Local content policy for oil and gas gains grounds

…as SME Hydra Offshore, Wood Group PSN sign MoU

The effort of Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) is beginning to pay off: Hydra Offshore, a Ghanaian SME registered with the centre, signed an MOU with Wood Group Company to explore opportunities to provide subsea engineering services for local operators.

The MoU was announced in Accra on Monday at Enablis, the centre responsible for establishing and running the EDC.

Wood Group Ghana Limited (Wood Group) said it is forming an agreement to partner with Hydra Offshore Limited (Hydra Offshore) to deliver subsea engineering projects for Ghana’s oil and gas industry.

This move, according to Wood Group, highlights Wood Group’s commitment to nationalisation and engaging the local supply chain in countries where it operates.

The collaboration will combine the strengths of Hydra Offshore’s subsea engineering capabilities with technical experience, capacity, technology and technical assurance of Wood Group’s global oil and gas business.

Ian McKay, Wood Group Ghana Ltd.’s country manager, said: “Wherever Wood Group works in the world, we endeavour to do our part to create jobs, develop local resources and stimulate the economic base. We continually expand the local contents of our activities and operations in line with our Core Values, and this partnership with Hydra Offshore will underpin this work.

“This partnership reflects our commitment to growing our business in Ghana, and it directly supports aims of the Enterprise Development Centre to assist Ghanaian small and medium enterprises in positioning themselves to take advantage of the opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

“Hydra Offshore engineers will also be able to tap into the subsea experience, knowledge on job coaching, technology and in-house training programmes available through our sister company, Wood Croup Kenny.”

Delali Otchi, the Chief Executive Officer for Hydra Offshore said: “Hydra Offshore is committed to the national agenda of maximising local content and strives to achieve a very high degree of practicable Ghanaian content without compromising operation and technical integrity.

“Our partnership with Wood Group and other affiliates is designed to encourage the needed knowledge transfer required to promote local participation of Ghanaian companies in the oil and gas sector.”

Providing a range of brownfield production, subsea support, and greenfield engineering services, Wood Group operates in more than 21 countries in Africa, employing over 5,000 people.

Hydra Offshore Limited is a wholly Ghanaian owned oilfield services company providing offshore and subsea engineering solutions to the oil and gas industry in Ghana.

Shika Acolatse, the EDC Director, said EDC will continue to support Hydra Offshore and the collaboration with Wood Group. She added that the MoU gives meaning to the government of Ghana’s commitment to support local businesses

The EDC, a government of Ghana initiative spearheaded by the Ministries of Energy and Petroleum (MoEP) and Trade and Industry (MoTI), is commissioned to provide support for Ghanaian Small and Medium Enterprises (GhSMEs) to competitively position themselves and take advantage of the numerous business opportunities in the oil and gas sector.