Ghana’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is expected to deliver the keynote address at the sixth edition of Ghana Economic Outlook and Business Strategy Conference (EOBS) on Wednesday 21 March, 2018 at Labadi Beach Hotel, in Accra.
He will lead business executives, policy makers, among others to discuss issues on the oil and gas industry in the country.
Dr Yaw Akoto, the Board Chairman of the African Business Media Limited (ABM), publishers of the multiple-award winning Ghana Business & Finance magazine (GB&F) disclosed at a media launch of this year’s EOBS in Accra.
The EOBS which is organised by the ABM, publishers of the magazine with partners and reputable corporate sponsors, is a must-attend event for both local and international businesses.
He said: “The year 2017 marked the 10th year that Ghana pumped her first crude oil to the surface. This singular event of First Oil presented a lot of real possibilities from the discovery of a significant petroleum resource-oil that could potentially drive economic growth, create jobs and enhance national development”.
According to Dr Akoto, the expectation was that the petroleum resource has the potential to lift Ghana further out and above the middle-income bracket and propel the country into a real developed economy.
“So, after 10 years of production and managing the significant revenues generated from the petroleum, we thought that 10 years was ample time to do some introspection; to get the key players in the oil and gas industry together, along with the regulators of the industry to review what has been done so far and what should further be done to enable Ghana achieve more and better success going forward”.
Dr Akoto continued: “This is what informed our choice for this year’s theme-‘1o Years of Oil & Gas: Challenges and Prospects. Because of the importance of the sector to the economy, we are once more having the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to grace the event as the Keynote Speaker”.
As stated in this year’s budget, the country, he expects that the government is at work on the full implementation of the Gas Master Plan this year.
“It is towards achieving the right conducive platform to do more that we at Africa Business Media , in collaboration with the Ghana Business & Finance Magazine, and our sponsors, decided that we should create this forum for the constructive interaction among the industry players, regulators and the government”, he explained to journalists at the media launch.
The conference is going to have the relevant key players in the industry constituting the panels that will be engaged in discussing the issues emanating from the sub-sector.
Government is fully represented in the strategic partnership and presence of the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum Commission, and Energy Commission.
The oil and industry players to be present at the conference include-Tullow Oil, Kosmos Energy, Hess, ENI, Vitol, Springfield and Exxon Mobil.
Also, Oilfield Companies suh as GE and its Baker Hughes, Schlumberger, Subsea 7 and Technip. Other strategic partners of the conference are Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC), Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), and Business Council for Africa (BCA).
The EOBS 2018 also has support of oil and gas players like Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Petroleum Commission, Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) and several downstream players including Allied Oil and JKH.
The EOBS since its inception brings the relevant authorities in the corporate world and policymakers to take a critical look at a chosen sector of the economy of Ghana and boosting investors’ interest. Last year’s EOBS was on Ghana’s financial system, with focus on mobile money.
The Acting General Manager of Africa Business Media, Issaka Salisu added the EOBS conference has been increasing in its popularity and acceptance in Ghana and abroad.
To this end, he urged all interested individuals and companies to go online and register to enable them to take part in the all-important conference.
The Deputy Manager of Corporate Affairs at GNPC, Eric Pwadura, said: “GNPC is excited to be among sponsors of the prestigious Ghana Economic Outlook and Business Strategy Conference (EOBS)”.
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report
Email: mk68008@gmail.com
