Through what has become known to Indigenous Ghanaian Companies (IGCs) as the Ghana Upstream Business Academy, Petroleum Commission and Tullow Ghana Limited (TGL) held the second-in-series of workshops towards enhancing the capacity of SMEs operating in Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry.
The objective of the workshop was to create awareness among Indigenous Ghanaian Companies on the importance of compliance and meeting the due diligence requirements of International Oil Companies.
Meeting due diligence standards is one of the ethical requirements needed to qualify for contracts.
The workshop brought together about 150 participants from service companies operating in the upstream oil and gas industry in Ghana.
Participants were taken through the due diligence requirements of IOCs, international ethical and compliance requirements.
The workshop was also aimed at exposing the shortcomings of suppliers in their compliance programmes to aid in the implementation of controls that suit international standards.
Opening the virtual session on Wednesday 19th May 2021, which was on due diligence, Director of Local Content at the Petroleum Commission, Mr. Kwaku Boateng mentioned supplier development programme as one of the key requirements in the implementation of local content in the oil and gas industry.
He said that to enhance participation of IGCs in the industry, they should be able to meet the minimum standards set up in the industry and that includes meeting the ethical and compliance requirements.
He urged the participating companies to seize the opportunity provided by the Business Academy to position themselves favourably in order to fully participate in the industry.
He expressed confidence in the collaboration between the PC and the TGL and other IOCs in building capacity of IGCs.
“The Petroleum Commission is keen on maximizing in-country value addition and ensuring that our local companies do well, and we encourage you to take these sessions under the Business Academy seriously,” Mr. Boateng said.
On her part, Associate General Counsel and Director. Legal for TGL, Mrs. Hannah Agbozo underscored the importance of supplier development and alignment with the national local content agenda as key initiatives under the Local Capacity Development Pillar of TGL’s 2021 local content strategy.
Mrs. Agbozo said there has been a continuous increase in the value of contracts awarded to both indigenous and joint venture companies between 2010 -2020, indicating that of a total of $16.18 billion spent over the period, $10.67 billion worth of contracts has been awarded local with participation.
This she says is indicative of Tullow’s commitment to local participation of Ghanaian businesses in the sector.
Resource Persons largely from Tullow Ghana touched on the need for due diligence in the administrative processes of IDCs. This according to them is a recipe for maintaining sound business relationships locally and internationally.
At the end of the session, participants were provided an overview of the Supplier Due Diligence Process, including the electronic platform interface used by suppliers to submit their responses.
It also explained the purpose and format of the due diligence issued to suppliers, shared some of the common problems due diligence responses received especially by Tullow Ghana as well as examples of best practices for submitting due diligence response and the provision of an overview of the contractual audit clause related to business ethics and compliance.
