Two bodies, the Ghana Insurance Commission (GIC) and the Petroleum Commission (PC), have developed a national protocol to regulate oil and gas insurance placement for the upstream sector.
The protocol is also a strategy to promote local content and the participation of Ghanaian companies in the upstream petroleum sector, which aims at achieving optimal levels of resource exploitation for Ghanaians.
The Protocol was launched by a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Ms Mona Helen Quartey, in Accra yesterday.
Among others, the protocol requires all insurance and reinsurance of contractors, subcontractors, licensees or other allied entities to be in strict compliance with the local insurance Act.
The protocol says all persons providing services in the upstream oil and gas industry, including insurance services, must register and obtain a permit from the PC among other guiding principles.
Launching the protocol, Ms Quartey commended the GIC and the PC for the initiative and said the protocol would open a window of opportunities for the underwriting companies and brokers to actively participate and play a leading role in the oil and gas sector.
She expressed optimism that the effective implementation of the protocol would deepen the local financial landscape, and ultimately bring benefits to consumers of the insurance services in the oil and gas sector.
In her address, the Insurance Commissioner, Ms Lydia Lariba Bawa, expressed regret over the level of accrued profits retained from the oil and gas sector by the local industry for national development, which she described as minimal, considering the huge investments made in the sector.
“This is a clear indication of capital flight as the profits from the contracts are repatriated abroad, where most of the international service firms are located,” she said.
The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, among other things, said the government established the PC in 2011 to regulate and manage the utilisation of petroleum resources and to coordinate policies in the sector.
