Ghana’s petroleum upstream readies for Africa Oil Week, S/A

Ghana is set to participate in this year’s Africa Oil Week, one of the continent’s leading upstream oil and gas markets and gatherings.

The forum hosts more than 1000 key players and exposes them to various opportunities.

The stage which makes room for industry and country focused presentations, was a strong platform in the recent past for Ghana to present its oil case to the industry and to pick useful lessons from corporate and country expositions.

The platform
The 5-day event scheduled for Cape Town is expected to bring together governments, national oil companies, investors, corporate players, independents and financiers – giving them a place to network, discuss and share knowledge.

From Ghana, various oil and other global oil support service companies as well as the Petroleum Commission, the national oil company, GNPC, and the Ghana National Gas Company backed by the sector ministry, are expected to attend.

Well established authorities on the industry serve as speakers and facilitators who head focused sessions discussions. They include ministers, heads of NOCs, leading scientists and CEOs from major and independent companies.

On the continent the platform remains the leading business intelligence and transaction platform for Africa's oil and gas sector where huge businesses happen.

For a country as Ghana with enormous upstream potential, companies operating within the space would benefit from various country and company presentations to understand what is happening in various countries and at the global stage.
The industry currently dominated by the fast-paced changes in technology, has room enough for enthusiasts and industry watchers to point the way the industry is headed.

Technical opportunities
Again for keen technical minds from Ghana and the rest of the world, the Africa Oil Week provides the rare opportunity to learn more about the prospects of various geological basins of the continent.

In Cape Town, Ghana is set to again sell the country, which is noted for its political stability, commitment to the growth of the industry and key upstream petroleum drivers such as fiscal terms transparency, security and revenue sharing options, all win-win permutations.

As the country continues to grow its industry, build reserves for continuous operation beyond the current fields, Africa Oil Week and other fora are very important for Ghana.

Among preparations is a good technical profiling of the country and its oil and oil-related opportunities, and a readiness to clearly position what the country offers investors and would-be investors, whose eyes other participating countries will be seeking to catch, are also very important.

Investment decision
A willingness on the part of investing companies to enter any space, is hugely informed by how these companies assess the oil nations before deciding to sink millions of dollars into any economy. Ambiguity is therefore out of the equation.

For Ghana and for that matter, any serious oil nation seeking to attract investments, Africa Oil Week is a practical forum for learning from other players’ vital insights and lessons – especially so as the manager and regulator of the Ghanaian industry – the Petroleum Commission presents Ghana’s case to the rest of the world.

The oil industry, like any high risk engagement, is structured such that both the country owning the resource and the investor with the purse must understand each other.

Expanding frontiers
The oil industry can also be very interesting. An industry as big as it is can also be very small owing to seamless information flow, with all the companies quietly expanding their frontiers fully aware of happenings elsewhere.

An investment interest comes to the table virtually armed to the teeth with all the information and questions needing clarity, building trust from frank discussions therefore comes without asking.

Prospects of the forum
The stage then is set for Africa's oil and gas players and managers to share market outlooks, strike deals and network. Governments can present exploration and production opportunities and connect investors ready to develop them.

Organisers boast of last year's event leading to numerous business transactions, with promises of more opportunities for the 2018 edition including a dedicated content theatre for NOCs, independents and geoscience companies to showcase their farmout blocks.