At the annual global meeting between the Executive Leaders of National and International Oil, Gas and Energy companies and their counterparts from the world of education, local content and training, Dr. K.K. Sarpong, the Managing Director of the Ghana National Petroleum Company gave the Keynote Address on behalf of Africa’s Oil and Gas Industry.
His remarks set out for 500 senior delegates from 48 countries, a new vision which will determine the future of this industry and the sustained social and economic development it can bring to oil/gas producing nations and their people.
Dr. K.K. Sarpong, explained that although he is new to GNPC, he has a wide range of industrial and national experience in leadership which he brings to this role. He spoke passionately about the theme of the meeting, namely ‘Localisation’ and the fact that a new, lower, global oil price demands a renewed focus on the roles and responsibilities of the world’s major national and international companies, governments and other actors, particularly those in education and training.
It was, he remarked, more important than ever before that investment in exploration and production of finite sovereign natural resources were focused on reducing dependence of nations on those very resources. Only by stewarding our investments into the human resource through education and training can we grow a truly sustainable and prosperous economy for every citizen, he commented.
To enthusiastic applause, Dr. K.K. Sarpong informed the audience that The GNPC intended to formally adopt the Getenergy Field Ready employability system at the Takoradi Technical University. The system is an innovative, focused approach to producing highly employable staff for industry from state education institutions. Dr. K.K. Sarpong stated that the programme had been developed by Getenergy Ltd and that Getenergy had chosen Ghana to be the first country in the world to have a Field Ready programme.
He announced the intention of the GNPC to procure the Franchise for Field Ready in Ghana and to expand the programme beyond just serving the oil and gas industry into other major areas where local skilled people are needed.
GNPC Chairman Mr Freddie Blay and Dr. K.K. Sarpong, participated in many of the sessions at the global event and held meetings with many international organisations keen to support the vision that had been articulated at the start of the meeting.
CEO of Getenergy Ltd Mr Phil Andrews commented that having the GNPC Chairman and Managing Director at the meeting publically demonstrated a long standing relationship between the annual Getenergy event and Ghana. He explained that his company’s decision to pilot the world’s first Field Ready programme in Ghana owed a great deal to the country, its people and the sense that, with the right leadership in key national organisations and a determined vision for collaboration with partners to localise major industries, it is possible to avoid the “resource curse”.
He finished by saying that ten other countries in Africa, Latin and South America and the Middle East were now studying the Field Ready programme in Ghana with a view to adopting their own Franchise - but that Ghana would go down in history as the nation in which such innovation first proved possible.
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