The Ministry of Energy has developed a policy framework on Local Content and Local Participation in Petroleum related activities approved by Cabinet and awaiting legislation.

Dr Joe Oteng Adjei, the sector minister, announced this in a speech read on his behalf at the ninth Quadrennial delegates, conference of the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers’ Union (GTPCU) in Koforidua on Wednesday.

He said the purpose of the policy was to progressively and comprehensively integrate Ghanaians into all aspects of the Oil and Gas industry thereby “maximizing the benefits to us”.

“Indeed, it is our wish that within a decade, the country will be able to achieve at least 90 percent local content and local participation in the oil and gas industry”.

Dr Oteng Adjei said plans were far advanced to prepare a schedule by which that strategy would be rolled out in advancing the stake of Ghanaians in the industry as stipulated in the policy framework.

“We hope to see the development of local capability in all aspects of the oil and gas value chain through education, skills and expertise development, transfer of technology and know-how and active research and development activities”.

He said in order to meet the high expertise and skills needed in the industry, building the capacity of the local people had become paramount.

Dr Oteng Adjei said in that vein, the government in collaboration with operating companies had arranged several scholarship packages for Ghanaians to pursue further studies in various fields of petroleum towards the nation’s capacity building and local content efforts to achieve desired levels of expertise and know-how, over time.

He said the government was also rolling out an Oil and Gas Capacity Building Project which would focus on Building Capacity to Manage Ghana’s Oil.

“In addition the government was collaborating with the upstream Oil Companies working in Ghana to provide overseas training to Ghanaians as part of the local content provisions in the respective Oil and Gas contracts”.

He said through such strategic oil and gas driven industrialization programme, the manufacturing sector of the country would received a significant boost, which would in turn contribute to a rapid and sustainable growth of the economy.

Mr Moses Asaga, Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the Union for their contribution to the maintenance of industrial peace in the country.

He challenged the union to continue to take steps to empower its members to acquire knowledge that would help them take advantage of the many opportunities that the Oil and Gas economy would bring to the nation.

Mr Asaga assured the members that the government would continue to adopt measures to address all the anticipated challenges to the country’s nascent oil and gas industry.

The three day conference is on the theme “Repositioning Labour as an equal partner in the Oil and Gas Industry”