Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Named as Official Host of Offshore West Africa

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) have officially confirmed their support for the upcoming Offshore West Africa 2014 Conference & Exhibition by agreeing to host the event taking place at the Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana on 21-23 January.

Offshore West Africa, the premier conference and exhibition for the offshore oil and gas exploration & production industry within West Africa, is pleased to once again work closely with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation in this exciting and growing offshore market within West Africa.

“The premier technical forum for the West African offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry will return to Ghana in 2014 for the latest edition, after hosting this event in 2010, 2011 and 2013,” said Mr. Eric Pwadura. Mr. Pwadura, who is the Acting Head, Corporate Affairs at the Ghana National Corporation. “The conference and exhibition will address vital technology and development issues for the West African offshore oil and gas market. In the course of this, there would be a comprehensive educational programme and exhibition, under the conference theme: Expanding West Africa’s Offshore Potential”, he said.

Sponsored by Lukoil, Shell, ABS, CPTDC, Petan, Ensco, Lloyd’s Register, GNPC and NNPC, the conference and exhibition under the guidance of Advisory Board Chairman, Theo Ahwireng, Manager of Geophysics, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, and committee members, OWA 2014 will provide the tools and resources to offshore upstream industry professionals seeking new business opportunities in the West African region.

We are pleased to present the 18th annual Offshore West Africa under the esteemed patronage of the Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister of Energy & Petroleum, Ministry of Energy & Petroleum, Ghana. The Honorable Minister will open the conference with a Welcome Address. It also is our pleasure to welcome to the Opening Session, Mr. Muntaga M. Sallah, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum, The Gambia.

The two-track technical programme features presentations from leading industry operators and contractors including over 40 leading industry experts. 

Commencing on Tuesday 21st January with an opening plenary session, conference highlights from day one include Regional Trends and Challenges chaired by Toyin Akinosho, Africa Oil and Gas Report, Deepwater Exploration featuring representatives from TOTAL E&P Nigeria and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.  In addition Real Time Modelling for Wellbore Stability will be presented by Shell Petroleum Development Company, Nigeria.

The conference programme for day two features a Panel Discussion from the Operator Perspective.  The two track conference session highlights includes presentations from DNV, Shell Petroleum, MODEC, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Chevron, Schlumberger, United Bank of Africa and many more.

Leaders of select national and international operating companies from the region will convene in a panel session format in the morning on the second day to share insights on the opportunities and challenges to develop West Africa’s expanding offshore opportunities.

Day three highlights include the local content panel discussion moderated by Andrew Badoo, GNPC Oil and Gas Learning Foundation.  The panelists will share best practices, challenges, and strategies for growing local content in Ghana and the greater West African region. 

The conference sessions chairs and co-chairs includes representatives from organizations including GNPC, Total E&P Nigeria, NNPC, Chevron, Mobil Producing Nigeria, ABS, DNV, Lloyd’s Register, Shell Petroleum and MODEC. 

The accompanying exhibitions to the conference will present the technologies that are available and applicable to the industry for the exploitation of the abundant resources in the offshore West Africa.