Akufo-Addo commission’s GNPC School of Petroleum Studies at UMaT in Tarkwa

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) today hosted His Excellency, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo – Addo to commission the GNPC School of Petroleum Studies building at the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa in the Western Region.

The school project, with an ultra-modern science laboratory, cost GHS12 million and forms part of GNPC’s efforts at building local capacity for Ghana’s petroleum sector locally, to maximise value retention.

According to Dr. K. K. Sarpong, GNPC’s Chief Executive, the Corporation was inspired by the President’s self-dependency policy of Ghana Beyond Aid and has taken steps towards making that a reality in the petroleum sector:

“We recognise that key to achieving that agenda is to ensure that our institutions of higher learning are producing the human resource requirement that fit not just the sector, but industry in general. That could only happen through research and collaboration between industry and academia,” he stated.

“We therefore put in place measures to accelerate efforts to bridge the gap in the human resource requirements, to build capacity of Ghanaians along the petroleum industry value chain.”

GNPC is using the Award of Scholarships, GNPC Professorial Chairs in four public universities, and two schools – for Petroleum Studies at UMaT and GNPC School of Governance and Law at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) for achieving these skills and capacity building efforts, he disclosed.

In his response, the Vice Chancellor of UMaT, Prof. R. K. Amankwaah, expressed his gratitude to GNPC for the project and the President for the honour in commissioning it. He further assured of the University’s commitment to regularly maintain the Facility. The president had earlier commissioned a new administration block at the University.

The GNPC School of Petroleum Studies will have laboratories, lecture halls, office for lecturers and other administrative staff. The two schools will work closely with the GNPC Professorial Chairs and will serve as a regional hub for training students in the oil and gas sector.

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GNPC has aligned its local content activities closely with its Corporate Social Investments (CSI), allowing for a more streamlined approach to building national capacity through education and training, the development of skills and technology, as well as economically empowering the localities in which we operate.

GNPC, is developing a state-of-the-art Research and Technology Centre (RAT project) to facilitate analysis of samples, research, and training in the petroleum industry.

These investments seek to maximise Ghanaian participation in the upstream petroleum sector for enhanced value retention, – to move forward socially, technologically and economically.