GE commits $3.5 million for Oil & Gas training

General Electric (GE) Ghana has committed $3.5m for capacity-building in the oil and gas industry in Ghana.

GE is expected to work in partnership with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Ashesi University to build capacity for the country’s nascent oil and gas sector.

The three organisations have therefore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on research and training of professionals in the oil sector.

The signing ceremony, which took place on Wednesday in Accra, was witnessed by GE Global Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff Immelt, who is in Ghana for a short visit.

Through its Oil and Gas University initiative, GE is working with Ashesi to develop a curriculum applicable to the Ghanaian oil and gas industry.

A scholarship fund will be made available to support students of Ghanaian universities and vocational institutions, who are studying engineering or oil & gas, among other related programmes.

The CEO of GE Oil & Gas for Africa, Marco Caccavale disclosed that the collaboration will promote knowledge transfer through GE funded academic scholarships for universities, professional seminars and courses on leadership and technical issues on oil and gas.

The Managing Director of GNPC, Alex Mould, in a brief remark, stated that GNPC will provide technical input for O&G training, as well as a number of candidates for training at the O&G University.

The first beneficiary of the programme, Richard Asmah, an engineer at GNPC, will begin a five-month training programme at the GE O&G University in Florence, Italy.

During the course, candidates will be expected to learn managerial and technical skills to boost their knowledge in the oil and gas sector.

Under the agreement, GE and GNPC will also invest in the development, training and financing of small and medium sized Ghanaian suppliers and service providers to support their potential long-term entry into the O&G/ GE supply chain.

Meanwhile, GE and its consortium partners Endeavor Energy (Endeavor), Eranove and Sage Petroleum, have signed an agreement with Excelerate Energy (Excelerate), a leading firm in the industry, to provide Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRU) to that will provide storage and regasification of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for the Ghana 1000 project, a 1300MW power plant that will be situated at Aboadze in the Western Region.

“Partnering with Excelerate Energy illustrates the remarkable progress made by the Ghana 1000 consortium in completing the project on time to deliver power to the people of Ghana,” said Leslie Nelson, GE Ghana CEO.”

GE is the world’s leading technology and financial services company, with over $140 billion in annual revenue.

In Ghana GE operates in the power & water, oil & gas and healthcare sectors and has grown its operations by more than five-fold since 2010.