By Adu Koranteng
The Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille, has said there is the need to optimise technology transfer in Ghana’s oil and Gas industry, as part of efforts to promote local content and employment generation.
According to him, transfer of technology is one of the significant issues in oil and gas contracts and that the petroleum developing countries like Ghana are concern about controlling all phases of their industry’s operation which in turn, has led to their awareness of the need to acquire adequate understanding of the related technology.
Without some mastery of oil technology, petroleum developing countries cannot ensure, for instance, that their exploration efforts are adequate and that production rates are consistent with their national interest and oil requirements.
Mr Faibille made this known at the 7th Local Content Conference on Oil and Gas which opened in Accra yesterday.
The 2-days conference organised by the petroleum Commission in partnership with its stakeholders was under the theme “optimising Technology Transfer in Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry.
Mr Faibille said modern history of the oil and gas industry started in 1847, and Ghana’s major commercial production started in 2010, hence, the need to develop the industry faster.
According to him, technology transfer was one of the important policy measures adopted by the government to accelerate the indigenization of the fledging industry.”
“The World Intellectual Property Organization defines technology transfer as ‘the flow between two or more participants of technological information and its successful integration into production by the recipient(s).’ Other experts have noted that technology transfer implies ‘the movement of physical structure, knowledge, skills, organization, values, and capital from the site of generation to the receiving site.’
We, at the Petroleum Commission, view technology transfer as four (4) components. These are:
- The transfer of tools, equipment, machinery, and other technology related hardware.
- Skills development – experience, expertise/know-how, skills, relevant certifications, innovations, etc.
- Information/databased solutions, software, design drawings, procedures, etc.
- Organisational development strategies which would aid in the development, absorption, and utilization of available or new technology,” Egbert Faible stated.
He continued “As stated earlier, after series of engagements with upstream petroleum companies over the last few months, we have realized that there is a gap in terms of practicalizing technology transfer requirements in the industry. The most notable among the issues identified is the fact that skills development is the dominant component of technology transfer in the industry and for this we applaud the IOCs that kept faith with us in transferring knowledge and skills to Ghanaians. Among the skills that have been transferred to Indigenous Ghanaian Companies include general knowledge such as the use of non-proprietary technologies, skills acquired from accessible certifications, training of technical personnel, acquisition and use of relevant industry softwares, however, transfer of core technical skills required in the oilfield operations have been limited. We need to address this gap if we are to increase the level of competence in the core technical areas. Likewise, we need to also ensure that apart from skills development, other components of technology transfer such as techno ware (tangible technologies, e.g. tools, machineries, etc.); info ware (software, design drawings, information/database solutions, etc.); and organ ware (organizational development strategies), are also prioritized, integrated and transferred.”
According to him, It has been over a decade since oil and gas production began in Ghana and in the Western Region, saying “Over the years, the Western Region has witnessed some level of progress in terms of the region’s share of utilization of oil and gas resources and revenues to improve the livelihoods of the region’s inhabitants. However, over the last few years, under the NPP government the region has experienced improvements in all developmental areas that is transforming the capabilities of Indigenous Ghanaian Companies and their ability to cope with the technological challenges of the oil industry. It is for this reason that, I am personally excited about the theme for this year’s Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE). This is because our vision of becoming a “Model Region, reputed for High Standard of Living and Entrepreneurial Governance” will be fast-tracked and become a reality when technology transfer processes are optimised across major sectors of the economy such as the oil and gas sector.”
Read parts of the full speech below:
“Technology transfer creates opportunities for indigenes especially in instances where a natural resource host country enters a particular sector at a later period. As you are all aware, although oil exploration in Ghana dates back over a century, Ghana started commercial production of oil and gas recently. In order to build local expertise and competence in this complex, specialised and highly technological industry, adopting relevant technology transfer processes in the industry will help indigenes such as host communities in the Western Region and indigenous businesses to acquire the needed tools, equipment, machines and other technology related hardware. Technology transfer will also aid indigenes and indigenous businesses to acquire relevant know-how, skills, certifications, and experiences, as well as have access to the right information, software, data, etc. This, ladies, and gentlemen, will help Ghanaians and Ghanaian businesses to enhance their operational efficiency and improve their system performance which will enable locals to actively participate in high-value technical projects.”
“It is my hope that you will take this opportunity to deepen your understanding in technology transfer and be well abreast with the processes and methods involved. It will be delightful to see indigenous businesses build their ability to receive technologies and then afterwards create future technologies to be utilized by the industry. To companies based in the Western Region, I urge you to come out of this conference with all the needed information in order to lead the technology transfer agenda of the industry as the recent discoveries present deeper prospects in this regard.”
“ I wish to charge the upstream oil and gas regulator, Petroleum Commission, to enforce high level compliance in the industry especially with Technology Transfer Regulations as stipulated in the Petroleum (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2013 (L.I 2204) and other applicable Regulations. Non-compliance must be strictly dealt with and those found culpable should be brought to book. I also entreat the upstream companies to abide by the Local-Local Content principles enshrined in the Local content Policy and invest in the region.”
