Dr Joe Oteng, Minister of Energy on Wednesday said government would continue to resource the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GPNC) to play a catalyst role to enable it meet Ghana’s financial obligations in an efficient manner.

He said it would also maintain and increase the level of participation in petroleum operations.

Dr Oteng made this known in a speech read on his behalf at the inauguration of the GNPC-TECHNIP Engineering Company in Accra.

The company was set up to provide service to the country’s oil and gas sector as well as boost local capacity in the industry.

He said the joint venture is one of the many steps to ensure that GNPC is supported to be a “cash cow” that would support accelerated economic growth.

He said following the new discoveries that have been announced there is the need to sustain investment to increase and maintain oil and gas production to add up to the petroleum reserves.

“The needed capital for these projects cannot be wholly funded from internal sources,” Dr Oteng added.

Mr. Thierry Pilenko, Chairman of the company, said the corporate entity has the mandate to ensure training for Ghanaians through deep involvement of the nationals in all project activities.

He said the company has already entered into partnership agreement with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to absorb final year mechanical engineering students for attachment programmes with the company.

He said technip is a world leader in the field of project management, engineering and construction for the oil and gas industry, offering a comprehensive portfolio of innovative solutions and technology.

Nana Boakye Asafu Adjaye, Chief Executive Officer of GNPC said the joint venture came about from the dedication and commitment from the two institutions to development and sustainable growth of the oil and gas industry in Ghana.

He said “this joint venture demonstrates our commitment to forming these alliances and we are confident that through this partnership we will be able to enhance the technical capacity of Ghana’s talented graduates”.

Nana Adjaye noted that the venture would play its part in enabling the development of world class indigenous Ghanaian entities capable of supporting the local fledgling oil and gas sector.