safest and most environmentally friendly manner possible.

Mr Armah Kofi-Buah was speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop for stakeholders in the oil and gas industry organised by Getenergy, a non-profit making organisation in Accra.

He said the expertise of Getenergy would add immensely to the existing pool of knowledge and capacity in the oil and gas resource management and exploitation.

He announced that there were efforts to develop petroleum related skills and competence in the polytechnics, technical schools and vocational institutions.

Mr Armah Kofi-Buah lauded the efforts of the Ministry of Education and the Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training for their contribution towards oil and gas education in the country.

He also commended the efforts of some international oil companies operating in the country for assisting to develop local human resource for the petroleum industry, adding that Ghanaians look forward for assistance in acquiring the necessary international certification to make them employable in oil companies.

Professor Ernest Aryeety, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, said Ghana and other oil and gas producing countries in the region must ensure that they have the skills and expertise among their own nationals in charge of production.

“This requires a high level of collaboration between the universities, colleges, national and international oil companies”, he added.

He said areas of collaboration should be aimed at all levels, including research and professional development in science and engineering, technical and managerial knowledge and business and finance.

Mr Phil Andrews, Chief Executive Officer of Getenergy, said the introduction of a detailed local content policy would set out the framework for international oil companies operating in the country to invest significantly in the delivery of training, education and skills programmes for the local people.

He said the training and education on oil and gas would enable the local people to effectively participate in the development of their country’s resources.

Mr Andrews observed that the absence of training programmes, education and involvement of the local people in the oil and gas process has led to disenfranchisement and civil unrest in other oil and gas producing countries.

He noted that 15 countries including Norway, Nigeria, Gabon, France, Equatorial Guinea, and Angola, among others, were taking part in the workshop and expressed the hope that the experiences would be share among the various stakeholders.

Participants at the workshop include the University of Ghana, Regional Martine University, Tullow Ghana Limited, Ghana oil-drilling academy and consultancy, Ho Polytechnic, and Takoradi Polytechnic among others.

Source: GNA