CATEGORY 01

CEO OF THE YEAR

For a CEO to be nominated, he or she needs to have consistently demonstrated clarity of vision, judgment and motivational skills that transform and empower organisations. The winner will be a leader who is highly respected by both peers and competitors, admired and followed by employees, trusted by investors and welcomed by the community. This award is for recognition of courage, dedication, ethics and the ability to bring about real change for the better at a company level, in the industry as a whole and in the lives of employees.

CATEGORY 02

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

This award cuts across all classifications and criteria. The winner might be an outstanding business leader, politician, regulator, academic, community activist, economist, engineer, trading or financial manager or technology specialist — any member of the industry who has made an outstanding contribution to the development and future of the oil and gas industry in the course of his or her career. Nominations from the individual’s employers, as well as from peers and colleagues, will be accepted.

The winner’s achievement will be the product of a long and varied career of service, creativity and insight, and this individual will have won widespread recognition and respect on the global stage.

CATEGORY 03

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

This award will recognise an outstanding achiever, an owner of a company who has a successful track record and has made a telling contribution to the oil and gas industry. The nominee must have used his or her influence and expertise to contribute to the business or its projects. The award recognises operational performance, career progression and detailed improvements to the oil and gas industry.

CATEGORY 04

OIL AND GAS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

This award will recognise an outstanding individual within the oil and gas industry who has made a noteworthy contribution in the country.

Nominations are NOT accepted for this category. The winner is selected by the Awarding Board.

CATEGORY 05

UNSUNG HERO

The award recognises any individual who has made a substantive contribution to the oil and gas industry yet remains unrecognised. The nominee must have achieved targets and inspired others, with a proven track record in bringing fortunes to the company.

Eligibility

Middle and lower level management staff.

How to Enter

• Strictly by recommendation from participating companies or the nominee’s departmental management.
• The recommended nominee’s profile and photograph are required.

CATEGORY 06

WOMEN IN OIL AND GAS AWARDNEW

This award celebrates a woman who has excelled in Ghana’s oil and gas industry and opened doors for others to follow. It is open to women at any level, in any part of the industry: upstream, midstream, downstream, services, regulation or academia.

Judges will consider

• Outstanding professional achievements during the entry period
• Leadership and influence within her organisation and the wider industry
• Mentorship, advocacy and initiatives that bring more women into the sector
• Measurable impact on her company, community or the industry

Nominations from employers, colleagues, peers and self-nominations will be accepted.

CATEGORY 07

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEARNEW

This award recognises a rising talent who is already making a mark on Ghana’s oil and gas industry. Nominees must be aged 35 or under at the close of nominations and have at least two years’ experience in the industry.

Judges will consider

• Technical or professional achievements and the results they delivered
• Speed of career progression and responsibility held
• Innovation, initiative and problem-solving
• Professional development, qualifications and certifications
• Contribution to the industry, professional bodies or the community beyond the day job

Nominations from employers, colleagues, peers and self-nominations will be accepted.

CATEGORY 08

EXCELLENCE IN HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT, AND QUALITY – UPSTREAM & DOWNSTREAMNEW

This award recognises the organisation that has set the highest standard for protecting its people, its assets, the environment and the quality of its operations. It is open to operators, contractors, service companies and downstream businesses working in Ghana’s oil and gas industry.

The winner will show a strong, company-wide HSEQ culture, led from the top and shared by employees and contractors alike.

Judges will consider

• Safety record during the entry period, backed by measurable results such as lost time injuries, total recordable incident rate and man-hours without incident
• Process safety and asset integrity systems that prevent major incidents
• How contractors are managed and brought into the company’s safety culture
• Initiatives that cut emissions, waste, flaring or spills
• Quality management systems and third-party certifications (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001)
• Use of technology and digital tools to improve HSEQ performance
• Training and competence-building for staff and contractors
• Audit results and compliance with Petroleum Commission, NPA and EPA requirements

Entries should cover a defined period and include supporting evidence such as audit reports, certificates or performance data.

CATEGORY 09

OIL MARKETING COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award will highlight recent contributions made by a company. A transformational company which shifts the industry focus and trend. It must be a champion on the front line that can take a complex strategy and execute it with courage, creativity and concrete conviction. These trend-setters don’t follow the status quo; they rise up to execute a high standard.

Decision-makers will be looking for the company which personifies innovation, stimulates intelligent action to meet opportunity and ultimately delivers that action. The company must have driven operations to new paradigms, critical to transforming it into an industry leadership role. While this company may not be new to the industry, it will have made the most remarkable strides in its role, inevitably impacting the industry.

