Stanbic Bank Ghana says its commitment to support activities in the downstream remains unchanged in the phase of seemingly dwindling confidence and support for the sector.

The bank says it has the capabilities and competencies to meet the demands that come with supporting downstream projects in the oil and gas sector.

Speaking at the just-ended two-day Ghana Gas Forum, organized by the Ghana Gas Consortium, Client Solutions Executive at Stanbic Bank Ghana, Samuel Botchway, said Stanbic Bank is ready to tap into the huge opportunities in the Oil and Gas sector.

“Stanbic Bank sees a great potential in financing downstream projects in the gas sector as this has an enormous effect on the economy and on livelihoods. Stanbic recognizes the diverse rippling impact on the sector and on the everyday activity of the citizenry; it is for this reason that the bank has and will always open its doors in support of the gas sector.”

Themed “Driving Ghana’s Downstream Gas Utilization”, the forum, chaired by Mr. Kwame Pianim, was held to promote a close partnership among key industry players including the Ministry of Energy, Ghana National Gas Company and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation in policy discussions.

The main issues that bedevil the industry are the sector’s ability to attract urgent funding to complete economically sound projects- from oil development, processing, transmission, and distribution. Typically, financial institutions shy away from these projects because of the industry’s associated risks.

Mr. Botchway stated that despite the innumerable risks, Stanbic Bank, with its remarkable footprint, has measures in place to provide sound delivery of projects within the sector through the provision of effective loan structures such as project-specific risk assessments and management. The bank is also able to help entities raise large amounts of capital, with high levels of leverage. The bank, he said, undertakes major agreements in facilitating funding projects through government consent and support agreements, shareholders agreements, power purchase agreement and supply agreement.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Gas Consortium, Senam F. Gbeho, the expectations for this year’s forum are high, and it is meant to influence policy decisions in the energy sector with specific focus on natural gas as a catalyst for development, while encouraging other partners, financiers and project enablers to render their support to achieve a common goal. The forum also highlighted the potential to expand and deepen growth in the local manufacturing sector, focusing sharply on local and global factors which determine the feasibility of downstream projects.

The Gas Consortium is an independent non-profit policy advocacy organization that promotes the contributions of government, policymakers, experts, practitioners and industry stakeholders, to effectively manage and lead the country’s goal of leveraging its gas resources for industrialization and economic transformation.

Stanbic Bank Ghana, has an aligned strategy with its parent bank, the Standard Bank Group, to drive the growth of the continent. The Group offers adept advise and capabilities through its global expertise.