News

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has intensified its focus on boosting local content, participation, and compliance within Ghana's oil and gas industry by hosting its first Vendor Engagement Seminar. As part of the Corporation's 40th-anniversary celebrations, the event, themed "Promoting Local Content and Local Participation through Vendor Engagement," gathered Ghanaian businesses, suppliers, and vendors to strengthen supply chain partnerships and highlight GNPC’s dedication to transparent and efficient procurement.

The summit's core objective was to enhance supplier relationships, bolster transparency, and foster collaboration with key stakeholders, reinforcing GNPC's strategic priorities for efficient procurement, local capacity building, and sustainable supply chain development.

Opening the session, GNPC Chief Executive Officer Mr. Kwame Ntow Amoah framed local content not merely as a regulatory requirement but as a core strategic pillar for inclusive national growth.

“The theme of this engagement goes to the heart of GNPC’s mandate," Mr. Ntow Amoah stated. "For us, Local Content is not merely a regulatory requirement. It is central to our strategy to grow together with local enterprises in a mutually beneficial partnership, ensuring our nation’s resources create real opportunities for our people, businesses, and communities.”

A critical segment of the seminar addressed best practices for the tender process. Barbara Afriyie-Owusu of the Supply Chain and Local Content Development Department delivered a technical presentation, emphasizing that compliance is indispensable for success in contract processes.

Mrs. Afriyie-Owusu used a powerful analogy to stress the importance of procedural rigor: “Compliance is like oxygen; you don’t always notice it, but you cannot survive long without it. Keep your documents ready, make your submissions responsive, and credibility will follow. Trust me, the contract will come.”

She alerted vendors to recurring tender pitfalls, including incomplete documentation, expired statutory certificates, missing pages, and late submissions. With GNPC’s procurement process now fully digital, she underscored that the system enforces absolute finality: "Excuses like traffic delays or narrowly missed deadlines no longer hold, as the system automatically locks at closing time.”

Contractors were urged to review tender documents meticulously, seek early clarifications, engage professional support when necessary, and submit bids well in advance of the closing deadline.

“It is a competition, and everyone wants to win. Paying attention to deadlines, technical specifications, and compliance requirements ensures fairness in the process," she added. "GNPC’s doors are open to all, but only those who meet the requirements will succeed.”

The summit also featured educational sessions from external partners, including the Petroleum Commission, which detailed Ghana’s local content framework, and the Public Procurement Authority, which showcased the Ghana Electronic Procurement System to equip vendors for more efficient digital tender participation.

Manager of Supply Chain and Local Content Development, Seidu Salim Braimah, reaffirmed GNPC's commitment to enhancing local economies by prioritizing vendors within its operational areas to ensure direct community benefits. Highlighting opportunities in projects such as the Voltaian Basin, GNPC encouraged businesses to view procurement not as an administrative hurdle, but as a clear pathway for building trust, expanding commercial opportunities, and strengthening indigenous Ghanaian participation in the oil and gas sector.