TEMA, TDI PORTS TO BENEFIT FROM OIL FIND (PAGE 34)

The Tema and Takoradi harbours stand to gain a lot from the country's oil find in terms of employment and revenue generation as the country steps out to become an oil-producing country very soon.
This gives positive indications of the country becoming 'a country of hope' with job generation and use of expertise and human resource at its peak.
Estimates show that the country is expecting 120,000 barrels of oil and 120 million standard cubic feet of gas per day in the phase one of operations at the Jubilee Field Project.
The Deputy Energy Minister, Dr Kwabena Donkor, said the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities would provide the country an immense opportunity to effectively improve on its economy.
He also said all sectors of the economy were being positioned for the take-off into the new economic horizon created by the oil and gas discoveries.
According to Mr Nestor Percy Galley, the acting Director-General of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire has facilities for support services and, therefore, making it competitive for Ghana to work fast to install the needed facilities which will give the country full benefits and to contribute to job creation.
He said marine and technical facilities needed to support and provide adequate services to the oil fields would include expansion of the existing facilities at the Takoradi Port, which serves as the nearest commercial port to the oil fields.
Mr Galley disclosed that the an estimated amount of $ 50 million would be needed for the first phase short-term expansion project at the Takoradi Port to serve the oil fields. He said the second phase, which would be the actual project, would be based on the need of the services of the companies and therefore the GPHA would liaise closely with them to identify their needs. Mr Galley said the authority would offer employment opportunities to local people and Ghanaians who had the expertise in the fields of marine technology and port services.
He stated that the authority had already started work with the oil drilling companies on a low key, while waiting for the main aspects of the work.
Mr Galley said the GPHA was working feverishly to ensure that a modest arrangement was made at the Takoradi Port to reap the benefits of the country's oil find.
He said the port would need to undergo some expansion with the provision of certain facilities to make the Takoradi Port capable of providing support services of oil production.
These, he said, would include deep draft berthing facilities for vessels bringing plant and equipment for the oil field, office accommodation for oil companies, open and covered storage facilities for the production materials and pipes and free zone area for production materials.
Mr Galley noted that other areas to be considered by the GPHA were pipe welding, supply of fresh water, bunkering facilities for supply vessels and cranes for handling of plant and materials and trained workforce for stevedoring of plants and machinery from vessels.
He noted that the Takoradi Port would also be dredged and land reclaimed to be developed into oil services facility to support oil production in the short term.
Mr Galley said to ensure partnership, the GPHA had made arrangements to meet the immediate needs of some of the oil companies at the Takoradi Port to enable them to store and weld their drilling pipes and risers and also provide a place for the liquid and bulk plants.
He said the GPHA had also leased out its bauxite berth for rig repairs while other areas in the port had been allocated for storage of equipment and pipes for the oil fields.
Mr Galley reiterated the job opening that the oil find would create in the Tema and Takoradi Metropolitan areas, which are the two port cities in the country, noting that the GPHA would employ and train people in specialised fields while the oil companies would also target local people for on-the-job, artisanal and other duties.