CATEGORY 10

LPG MARKETING COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award will highlight recent contributions made by a company in LPG. A transformational company which shifts the industry focus and trend. It must be a champion on the front line that can take a complex strategy and execute it with courage, creativity and concrete conviction. These trend-setters don’t follow the status quo; they rise up to execute a high standard.

Decision-makers will be looking for the company which personifies innovation, stimulates intelligent action to meet opportunity and ultimately delivers that action. The company must have driven operations to new paradigms, critical to transforming it into an industry leadership role. While this company may not be new to the industry, it will have made the most remarkable strides in its role, inevitably impacting the industry.

CATEGORY 11

GAS COMPANY OF THE YEAR (MIDSTREAM)NEW

This award recognises the company that has done the most to process, transport, store or distribute natural gas reliably and safely in Ghana. It is open to gas processing companies, pipeline and transmission operators, storage and regasification facilities, and natural gas distributors.

Judges will consider

• Reliability and continuity of gas supply to power, industry and other customers
• Expansion or upgrade of gas infrastructure during the entry period
• Safety and asset integrity performance
• Operational efficiency and reduction of losses
• Contribution to growing domestic gas use and Ghana’s energy security

CATEGORY 12

EXPLORATION (DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETION EXCELLENCE)

This award recognises true excellence in upstream industries — organisations providing advanced drilling solutions to the oil and gas industry. Drilling contractors, oilfield service companies, operators and other companies that engage in the drilling process are eligible to enter this category. The use of innovative techniques to preserve ecologically sensitive areas whilst carrying out the drilling phase will be rewarded.

Organisations will be scrutinised on the strength and quality of their performance, where safety, commitment to the preservation of the local area and commercial goals are demonstrably best in class. To win, a company must demonstrate that its activities in exploration and production set world-class standards in one or more of a range of activities. Exploration technologies and methods for finding new resources, maximising technical excellence, innovative resource extraction, and bringing complex or difficult projects in on schedule and on budget are top of mind in this evaluation. Entries from integrated upstream oil and gas companies, specialist exploration companies and divisions of larger companies will be considered.

CATEGORY 13

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

This award illuminates the ever-important convergence of profitability and company values. Rather than an obligation, CSR is a voluntary commitment which greatly motivates employee morale, is of fundamental interest to customers, investors and other key stakeholders, and is a key determinant of a company’s character.

The CSR Award will recognise the organisation that best demonstrates leadership, commitment to action and real-world impact from across its business. Decision-makers will seek a high-performing organisation that has evidenced its positive influence on surrounding communities, promotes teamwork towards sustainable, long-term impact and encourages active employee participation beyond financial contributions.

CATEGORY 14

ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award rewards engineering excellence, project execution and management. It aims to highlight achievements in surmounting specific engineering challenges, whether in complex and difficult environments, in executing a precision task, or in solving specific engineering problems in new ways; and those companies which undertake a construction or infrastructure project in any part of the oil and gas arena, including pipelines, liquefied natural gas, refining, offshore oil, civil, electrical and mechanical. Companies may use any relevant project work as an example of their expertise in the oil and gas sector.

CATEGORY 15

HAULAGE COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award recognises haulage services provided to the oil and gas industry in the country. Companies engaged in transportation and trucking will qualify. The award recognises safe, reliable and competitively priced services to the oil and gas industry, with a growing fleet and well-maintained facilities.

CATEGORY 16

LOCAL CONTENT INITIATIVE

This award recognises the implementation of policies that ensure significant participation by local companies and citizens, in both direct employment and the awarding of contracts. It also considers regulations tailored to the absorptive capacity of national industry. The award further recognises country-based local content strategies that satisfy business plans, meet local content obligations, and strengthen backward linkages and local supplier competitiveness.

CATEGORY 17

RECRUITMENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award recognises third-party business consultancy and recruitment services provided to the downstream and upstream sectors. Eligible service providers include, but are not limited to, acquisition advice, strategy, tax planning, recruitment and corporate compliance consultancies operating directly with oil and gas clients in the country.

CATEGORY 18

OIL AND GAS LOGISTICS AWARD

The company for this award should have provided the following services:

• Secure warehousing and distribution
• Exclusive storage areas and import packing
• Import compliance and customs clearance
• Charter services for sea or heavy haul moves
• Logistics plans and site surveys
• Marine services and infrastructure construction
• Line item tracking and reporting with full web visibility

The company must have a dedicated team of logistics professionals studying oil and gas logistics requirements, providing customers with experienced professionals who can manage the challenges of any oil and gas logistics need. Remote locations, heavy or oversized equipment, and safety and security requirements are just a few of the challenges facing the oil and gas logistics industry, and critical transport space or transit times can considerably affect project schedules.

