Dr. Prempeh, popularly known as ‘NAPO’, has payed a courtesy call on the Mayor of Houston, Mr. Sylvester Turner, at his office in downtown Houston. The Minister is in the United States for this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) which is currently taking place in Houston, Texas.
The Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has stated that the country’s huge gas reserve makes it imperative for her to exploit and monetize them as leverage for her industrial takeoff. He stated this when he a delegation to pay a courtesy call on the mayor of Houston.
In attendance at the meeting were Ghana’s Ambassador to the USA, H.E Hajia Alima Mahama, Deputy Minister Hon. Egyapa Mercer, the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Yoofi Grant as well as senior officials from the Ministry and some of its agencies. Their discussions focused on the energy sector in the context of energy transition, Ghana’s investment climate, international trade and empowerment of Africa in the global scheme of things.
In his remarks, Dr. Prempeh stated that Ghana’s first oil find in commercial quantities was by Kosmos, a Houston based company, which left the country but is back. He further emphasized on Ghana’s huge gas reserves which must be monetized for the benefit of our industrial agenda whilst making the case for companies to invest in Ghana.
He noted that energy transition need not mean an abandonment of our natural oil and gas resources, which is why Ghana is as this year’s OTC to encourage investment flows into the country’s energy sector. “I can feel the pressure on African countries to conform to the energy transition agenda, even though Africa has contributed marginally to the phenomenon that is driving this agenda. We have so much gas that we need the cooperation of Houston and its domiciled energy giants”, the Minister remarked.
The OTC, which started yesterday, will end on Thursday 19th August 2021. Among the Minster’s other engagements during the event are a keynote speech at a West African Oil and Gas Forum, an encounter with the Ghanaian community in Houston and several private engagements with various key players in Houston’s energy space.
Source: myghanadaily
