The Deputy Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Mr Richard Gyan-Mensah, has called for a collective effort among regulatory and government agencies to drive the Petroleum Hub project.
According to him, the success of the Petroleum Hub was not the responsibility of one institution but a collective enterprise that requires commitment, creativity, and cooperation of all stakeholders.
“Let me emphatically state that the success of the Petroleum Hub is not the responsibility of one institution but a collective enterprise. It will require commitment, creativity and above all, cooperation of all stakeholders,” he stated.
Mr Gyan-Mensah who made the call at the first-ever Inter-Agency Dialogue held in Accra on Wednesday, urged stakeholders to promote a collective sense of national responsibility that would lead to better collaboration, innovation and success of the project.
The Dialogue organised by the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC) was on the theme; “Building the energy hub of choice: Unlocking synergies for a globally competitive petroleum and petrochemical hub.”
“Let us work together to remove the redundancies and simplify our processes and create an enabling environment that will make Ghana the investment destination of choice for the petroleum and petrochemical industry in West Africa,” the Deputy Minister emphasised.
He underscored the strategic importance of the Petroleum Hub in driving the country’s energy transformation, adding that the Petroleum Hub project was anchored within the framework of industrial transformation to enhance energy security and represents a strategic project in Ghana’s recent petroleum development history.
Mr Gyan-Mensah highlighted the country’s unique geographical advantage, stable political environment, and emerging petroleum resources as key enablers of a globally competitive energy hub.
Pledging the ministry’s commitment to the project, he said the ultimate goal was to create an enabling environment to make Ghana an investment destination of choice for the petroleum and petrochemical industry in West Africa.
The Chief Executive Officer of PHDC, Dr Toni Aubynn, said the success of the hub relied on collaborative efforts between public and private institutions, rather than individual actions.
The noted that PHDC was established by an Act of Parliament in 2022 to promote and facilitate the development of Africa’s first integrated petroleum and petrochemical hub in the country.
“We envision a hub that is more than just a collection of refineries, tank farms, pipelines, and ports. We envision a hub that becomes the beating heart of energy transformation in West Africa, a hub that creates jobs, drives innovation, builds local capacity, and strengthens Ghana’s economic sovereignty, but we cannot build this vision alone, we need all stakeholders on board,” he underscored.
Dr Aubynn emphasised that securing the estimated $60 billion investment needed for the hub required a united front.
Similarly, Minister of Trade and Industry, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, described the project as a critical pillar in Ghana’s broader trade strategy, adding that it had the potential to position the country as a regional trading powerhouse.
The forum which brought together participants including CEOs from Maritime Port Authority (MPA), Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), and Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), had a panel session featuring heads of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), and Ghana Port and Harbour Authority (GPHA) which reaffirmed a joint commitment to improving the regulatory environment for petroleum and petrochemical investments.
BY CECILIA YADA LAGBA
