Ghana to learn from Nigeria’s milestones in oil, gas sector
By Uthman Salami
The Ghanian minister of Energy, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh has revealed that his country will seek further collaboration with Nigeria in oil and gas development to help the country exploit its potential in the newly discovered energy resources.
The Ghanian minister who made this call in Abuja during an official visit with his Nigerian counterpart, also expressed his commitment to further strengthen the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria.
He extolled Nigeria’s experience in oil and gas sector, declaring it as worthy of emulation as a result of its established rich experience in the petroleum sector.
He said Ghana would benefit immensely from Nigeria’s experience in the sector.
The two Ministers focused their discussions on leveraging on the experience of Nigeria that has amassed decades of discovery know-how.
The Minister who is also the Chairman of the Committee of Energy Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said there is the need for collaborative efforts and drawing of useful lessons Nigeria has accumulated over the years.
According to him, “There is the need to take lessons from Nigeria and learn from all the mistakes they made regarding the signing of petroleum agreements and maximizing their quota of local content and local participation, something Ghana is still getting a grasp on.”
He said it was heartwarming that he and his Nigerian counterpart deliberated their positions on the global conversations around energy transition and what the implications were for developing countries such as Ghana and Nigeria.
Prempeh added that whilst it is important to recognize the need to change gear to clean energy, “African countries must make this move organically, in order to use available fossil fuels to power the industrialization agenda across the continent.”
Meanwhile, the minister said he is looking forward to hosting his counterpart in Ghana to continue the discussions.
The two countries over the years have partnered in many areas especially gas and power supply as well
On his part, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva, emphasised the need for the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) to protect the interest of petroleum resource rich nations.
In his words, “We both shared our commitment to support the APPO, which are championing the cause for Africa to be dealt with fairly when it comes to decisions such as prices and importation of petroleum products.”
He appreciated the ingenuity of the Ghanian Minister for the move and called for more collaboration.
