Accra, July 16, GNA - JKL Energy LTD, a Ghanaian Oil and Gas Company, is finalising discussions with international developers from Malaysia and Dubai to undertake a 300 million dollar Ghana Offshore Supply Base (GOSB) project in the Western Region.

It is envisaged that the proposed GOSB will not be an isolated facility serving as a supply base to the offshore sector, but will benefit and uplift the economic situation of the local community and the region as a whole.

A statement issued and signed in Accra by Mr. Nuetey Adzeman, Executive Director of the Ghana Oil & Gas Service Providers Association (GOGSPA), said as the local partner of JKL Energy Limited, the association would benefit from a state of the art warehouse, fabrication centres on the base at discounted prices and an incentivised purchase scheme to be worked out with local banks.

It said: “JKL Energy and GOGSPA are local entities with a strong agenda for developing offshore oil and gas opportunities with an aim to ensuring that indigenous companies actively participate in the development of Ghana’s oil and gas industry, seen by many as a major driver of the economy over the next 30 years”.

This fits well into the National Agenda, and the 2008 “Local Content and Training” Report by GNPC on the Jubilee Field Development, which includes the requirement for “Shore base facilities,” as a dedicated base for the offshore oil and gas industry, the statement said.

The project also meets the criteria of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) which recently announced its Shared Growth and Development Agenda for 2010-2013.

This national development agenda aims to maximise the participation of Ghanaians in the exploration, development, production and utilisation of oil and gas.

The priority, in the medium-term, is to invest in basic physical and social infrastructure including water, health and education, energy, roads and transport, ports and harbours, and information technology.

According to the statement, there had been positive discussions between JKL/GOGSPA and the Ministry of Energy to facilitate and expedite the Ghana Offshore Supply Base (GOSB) project in view of current demands for a dedicated and world class Oil and Gas Supply base in Ghana.

It quotes Mr Adzeman, as saying; “This exciting project represents a milestone in the Ghanaian Oil and Gas industry. It will ensure that Ghanaians genuinely benefit from the oil and gas industry – successful local entrepreneurs will be encouraged and to help advance the project to in turn create employment and ensure that the industry’s profits are retained in Ghana for economic diversification”.

JKL has identified a 600 acre coastal site in the Western Region, with excellent physical attributes such as Storm shelter, water depth and access to infrastructure, in close proximity to the existing offshore operations.

The project which would be in phases would include commercial warehousing, manufacturing and residential units, as well as hotels, schools and hospitals.

It said in conceptualising the project, JKL’s planners had placed strong emphasis on providing local employees of the GOSB and Oil and Gas contactors with vital on-site social services such as housing, education and medical treatment.

Seafront land within the project area has also been earmarked for an Oil Spill Prevention and Response Unit among other things.

The project will empower Ghanaian-owned oil & gas companies as well as individuals to benefit directly, in terms of long term earnings, economic stability and social services, from Ghana’s oil and gas sector.

Kofi Otabil, CEO of JKL Energy, stated that; “The time has come for Ghanaians to plan and think big because this is an opportunity for Ghana to catapult itself into the 21st Century”.

He said it was important that Ghanaian owned oil and gas companies were not left out of the opportunities in the local, regional and global energy equation.