Success offshore West Africa touted at OWA press conference

Feb. 20, 2013
The successful and growing oil and gas operations offshore West Africa provided the background for a press conference announcing the imminent start of the 2013 Offshore West Africa Conference and Exhibition.

Offshore staff

ACCRA, Ghana –The successful and growing oil and gas operations offshore West Africa provided the background for a press conference announcing the imminent start of the 2013 Offshore West Africa Conference and Exhibition. This 17th OWA event will run March 19-21 in the Accra International Conference Centre.

“Ghana has chalked phenomenal success in the upstream petroleum industry from its epoch-breaking Mahogany-1 discovery in 2007 to date,” Theo Ahwireng, manager Geophysics, Ghana National Petroleum Corp. and Advisory Board Chair, for Offshore West Africa 2013, told the audience. “These successes have stimulated further successes not only in Ghana but across the West Africa Atlantic Margin.

“During events like these, we share, learn, compare notes, conceive ideas, develop stories, strike business deals, etc. – all these lead us to shape the agenda for growth of the different facets of the overall industry. This is one of the reasons why GNPC is proud to be associated with such an event.”

Reinforcing Ahwireng’s comments, David Paganie, director, Offshore Conferences, PennWell Corp. and chief editor,Offshore Magazine, noted the enormous impact of deepwater exploration and drilling around the world and particularly offshore Africa.

“The forecast spend for deepwater during the next five years is $223 billion,” said Paganie. “During this period, it is expected that more than 224 fields will come onstream offshore West Africa; compared to 63 start-ups during the preceding five-year period.”

One notable development offshore Ghana, the TEN project, will be discussed in the Field Development session of the technical program which comprises more than 40 presentations from thought-leaders in the offshore oil and gas industry, said Paganie.

Juliette Twumasi‐Anokye, legal advisor, Petroleum Commission, Ghana, also spoke at the press conference and gave what may be a preview of her keynote address at the OWA opening plenary session. She talked about what the newly formed Petroleum Commission aims to achieve, and about moves to increase infrastructure so more local content could be added to the projects offshore Ghana.

Additional topics to be covered in the two-track technical program include Well Construction & Drilling Operations, Geology & Geophysics, Subsea Technology, Pipelines & Risers, Production Optimization, Asset Integrity, Floating Production Systems, Local Content, and Safety & Environmental Concerns.

“For 17 years, OWA has provided an open platform for professional networking, technology exchange, and business development,” said Paganie. “We believe growth and prosperity can be achieved through effective collaboration, and I invite industry professionals, young engineers, and students, from around the world to join us.”

For more information about the Offshore West Africa Conference and Exhibition,click here.

2/20/2013