Authorities at the Takoradi Port say the Port’s revenue has been badly hit by the oil exploratory activities. The Customer Relations Manager of the Port, Mr. Paul Ansah who made the disclosure, blames the situation on the arrival of more oil vessels which has made it extremely difficult for traditional vessels with huge consignments to berth at the Port due to inadequate space. Mr. Paul Ansah was speaking on the impact of the oil activities on the Port a year into intensive oil production in Ghana in an interview with Radio Maxx. So far, some 23 million barrels of oil has been lifted. “It’s been both positive and negative but looking at it within a one year period; we believe that there is more hope for improvement. We realize we have had tremendous increase in the number of vessels coming through the Port. In 2009, we handled around 900 vessels. In 2010, we handled 1,277 vessels and one would have expected that that should have correlating impact on the volume of cargo that moves in and out of the Port. But it is rather reducing because the oil services vessels are more or less elbowing out the traditional vessels that bring in volumes of cargo and that is affecting the financial performance of the Port,” Mr Ansah explained. The impact, he said, was becoming devastating for the Port as the situation increases the cost of doing business. According to Mr. Ansah, although some local companies are benefiting from the oil exploration, dockers are losing their jobs since the traditional cargo vessels are now moving to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. He says the Port’s expansion has become more critical. “Even the Naval Base in Sekondi adding to the Port of Takoradi we are not able to meet the requirements of the oil services’ vessels and that has exposed critical need for expansion of the Port. When bigger vessels with huge volumes of cargo come, then we have the young guys getting job to do, but in the absence dock labour also suffers. We can say that some Ghanaian companies are getting a lot of businesses. But if we are able to expand the capacity of the Port and provide a dedicated services area for the oil services companies, I believe the Port will be able to generate more revenue from both the traditional shipping activities and the oil vessels”. Government and Lonrho Plc, a multi-national firm in August this year, signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a one-year feasibility study which will lead to the building of an oil service’s port in Takoradi. The Port is deemed to be critical to the industry since its availability would ensure that oil vessels that visit Ghana’s Jubilee fields secure efficient and timely maintenance services so as to avoid accidents. After the feasibility study, the two parties would be expected to enter either a public-private partnership or joint venture agreement for the construction of the port. The government would be required to provide the land area while Lonrho would handle the financial arrangements for the proposed project that would be situated close to the Jubilee field. But Mr. Paul Ansah believes that Ghana must build and own the Oil Services Port since it has huge revenue that could be retained in the country. “If we don’t have the technology to exploit the oil leaving it the British and Americans who are in control, I believe that the Oil Services Port which can be controlled by Ghanaians should be built by Ghanaians because every cent that will go for payment for services in that Port will come as part of the production cost. If we are able to develop this facility and own it, every cent that will come from it will be retained here. Otherwise we are going to have a lot of avenues for getting oil revenues flown out of the country” he noted. He says government must make money in other areas of the oil aside the amount that will accrue to the State from the sale of its share of the oil.