MORE COMPANIES EXPLORE OIL IN GHANA (BACK PAGE)

ELEVEN oil companies which have petroleum agreements with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Ghana Government are now operating off-shore the coastline from Keta, Tano and Saltpond basins to explore oil and gas.
The companies include Kosmos Energy, Tullow, Hess, Vanco, Vitol, Gasop, Oranto, Afren and Anadako.
There are also 40 other oil companies which have expressed interest in oil and gas exploration in the country.
The Lead Geophysicist of the GNPC, Mr Richard Addo Darko, announced this when Kosmos Energy presented a cheque for GH¢20,000 to the Western Region Education Trust Fund in Sekondi.
Mr Darko said the GNPC was having discussions with the 40 companies which had expressed interest in the off-shore basins, especially the Voltaian and Tano basins.
He said some companies had also expressed interest in on-shore activities where there would be direct contact with the people.
Mr Darko pointed out that the oil find had triggered off a lot of interest that was why many oil companies were coming in and, therefore, called for co-operation between the traditional authorities and the oil companies.
The Country Manager of Kosmos Energy Ghana, Mr George Owusu, urged the people to think about the benefits they were going to derive from the oil find.
He said the oil companies which were going to be established would generate more employment for the people in the Western Region, adding, “We have to train ourselves to retain the work in the region.”
“Now is the time to educate our children especially in the polytechnics to enable them to benefit from the oil find,” he stressed.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr A. E. Amoah, was happy that the donation was going to support the funding of students in the region.
He noted that if the Regional Education Trust Fund were to be made an umbrella fund it would complement other educational trust funds instituted by the various traditional authorities in the region.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Blay, expressed his appreciation to Kosmos Energy for the kind gesture and paid glowing tribute to the former Western Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, during whose period the fund was established.
He said without that, the region would not achieve the purpose of developing its human resource base.
He appealed to other corporate entities to contribute generously to the fund.
The Paramount Chief of the Western Nzema Traditional Area, Awulae Annor Adjaye, said the traditional authorities were happy about the donation.
He, however, expressed regret that organisations, institutions and individuals who made pledges to the Kwame Nkrumah Educational Fund that was established in the Nzema area had not fulfilled their various pledges