Accra, July 28, GNA - The authorities of University of Ghana, Legon (UG) and management of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish strategic relationship in education and research work in petroleum.

The five-year agreement would pave way for the management of GNPC to conduct periodic review of the course curriculum in Petroleum Geosciences (PG) in line with emerging trends in the industry at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels at the Geology Department of the university.

As part of the deal, management of GNPC may, subject to the needs of its business, offer expertise and knowledge of its technical personnel to the teaching and course content in PG and its related fields.

Professor Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, the Vice Chancellor of the University, signed on behalf of the authorities while Mr Ato Ahwoi, Board Chairman of GNPC, signed on behalf of the company in Accra.

The Vice Chancellor said management of GNPC would enable students offer industrial attachment programmes in courses related to PG and collaborate in the exchange of non-confidential research information, learning materials, document and equipment for research and training.

"Parties may collaborate to establish research and development programmes focused on specific areas in the upstream oil and gas industry that meet corporate goals and requirements," he said.

Prof. Tagoe said the university, in its quest to maintain high standards of education in the 21st Century, would continue to collaborate with industrial players to train graduates in both academic and practical work to help the rapid socio-economic and political development of the country.

Mr Ahwoi said one of the reasons why management took the initiative was to collaborate with academia to train students on onshore exploratory activities since existing knowledge indicated that the nation had huge amount of oil at the Volta basin stretching from Accra to the northern part of the country.

"There is enough proof that some Romanians and Russians during Dr Kwame Nkrumah's regime found a large amount of oil at the Damango Volta basin which they could not explore because they were sacked after Dr Nkrumah's overthrow in February 1966," he said.

Comparatively, Mr Ahwoi said management was keen on the project because the country's 40 per cent Volta base onshore exploration would be less expensive than that of offshore when its potential was harnessed.

Authorities of University of Ghana, recently introduced a Petroleum Geoscience course as part of the university's new post-graduate programmes to respond to the high professional demand in Ghana's petroleum industry.

The new master's degree programme was developed in collaboration with the university's Geology Department and supported by the management of GNPC.