“That is why gatherings such as this are so critical. They provide the platform to reflect, evaluate, and renew our collective commitment to inclusive local content and sustainable regional growth”, he added at the opening of the 2025 Local Content Conference Exhibition (LCCE) organised annually by the Petroleum Commission.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Revitalising Ghana’s Petroleum Exploration and Production Sector: Driving Innovation and Redefining Local Content for a Competitive Energy Economy.”

The Regional Minister said revitalising exploration and production, was therefore, not just a national economic agenda, but, also a regional development imperative which needed to be critically looked at.
“It means more jobs for our youth, more contracts for local businesses, and more opportunities for technical training, innovation, and value addition,” Mr Nelson stressed.

The Region, he said, was the physical base of the petroleum sector, hosting installations, ports, fabrication yards, and thousands of workers and when the sector thrived, the impact resonated far and wide- strengthening communities, creating more opportunities, and reinforcing the foundation of shared prosperity.
Ghana’s Local Content and Local Participation Regulations, 2013 (L.I. 2204) was designed to ensure that host communities and by extension, Ghanaians benefit directly from the petroleum resources.

Mr. Nelson said over the years, the country had witnessed significant growth in the participation of Ghanaian companies in various aspects of the value chain; catering and logistics to fabrication, construction, and environmental services.
The Minister, however, noted the need to broaden the scope of local content to go beyond contracts and procurement.

He added, ” As we enter a new phase of industrial transformation. We must link it to human capital development, research and innovation, and community empowerment…I encourage our industry partners to deepen collaboration with academic institutions to make them active engines of innovation and skills transfer.
Local content must mean local empowerment, essentially the growth of businesses, the strengthening of institutions, and the upliftment of communities on whose lands and in whose waters, petroleum is produced,” he stressed.

The Western Region, he indicated, was bearing the environmental and social footprints of these activities and it was essential that local communities were treated not as bystanders, but as stakeholders and partners in development.

Mr. Nelson said the Regional Coordinating Council, in partnership with the Petroleum Commission, would continue to strengthen community engagement mechanisms, ensuring that host communities were informed, consulted, and supported through social investment programmes (SIPs).

“We have also intensified collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and District Assemblies to monitor environmental compliance and to ensure that oil and gas operations adhere to the highest standards of safety and sustainability.”

The Western Regional Minister urged all companies operating in the Region to prioritise environmental protection, invest in community development, and maintain open channels of communication with local authorities.

He commended the Petroleum Commission for institutionalising the annual Local Content Conference as an invaluable platform for dialogue and solution-sharing.
Ghana’s oil and gas industry began from the discovery of the Jubilee Field in 2007 to the commissioning of the TEN and Sankofa-Gye Nyame projects.
The Region has since been the epicenter of Ghana’s energy transformation.

Engineer Austin Uzoka, Senior Advisor, Nigerian Local Content and Monitoring Board, said local content must act as a catalyst to reduce capital flight through a reliant Supply Chain system that was very competitive, adding “local content is not nationalisation but one that enabled locals to own key assets that influenced procurement decisions.

He called for real capacity building of local businesses and specific sectors of organisation, while ensuring community, industry and government cohesion.
Engineer Uzoka added, ” Advancing local content must be hinged on strategic view of the future, partnerships with government, industry collaboration and strategic skills development “.

The two-day conference is expected to be attended by more than 1000 participants drawn from local and international stakeholders, oil companies, local service providers, investors and academia.

The conference would focus on local and international investment, innovation, local content development policy reforms, panel discussions, executive connect and data shows.
There would also be an exhibition.