Indian Oil signs MoU with Ghana's National Petroleum Authority

Petroleum refining company Indian Oil on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) of Ghana for providing assistance and technical expertise in implementation of the National LPG Promotion Policy in the African country in a step that will further strengthen relations between the two sides.

The agreement was exchanged in the presence of Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, High Commissioner of Ghana to India Michael Aaron, Director of Petrochemicals and Business Development at the Indian Oil G.K Satish, Marketing Director Gurmeet Singh, and other senior officials of the NPA and Indian Oil.

The purpose of the MOU is to strengthen cooperation between the parties, wherein Indian Oil, the country's flagship oil marketing company, would provide support to the National Petroleum Authority of Ghana in several areas such as development of health, safety, security and environment (HSSE) standards, development of licensing, permit and legal framework, development of economics for LPG bottling plant, pricing structure, and communication strategy, said an official statement.

The Indian Oil will also assist in areas of infrastructure development for the new LPG Value chain, support for upgrading capacities of institutions along with policy development and review.

The agreement will also provide for administrative assistance to Indian Oil in case it decides to participate as a commercial participant in Ghana's downstream petroleum sector, the statement said.

The MoU between the two countries symbolises India's recognition as a leader in providing clean energy access to millions of Indians through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana successfully implemented by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas with the support of oil marketing companies like Indian Oil and others.