Trinidad & Tobago firms show interest in Ghana (PAGE 3, JAN 29, 2011)

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi

Companies in Trinidad & Tobago have expressed interest in the establishment of gas-fed industries near the gas plant in the Jomoro District in the Western Region.
The latest company to express interest is Caribbean Atlantic Financial Holdings, which has expressed its readiness to establish a multi-billion dollar gas-fed industrial estate and energy city project.
Others include Trinidad and Tobago National Gas Company, Phoenix Park Gas Processors and Point Lisas Industrial Estate.
The districts which have caught the attention of the investors are Axim, Ellembelle and Jomoro.
As a result, the chiefs and people of the selected districts have given their blessing and are currently on a six-day trip to Trinidad & Tobago as part of a partnership arrangement between Nzemaland and the Caribbean Atlantic Financial Holdings.
At the moment, 2,000 acres of land banks have been earmarked for the projects.
The leader of the delegation, Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, the Deputy Minister of Energy, who spoke to the Daily Graphic from Port of Spain, said the team also visited the $3 billion Point Lisas Industrial Estate, which houses the world’s biggest ammonia plant.
The facility also hosts a total of 103 industries connected to gas feedstock comprising a mix of world-class methanol, ammonia and urea plants, three steel plants, a power plant and service companies.
The Chief Executive of the estate, Mr Nigel Salina, told the delegation that the group was seeking to replicate the Point Lisas Industrial Estate in Ghana but on a larger scale.
He said they had resolved to replicate the gas industry in Ghana, since records indicated that the country had more gas associated with the oil than his country.
The delegation also met Mr Andrew Macintosh, the President of the National Gas Company, and Mr Eugene Tieh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Phoenix Park Gas Processors, and other companies that are interested in the Ghana gas project.
For his part, Mr Buah said the focus of the government was to ensure that the gas coming from the jubilee and other fields in the country was harnessed for the benefit of the people of Ghana.
He said the President was of the strong belief that the gas deposit in the country held another avenue for opening doors to the gas industry.