Govt secures US$4.5 million to build capacity in oil and gas

Government has secured US$4.5 million from Aker Energy to train some 200 Ghanaians in the Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) Programme.

The programme which was launched in November 2017 by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is aimed at creating opportunities for Ghanaians in the upstream oil and gas sector.

Read also: 1,000 Ghanaians to benefit from oil and gas capacity programme — Agyarko

At a press briefing in Accra Wednesday, the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah noted among other things that the programme is also aimed at developing the capacities of Ghanaian technical and vocational institutions as well as universities to offer world-class training and certifications for the oil and gas industry.

He said following the launch of the programme, the AOGC Secretariat has been set up under the Petroleum Commission to see to the realization of the objectives of the programme.

“One of its significant successes so far is the securing of some $4.5 million from Aker Energy to provide technical trainings and certifications to train mechanical technicians, electrical technicians, instrumentation technicians, welders and metal fabricators, NDT Technicians, and to ensure that they all at the same time acquire BOSIET (Basic Offshore Induction and Emergency training) to facilitate their smooth transition into the upstream petroleum sector as qualified technicians”, he said.

“This will add a further 200 skilled workers to the upstream industry and ensure that increasingly more of the jobs in the upstream sector are now done by Ghanaians. Training starts in January and by December the last cohort should have been completed,” he explained.