The Norwegian Government has approved the second tranche of $10 million to support the development of Ghana’s oil industry over the next five years.
The second tranche is to support the capacity building of Ghanaians for the oil and gas sector. The first component of $6 million ends this year.
Approval of the $10 million grant for 2015-2019 was one of the highlights of President Mahama’s visit to Norway.
During the visit, the President attended a number of business summits and an energy seminar, where more than 400 Norwegian businesses expressed interest in doing business in Ghana, particularly in the energy sector.
President Mahama told the Daily Graphic shortly before departing for Ghana that the visit had really paid off.
During a visit to the Norwegian Petroleum Department in Scavanger, Norway, the President was told that a number of Ghanaians from the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Petroleum Commission, and the Environmental Protection Agency were undergoing capacity-building programmes under the first grant of the oil for development project.
New grant
President Mahama said the new grant would be used for building the capacity of personnel in the public sector to help bridge the skills gap of Ghanaians, in addressing various challenges in the oil and gas sector.
He said the project was to ensure that Ghana benefited from its oil and gas and also position the country as the hub of the industry in West Africa.
President Mahama explained that Ghana had a lot to learn from Norway considering the successes that country had chalked up in the global oil industry.
The President urged Ghanaians to prepare themselves to take advantage of the business opportunities in the oil and gas, as well as the energy sector.
