Sylvia Mensah Ofori-Osei, Head of Oil and Gas, Business and Commercial Banking at Stanbic Bank Ghana, has highlighted the crucial role that banks play in advancing local content within Ghana’s oil and gas industry. She emphasized this point during at the annual Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) in Takoradi, located in the Western Region of Ghana
Speaking at the event, Sylvia Mensah Ofori-Osei said, “Banks continue to be critical in the oil and gas industry, especially in developing local content. Banks can partner with industry stakeholders to develop local content by having regular engagement with the regulator on policy and regulatory frameworks that impact the local content. Banks can also do this by having workshops on capacity development and skills transfer. Furthermore, banks can have thought leadership sessions and collaborate with operators and contractors to provide financing access for the local content.”
She further encouraged players within the sector to collaborate with banks in meeting their financial needs. According to her, “Financing for the sector requires critical attention and as a bank, we are strategically positioned to partner our clients on this journey. What we do as a bank is that we provide trade finance for players in the industry to meet their contract financing needs. We also support them with term funding backed by long term contracts for capital expansion. We also provide advisory support in mergers and acquisitions for local businesses who want to partner with foreign partners.”
“We encourage other operators and contractors to collaborate with us to provide financing access for their operators and contractors,” she added.
The Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) is an annual flagship event organized by the Petroleum Commission of Ghana, dedicated to advancing local content and participation in the upstream petroleum industry. This year’s event, themed “Attracting E&P Investment to Boost Local Content: New Pathways,” focused on promoting strategic discussions aimed at enhancing Exploration and Production (E&P) activities in the country while creating sustainable investment opportunities for local content development.
The 2024 edition of the LCCE brought together over 1,000 participants from across the globe, including key stakeholders, industry experts, government officials, and investors. The participants engaged in comprehensive dialogues on best practices, innovative strategies, and collaborative approaches to stimulate E&P investments in Ghana’s oil and gas sector. The event served as a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and fostering partnerships that can drive the sector’s growth while ensuring that local businesses reap significant benefits from the industry’s expansion.
