Ghana hopeful of impactful presence at Canada Petroleum show
The country’s upstream petroleum industry regulator, the Petroleum Commission, in collaboration with the Canada-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (CanCham) and the Trade Desk of Canada’s High Commission to Ghana is leading the largest trade mission to Canada for this year’s Global Petroleum Show (GPS) in Calgary, Alberta.
This trade mission from Ghana, including small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the upstream oil and gas sectors are hoping to be exposed to Canadian oil and gas expertise and capabilities to help the development of the Ghanaian industry.
The companies
At the pre-departure briefing in Accra, the Manager for Business Advisory and Enterprise Development at the Petroleum Commission, Mr. Kwasi Agyeman Manu Senya, told the Daily Graphic that about 25 companies from Ghana would be part of the delegation.
The expectations of the Commission are that the participating companies would make huge impact, and that there are opportunities to exhibit and expose the industry and its huge potential to global leaders at the Ghana Stand to be mounted during the show, which would be jointly opened by the sector minister and the country’s envoy to Canada.
“We expect them to hold fruitful discussions and build relationships that will lead to strategic partnerships for the execution of contracts in the country’s upstream sector and other allied services that have become very attractive,” he said.
Expectations
On the regulator’s side, Mr. Senya said “We hope to attract Canadian service providers to Ghana to support the development of Ghana’s hydrocarbons”.
“The mission is also expected to foster business-to-business collaboration with a high potential for joint ventures and partnership agreements. The current trade mission follows the previous successful trade missions to Aberdeen in Scotland, Stavanger in Norway and the just ended Offshore Technology Conference (OTC 2019) in Texas Huston,” he said.
The CANCHAM
The Canada Ghana Chamber of Commerce (CANCHAM) since its inception seeks to be the leading advocate for business in the country with unparalleled member benefits, member business visibility and extensive networking opportunities for the country.
With the country’s quest to increase its presence in the oil and gas, many SMEs have expressed their readiness to take advantage of the various global platforms helping the small companies to form healthy partnerships with known global giants.
With this the (CANCHAM) through the platforms such as the GPS and other global industry platforms created by the Ministry and the Commission is set to promote the interests of members by providing advocacy, business information, networking opportunities and services that encourage bilateral trade between Canada and Ghana.
The petroleum show is said to be one of the most important energy expos and conferences in North America, attracting more than 50,000 international and domestic oil and gas executives.
Upstream sector
The Minister of Energy, Mr. John-Peter Amewu and his deputy in charge of petroleum and also the Western Regional Minister, Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah who has always been very passionate about how the oil find could be used to transform the country, will lead Ghana’s delegation.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada, Joseph Ayikoi Otoo and the President of the Canada - Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Jonathan Ane would be part of the delegation.
It is expected that at the end of the mission there would be increased trade and investment opportunities between Canada and Ghana particularly in the oil and gas sectors to create mutually beneficial outcomes.