Ghana On Course to Reducing Importation of Oil & Gas Equipment ... As Belmet 7 Shows Capability

By Clement Adzei Boye

Takoradi — The quest by Takoradi Port to become the preferred hub for oil and gas services in the West African sub region has received a major boost as Belmet 7, an indigenous fabrication company has completed the fabrication of giant suction piles for oil production on the Jubilee Fields by Tullow Oil Ghana.

The 15.5 meters wide suction piles was successfully constructed wholly by Ghanaian welders and took two months to be completed.

Suction piles, also called suction anchors, are a long steel cylinder topped with a pile top or cap comprising valves helps engineers to anchor flow lines down the seabed and connect to the Floating Production Storage Offshore (FPSO) vessels. They have a number of advantages over conventional offshore foundations, mainly being quicker to install.

In an interview with journalists, the Manager, Marketing and Public Affairs at the Takoradi Port, Mr Peter Amo-Bediako said, with the Belmet 7 feat, Ghana was gradually establishing its credentials as a buoyant oil and gas hub, saying that "the Port of Takoradi continues to take giant steps towards achieving its quest to becoming the dominant oil and gas services hub in the West African region".

He said with Belmet 7's achievement Ghana would no longer import equipment and services from Singapore and Aberdeen, in United Kingdom, to service the oil and gas industry.

Already, he noted that apart from Belmet 7, Eni Ghana and GE, for example, were also playing huge roles in the oil and gas sector.

"Apart from cutting down cost we are also building our human resources base in the oil and gas industry. Belmet is a fully Ghanaian company and the suction pile was fabricated by Ghanaian engineers," MrAmo-Bediako added.

He believed that the efforts of Takoradi Port and other players like Belmet 7 would save Ghana some potential revenue and also improve the employment profile of the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis and even countrywide.

He said, the Takoradi Port was the main strategic base for the oil and gas industry in Ghana and had provided space to support service.

He said, "The vision of the Takoradi Port to become a world-class port and dominant in the oil and gas industry is on course because we are able to manufacture equipment and also provide the needs of the industry in Ghana."

"Management is re-developing the Takoradi Port to reposition itself to offer goods and services for the oil and gas Industry, and, with the success story of Belmet 7, we can confidently say that suction piles can be constructed here in Takoradi Port." Mr Amo -Bediako said.

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