Chiefs urged to help curb incursion of fishermen into offshore safety zone

The Petroleum Commission, Ghana’s petroleum industry regulator, has expressed worry over the continuous intrusion into the offshore safety zone by fishermen, posing a great threat to multi-billion-dollar offshore installations.

Consequently, the commission has appealed to traditional authorities concerned to help curb the unending incursions by fishermen even after the adaptation of the Safe Sea Access roadmap.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr., who made the appeal at an annual workshop for members of the Western Regional House of Chiefs in Takoradi, said an increase in exploration activities in the offshore basin this year has resulted in a stiff competition for space among various users of the sea.

He said reports indicate an increasing rate in fishing incursions into the safety zones around the country’s offshore installations.

Owing to the contribution of chiefs to the development of the industry in the region, “I would like to take this opportunity to re-appeal to Nananom and Awulae mo in the region as well as our hardworking fishing community that these zones are earmarked to also protect them, and their activities and they should respect the zones as such.”

The state on its part, through the Petroleum Commission, he said would intensify and extend community education across the coastal belt of the country to reach other fishers beyond the region.

Lawful economic activities
“We would ensure that the oil activities are not carried out at the expense of fishing and other lawful economic activities. To this end, under the leadership of the Petroleum Commission, multi stakeholders in both the Oil and Gas, traditional rulers and fisheries sectors unanimously adopted the Safe Sea Access Framework.”

In achieving success and ensuring social and industrial harmony for national development, “we will continue our discourse of creating successful oil and gas industry in the country.”

He said the time has come for a collective support for the regulator and State so as to ensure that the maximum benefit is indeed derived from the country’s God-given natural resource.

Ultimate mandate
He assured the chiefs that the Petroleum Commission in its role as the upstream regulator would carry out its mandate in ensuring that oil production in the country contributes directly towards improving the standard of living of the people and accelerate socio-economic development of the country.

He thanked all for their continued support in the development of Ghana’s fledging oil and gas industry.

The acting Head of Petroleum Security at the Commission, Mr Mohammed Abraham Kapeaon updated the chiefs on the security implications of entering the exclusion zone.