About 20 percent of valuable contracts in the upstream petroleum industry have been awarded to Ghanaian companies. This remarkable improvement in the sector hinged on the Local Content Regulations promulgated by government in 2013, LI 2204 which had created a conducive environment for indigenous Ghanaian companies to succeed in the industry. The Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh told the media at the 2023 Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) in Takoradi. He said, in the first oil field development prior to the passage of the Local Content Regulations, only 6.5 per cent of contracts were awarded to the Ghanaian companies. The Minister said 'Over the past 10 years we have covered a long and successful road. Our drive towards optimal local content and participation has contributed to the successes chalked'. 'I am proud as a Ghanaian to say that Springfield, a fully Indigenous Ghanaian E and P company drilled and successfully discovered in deepwaters, the Afina-1X well at West Cape Th ree Points in 2019'. 'This feat is commendable and must be celebrated as the first of its kind in the history of our oil and gas industry.' Dr. Opoku Prempeh said the successes demonstrated the increasing capacity of Ghanaians to take charge of the exploitation of the hydrocarbon resources especially in the wake of the energy transition. The three-day conference is being attended by participants from Nigeria, the Gambia, Uganda, Angola, Senegal and Trinidad and Tobago and Europe together with International Oil Companies (IOCs), International Service Companies, Indigenous Ghanaian Companies (IGCs) and other stakeholders in the upstream petroleum sector. It is on the theme: 'Ten years of Local Content in Ghana's Upstream Petroleum Industry; Achievements, Challenges and Prospects' The participants would deliberate on issues affecting upstream petroleum operations in Ghana and its derivatives. The conference would also help to identify their challenges and come up with ideas and strategies to address the challenges and identify the prospects to harness for the mutual benefit for all stakeholders. Source: Ghana News Agency