T & T Energy Chamber Storms Ghana

… Seeks Opportunities, JV Partners

By J. Ato Kobbie, Managing Editor

An 11-member delegation comprising private sector organizations from the Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago arrived in Accra last Saturday, on a week-long visit to explore opportunities in their various areas of expertise in the energy sector, and also seek joint venture partners.

The chamber, whose members are into engineering, services, construction of tanks and pipelines, and inspection, is looking for Ghanaian private sector partners and companies looking for opportunities in the energy sector to form joint ventures.

“We are here to make available the opportunities in the technology we have,” disclosed Dr. Thackwray Driver, Chief Executive Officer of The Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago, leader of the delegation.

According to Dr. Driver, Trinidad & Tobago, as a small country, focuses on skills development in the energy industry and exports expertise and skills unlike other countries that export labour.

Speaking to The Business analyst, Dr. Driver said with a population of 1.2million and a strong economy with a per capita of US$20,000.00 T& T is the powerhouse of the Caribbean.

“A key route to maximizing benefit to Ghanaians is to get domestic companies to actively participate rather than acting just as agents,” he advised Ghanaians.

Dr. Driver said Trinidad & Tobago companies compete favourably in bidding for onshore construction projects and service sectors without protection from the state.

He said as far as local content was concerned, Trinidad & Tobago companies owned 15% of offshore deepwater projects and 80% in shallow-water and onshore projects.

With regard to labour participation, Dr. Driver said Trinidad & Tobago has 90% local participation in the energy sector labour force.

The visit is the second by the 300-member Energy Chamber, which first sent a delegation to Ghana in 2009.

The delegation, which will participate in the ongoing Ghana Summit 2011, a platform where players in the energy sector are meeting over a three-day period, leaves Ghana back to Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday. . j.atokobbie@yahoo.com