When Houston came to Accra

In secondary school, I had the ‘misfortune’ of studying North America as part of my ‘A’ level Regional Geography paper.

Without setting foot anywhere on that continent, my classmates and I knew the annual wheat tonnage in the prairies region of Canada, the various mountain ranges, lakes and rivers in the USA, as well as its ocean currents and the annual rainfall and weather patterns in Texas, California and Florida, among others.

Much earlier, in primary school, I had been fed on a lot of imagery about American cowboys and, therefore, assumed, understandably, I suppose, that every American was a cowboy, especially those in states like Texas and New Mexico, where cattle-rearing was, and is a major industry. 

My friend and junior from Opoku Ware School, Dr Kwabena Sarpong, aka ‘Jambola’ (AH11), is a paediatrician in Houston, Texas, and I still enjoy calling him ‘cowboy’ whenever we chat. 

‘Energy capital of the world’

Over the past week or so, we have been busy at the Ministry preparing to receive Mr Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston, who is leading a trade and investment delegation to Ghana and was scheduled to meet the Minister for Energy and his team for discussions and opportunities for collaboration and investment in the energy sector.

Earlier, the Mayor’s advance team had been to town for discussions on various aspects of the engagement between the two sides.

I have never been to Houston.

Dubbed the ‘energy capital of the world’, Houston is the headquarters and the intellectual capital for virtually every segment of the energy industry, including exploration, production, transmission, marketing, supply and technology.

Houston employs nearly a third of the nation's jobs in oil and gas extraction.

Home to over 4,700 energy-related firms, the region offers access to three million workers and more engineers than any other US metro, with more than 600 exploration and production firms, 1,100 oilfield service companies and more than 180 pipeline transportation establishments. 

Basically, Houston is full of energy

In the energy sector, the United States has been an invaluable partner, both at government and private sector levels, over the years.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, through the Ghana Power Compact programme, has been very instrumental in helping to ensure a stable power supply in many parts of our country.

In October 2021, for instance, President Akufo-Addo inaugurated the Pokuase BSP, funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the USA, in the context of the Compact II, to the tune of USD47 million, with a total capacity of 580MVA.

In the petroleum sector, the discovery of oil in Ghana in 2007 would not have been successful without the efforts of US oil giant Kosmos Energy, after several other efforts had come to nought.

Today, US companies remain major and valuable players in the petroleum upstream industry.

After a 15-minute meeting behind closed doors between Energy Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh and Mayor Sylvester Turner at the Kempinski Hotel, the substantive meeting between the two delegations took place, with yours truly as the moderator.

The Minister and the Mayor met earlier last year in Houston during the Africa Energy Summit in the city and there already was quite some good chemistry between them.

Dr Prempeh, as Ghana’s leading salesman for the event, touted the country as a safe and desirable destination for investment, with a stable political system, a robust legal framework, a viable fiscal regime, a good telecommunications system and warm, hospitable people.

He also referred to the work that the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has done in promoting Ghana as an attractive and rewarding investment destination to the domestic and global business community.

On specific investment opportunities in the petroleum upstream sector, the Minister referred to some of GNPC’s critical ongoing projects, including its City Gate Project, Integrated Energy Project and the GNPC Energy Base and Logistics Hub Project.

Technology transfer, carbon capture and E&P activities in our Voltain Basin, among others, were also touted as some of the exciting opportunities for collaboration and investment.

In the downstream sector, the highlights included the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation set up by this government, with key infrastructure such as refineries, petrochemical plants, storage tanks and jetties.

In addition, ancillary infrastructure and services such as LNG terminals, pipelines, power plants, road and rail networks, water treatment services, repairs and maintenance services, as well as logistics and security, among others, were envisaged.

Other services included state-of-the-art laboratories for petroleum products, fabrication workshops, metering and calibration services. 

All these require investment and collaboration

Further, the Tema Oil Refinery and the Ghana National Gas Company were both flagged up as entities that could benefit significantly from project investments and opportunities in technology transfer and digital solutions.

In the power sector, the VRA’s Akosombo Smart City project featured significantly as a viable opportunity for collaboration, as did the country’s efforts at introducing nuclear energy into its energy mix, for which strategic partnership is earnestly sought.

For his part, Mayor Turner was excited about his delegation’s visit to Ghana, which he described as ‘very productive’, and stressed the need for partnerships that make an impact on ordinary lives.

He agreed that Africa was the ‘new frontier’ for investment and that the combination of vast mineral deposits and a youthful population with education and skills training meant that the potential was enormous.

After about an hour, the event came to an end, and with it, my moderating, ‘krakye’ powers.

After the exchange of gifts and photo opportunities, it was time to move on.

The Mayor had other engagements, and so did the Minister.

I also had to get back to the office to take part in preparations for another major event later this week.

I made a mental note to visit Houston one day when my ‘susu’ box and/or my bank manager permits.

But beyond the bustling, glittering modern city, I may venture into the Texan countryside and live out my childhood cowboy imagery, complete with leather hat and boots, barging into a bar and firing my revolver from the hip as they did in the Wild West days while chomping on dried tobacco, Clint Eastwood style.

Failing that, I expect my friend and prospective host Dr ‘Jambola’ to take me out to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to watch skilled cowboys and cowgirls perform amazing feats every night at the largest international entertainment and livestock exhibition as we munch on some Texas smoked brisket while sipping some margarita cocktails.

My long nights spent crunching dreary data on North America for the ‘A’ level Regional Geography back in 1987 must count for something.

You only live once, after all. 

Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng,
E-mail: rodboat@yahoo.com