Board Chairman of Ghana National petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ato Ahwoi has called for conscious efforts from all Ghanaians to ensure that the petroleum industry is not treated as a separate economy on its own.
He said this is important because oil on its own cannot become Ghana�s economic salvation, but rather oil must help the country undertake other productive activities effectively.
Mr Ato Ahwoi made this call at a media briefing organised by the GNPC in Accra, emphasising that GNPC�s vision is one in which Ghana�s petroleum industry integrates constructively with other sectors of the nation�s economy and society, cautioning that, �Oil must not become an enclave disconnected from everything else.�
�At every stage of the development of our petroleum sector we must seek optimal linkages that increase people�s control over every aspect of their productive lives,� the board chairman urged, adding, �We have learned from the mistakes of others who treated petroleum as a separate economy.�
Mr Ahwoi explained further that, it was based upon such a vision that even in the formative years of the GNPC, as it began to explore for resources, the company also made efforts to link its work to that of other national institutions and other sectors of the economy.
As huge sums of money are needed to support exploration and production of oil, Mr Ahwoi said the GNPC would like to urge Ghanaians and Ghanaian Financial Institutions to take the lead in financing the growth of the sector. This, he believes is crucial because of the huge profits that those who provide these funds would be making.
He called on Ghanaians and Ghanaian institutions to be in the forefront of energy research, developing and patenting new technologies and promoting the social organization required optimizing the use of these technologies.
The GNPC Board Chairman also called on Ghanaian institutions, both public and private to own and manage equipment and the infrastructure that constrain the proper investigation of the country�s hydrocarbon and other subsea resources.
He argued that if GNPC had been allowed to operate the helicopter services drilling rigs, fleet of supply boats and oil tankers as the case was in the 1980s and the 90s Ghana would have been earning huge profits, �even now before the first oil is pumped.�
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