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The Ministry of Petroleum and Safety Concerns of the Oil and Gas Industry

  • SOURCE: | qwesa2big
  • fpsoThe Ministry of Petroleum is one of the most important ministries in Ghana. The ministry which has the national goal of making energy services universally accessible and readily available in an environmentally sustainable manner has two main sectors; the upstream and the downstream sector.

    The goals of the upstream sub–sector is to ensure an effective management of the oil and gas resources of the country and accelerate the exploitation and development of new hydrocarbon resources for the overall benefit and welfare of all Ghanaians, present and future. Government remains committed to attracting increased local value-added investments in the oil and gas sector and the indigenization of knowledge, expertise and technology.

    The main objectives of the upstream sub sector are:

    • Manage oil and gas revenues transparently and ensure equity for the benefit of the present and future generation of Ghanaians. This will be achieved through institutional reforms and transparent regulation for the management of the oil revenue through legislative guidelines for the creation of a Future Generation Fund.
    • Encourage investments along the oil and gas industry value chain through fiscal incentives and “even- handed” regulation.
    • Maximize the benefits of oil and gas wealth generation through the use of local goods and services, people, businesses and financing in all aspects of the oil and gas industry value chain and retaining the benefit within Ghana
    • Ensure security for oil and gas industry installations and operations through the development of dedicated institutional arrangement for national oil and gas security matters and legislation of oil and gas safety requirements.
    • Develop a viable domestic petrochemical industry based on natural gas.
    • Support capacity building at all levels in the country’s technical, vocational and tertiary institutions.

    The Ministry of Petroleum has six agencies that operate under it. These agencies are the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) and Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas).

    The respective agencies have their own safety measures to ensure the security of their operations. For example, Petroleum Commission has a compliance with health, safety and environmental standards in petroleum activities in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and agreements. In the Western Region, GNPC is funding the construction for the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Jomoro District Hospital and also to improve healthy delivery in its operational areas. The hospital is close to the Jubilee operations and first point of call for any emergency issues from our operations.

    The Tema Oil Refinery also engages in quality health provision by engaging in donations towards various surgeries in the country such as the Ghana Heart Foundations. Ghana Gas one of the agencies under the Ministry of Petroleum also practice health, safety and security by protecting  the environment through contributing to global flare reduction, using materials and energy efficiently, and minimizing our emissions and discharges and to comply with all applicable health, safety and environmental laws and regulations.

    In conclusion, though the Ministry of Petroleum does not have a safety Board that monitors the health issues in the upstream sector, the six agencies operating under the Ministry have their own safety measures that ensure efficient operation on the oil fields by responding to emergency health concerns of operations on the Jubilee field.

    By: David Aduhene Tanoh–www.reportingoilandgas.com

     

     

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