The Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission (PC), Egbert Faibille Junior, says in spite of challenges confronting Ghana’s upstream Petroleum sector, the country has been recording some positives with respect to contracts awarded to indigenous Ghanaian companies.

Speaking at the opening of this year’s Petroleum Commission Local Content Conference in Takoradi, Mr. Faibille Junior said, although the upstream petroleum sector challenges continue to stifle the growth of indigenous participation in the sector and the overall Ghana’s local content targets, Ghanaian Oil companies were awarded US$5.2 million service contracts at the end of 3rd Quarter of 2021.

“The upstream petroleum has made strides. At the end quarter of 2021, indigenous Ghanaian companies and Joint Ventures benefited from service contracts of US$5.2 million, the Commission continues to develop relevant guidelines to develop and push as well as deepen the implementation of LI 2204,” he said.

The conference attracted players in the petroleum industry.

Ghana is an up-and-coming player in the oil and gas industry with operations in the upstream (exploration and production), mid-stream, and downstream sectors.

After the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities in 2007, Ghana took steps to ensure a successful oil and gas regime.

The Petroleum Commission was set up in 2011 to regulate the upstream industry after commercial production began in the Jubilee field in 2010.

Ghana’s current output is 126,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) with the potential for increased output in the near future.