TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TO HELP GHANA DEVELOP GAS SECTOR (SPREAD)

The government of Trinidad and Tobago is to help Ghana to develop its gas infrastructure.
This came to light when the High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago accredited to Ghana but resident in Nigeria, Mrs Victoria Mendez-Charles, called on the Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng Agyei at his office yesterday.
The two held discussions on the gas and oil industry in the two countries and agreed in principle to enter into an agreement for Trinidad and Tobago to assist Ghana to develop its gas infrastructure.
The agreement, when signed, will enable Ghana to explore its gas reserves and avoid the mistakes of their negative environmental impact.
It will also include the transfer of technology to Ghanaian professionals or technicians by training them to fill positions in the gas and oil industry without having to rely heavily on expatriates.
Dr Agyei said the collaboration between the two countries would help advance the cause of South-South co-operation.
He said the government promised the Ghanaian electorate that it would invest in the people and the training of Ghanaians to occupy positions in the oil and gas industry, saying that industry offered the greatest opportunity for investing in the people.
He said the government would not be satisfied with the services of oil companies who would like to employ Ghanaians as agents in the oil and gas industry without transferring their expertise to the workers so that in the end the workers would be left with nothing, while all the profits were transferred back to the parent companies abroad.
He said policy makers right down to middle-level technical personnel would be involved in the training to enable Ghanaians to develop the know-how in the oil and gas industry.
Dr Agyei said the government would, therefore, not accept any agreement from oil companies which fell short of forming joint ventures with Ghanaians, since it was much concerned about increasing local participation in oil exploration.
Mrs Mendez-Charles said her country had had over 100 years’ experience in oil exploration but because its supply was limited, it had to diversify the economy by developing its gas sector.
She said Ghana could learn a lot from her country to avoid the pitfalls that that country had faced while in the process of developing the oil sector, including its impact on the environment.
Mrs Mendez-Charles said all those experiences could help Ghana to chart a course without having to repeat the mistakes of other oil and gas exporting countries by also investing in agriculture to ensure food security in the country.