Accra, Feb. 15, GNA - Major-General Kwesi Yankson, Commandant of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff Collage (GAFCSC), on Monday urged experts in the oil industry to be ready to offer solutions to challenges Ghana's oil discovery and extraction would face. He said the nation had to develop mechanisms to harness the collaborative efforts of stakeholders to support the training and financing of the operations involved in the management of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Major-Gen Yankson was speaking at the opening of the 5th Exclusive Economic Zone Management and Operations Course in Accra. The one-week seminar which aims at identifying the capabilities required to manage the Exclusive Economic Zone, attracted participants from the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and Ghana Navy. Other participants at the workshop include military personnel from other member states of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS).

EEZ is an international convention that permits Ghana to exploit maritime resources including fishing, oil and gas within a zone of 200 nautical miles off its shores.

Major-Gen Yankson said the seminar sought to create awareness among stakeholders about the enormity of the resource potential and the requirement for monitoring, controlling and surveillance of EEZ. "It will enable participants to appreciate the magnitude of contributions from other sectors towards the management of the EEZ", he said.

Major-Gen Yankson said participants would be taken through topics including maintenance of law and order at sea, safety of navigation and transit, safety of life and property at sea, protection and preservation of the marine environment.

Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, Deputy Minister of Energy, said government would soon come out with an ideal legal and regulatory environment for the operation of the emerging oil and gas industry. "This endeavour will include the passage of petroleum laws that would create new institutions, promote Ghana's participation in the industry, ensure proper management and protection of the sea and coastal environment," he said.

Mr Kofi-Buah promised to ensure effective collaboration with the participants at the workshop and the National Oil and Gas Security Committee.

The workshop is being sponsored and facilitated by the government of the United Kingdom.