The $60 billion petroleum hub project is being built in the Jomoro municipality in the Western Region with the support of the chiefs and residents of the Western Nzema Traditional Area.
Through the execution of training programs for artisans and graduates, the project being overseen by the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC) is anticipated to generate more than 780,000 jobs across a range of skill sets and promote the development of local content.
The hub’s operators have already established a camp at Nawule in Jomoro and are optimistic about the project because they see it as the best way to advance the industrialization of the nation, provide sustainable energy, jobs, and open up the host towns and the nation to the benefits of oil.
Awulae Annor Adjaye III, the president of the Western Nzema Traditional Council, rallied support for the project and said Jomoro was prepared during a stakeholder engagement to inform the host communities of the progress.
He said that the initiative had advanced too far to fail and that previous attempts to build the petroleum chemical sector were unsuccessful.
The initiative, he stated, “will need the support of all to ensure that it takes off and gets completed for the benefit of my people” given the current progress and commitment.
Awulae Annor Adjaye pointed out that the government has undergone the compulsory land acquisition and stakeholder consultation processes, saying,
“Let me say that no money has been given to any chief or individual landowner for the 20,000 acres of land designated for the project,” the region president said.
THE HUB
The emergence of COVID-19 has prevented the project, which has been given 20,000 acres of land in the Jomoro municipality, from starting roughly five years ago.
The location of the petroleum hub will be near a network of facilities for converting crude oil and natural gas into refined petroleum and petrochemical goods as well as for generating electricity.
The project also includes well-planned residential and office space, a light industrial area, water and waste treatment facilities, a storage area, a business center, and multipurpose plants to make lubricants, fertilizers, and cosmetics based on market demands.
The hub will also include three refineries with a combined capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), with the ability to scale up to 500,000 bpd by 2030–2035.
THE COMMITMENT
Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, praised the local chiefs and residents for their dedication to making sure the project was successful.
The regional minister stated that the government has acquired land for the project by “compulsory acquisition” and “I can guarantee you that we are following the process to maintain the peace and harmony needed for the take-off.”
When everything is said and done, we will make sure the best account of the petroleum hub is told, according to Mr. Darko-Mensah, who added that those whose lands are part of the region of interest have been contacted.
SKILLS
The ministers exhorted the youth to hone their existing abilities and pick up more technical knowledge in order to be prepared for employment throughout the project’s construction phase and real start.
He applauded the business for its consistent communication regarding the hub’s operationalization, which would give the area another growth center for the nation.
The time has come for us, the indigenous Ghanaians, to start owning the projective assets in the region and assist the growth of the region and the country, according to Mr. Darko-Mensah. This region produces a significant portion of the nation’s resources.
HUB MODDERNIZATION
Charles Owusu, the Chief Executive of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, stated that the group was dedicated to the project and had been working for the previous five years to see it through to completion.
“We understand the significance of the project to our nation, communities, and municipalities — job creation, redefining local content — and we will fight to actualize the government’s dream of further enhancing the nation’s petroleum resources,” he added.
“We will not take any shortcuts that will lead to problems in the future, but we will make sure we interact and give updated information to people and work within the law,” Mr. Owusu said in reference to the team’s and all other stakeholders’ efforts to ensure proper land acquisition procedures were followed.
Louisa Iris Arde, the Municipal Chief Executive of Jomoro, stated that the municipality was prepared for the project to get underway and that all stakeholders’ commitment and support remained crucial.
ASSEMBLY’S BACKING
The MCE recalled to the group that the location of Ghana Gas was originally intended for the municipality but wound up in the Ellembelle District.
We must not let another project slide through our fingers, she said. “Today, we have another project, the creation of a petroleum hub. The assembly is committed to the cause, and we will get it done.
In her presentation, Nana Ama Tima Boakye, the deputy chief executive in charge of operations, stated that the project had begun by establishing temporary offices and housing for the team at Nawule in the municipality.