CATEGORY 19

MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

This award is presented to the company that has campaigned well by introducing and providing a convenient way for consumers to purchase products and services with ease. Examples include, but are not limited to, fuel cards for all transport businesses, from small car fleets to major road transport companies; cards that provide a more secure way to shop at service stations; and promotions that have benefited consumers and customers.

CATEGORY 20

OIL AND GAS FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDER OF THE YEAR

This award belongs to the company which has provided financial solutions, advice, and corporate and investment support to clients. A company that provides funding for major oil and gas projects, including long-term loans, stands tall in this category, as do professionals who offer tailor-made funds to finance construction and operation, building on their expertise in investing in the oil and gas markets.

CATEGORY 21

OIL AND GAS INSURER OF THE YEAR

This award seeks to honour the professional institution which has provided security and demonstrated unlimited recourse in providing complex coverage for clients, including power plants, transportation and general oil and gas projects. The company must have offered advice that averts common accidents, provided oil and gas risk management, and introduced policies tailored to suit clients’ operations in the oil and gas sector.

CATEGORY 22

LUBRICANT PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

This award’s main focus is the quality of a particular lubricant and its fuel efficiency. Public patronage and annual distribution will be taken into consideration. Contamination control, technology, reliability and continuous improvement form part of the criteria.

CATEGORY 23

OIL AND GAS THINK TANK (POLICY ACTIVIST) OF THE YEAR

This award focuses on not-for-profit organisations that have, through various campaigns, protected the oil and gas industry from environmental hazards which affect human livelihoods, and on policy activists who have researched and provided support for legislation and controls for the industry. Contributions to standardised procedures and best practices will be an underlying criterion.

CATEGORY 24

BULK DISTRIBUTING COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award category seeks a leader in innovation and integrated off-take and supply solutions throughout the oil and gas industry: the company that has employed its distinctive, non-traditional methodology to help oil and gas consumers and producers optimise their exposure. The company must have created alternative sources of oil and gas supply when crucial to the development of the national oil and gas market, for example a terminal for floating liquefied gas and oil storage.

There are four awards in this category, one for the Bulk Distributor of each of the following:

• Gasoline
• Gasoil
• ATK
• LPG

CATEGORY 25

SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR

The Service Provider award represents the many organisations that make a valuable contribution anywhere in the supply chain and distribution of oil and gas, as well as providing standard services. Organisations should demonstrate wherever possible how their service delivery provides a vital link in the chain to the oil and gas industry. The upstream and downstream businesses have a wide and varied array of sectors supporting daily as well as project-specific operations.

CATEGORY 26

PROMISING OIL AND GAS COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award is open to any oil and gas company in its early stages of operation. In the last 12 months, it must have made an outstanding contribution to the industry (company or sector). Nominees must have operated for between one and three years.

CATEGORY 27

LUBE MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award is open to any company manufacturing lubes and related products. The category considers customer satisfaction surveys, market share, innovation and approval by relevant authorities.

CATEGORY 28

EMERGING BRAND OF THE YEAR

Nominees for the Emerging Brand of the Year award are companies that have developed or entered new markets and/or adopted innovative business strategies that have grown their networks, revenues, customer patronage and/or brand recognition.

This award is presented to a company less than five years old that has campaigned well by introducing a marketing strategy that has delivered measurable results in customer and/or revenue growth, a business strategy that has increased brand recognition and loyalty across existing and new customers, or an innovative marketing and branding strategy that differentiates the company from its competitors.

CATEGORY 29

BRAND OF THE YEAR

Whether it’s a pre-launch, reformulation, brand extension, or simply a new or better approach, this award recognises outstanding performance by an existing oil and gas brand in response to changing trade or consumer needs.

CATEGORY 30

DEPOT OF THE YEAR

This award recognises the most resourceful depot of the year. The winner will have:

• Been dedicated to providing satisfaction to customers
• Reduced the processing time for loading petroleum products with new strategies and procedures
• Ensured the highest standard of safety is achieved
• Achieved year-round availability of petroleum products
• Ensured the provision of good quality products to Ghanaians
• Earned widespread recognition and distinction among industry players

CATEGORY 31

RETAILER OF THE YEAR

The Petroleum Retailer of the Year award recognises a distinguished retailer that adheres to the rules and regulations of the National Petroleum Authority. The award recognises safety, reliable service delivery and outstanding customer service at the outlet, with no record of shortcomings after all inspections.

CATEGORY 32

CONSULTANCY SERVICE COMPANY OF THE YEAR

The Corporate Consultancy of the Year award recognises third-party business consultancy services provided to the upstream and downstream sectors within Ghana. Eligible service providers can include, but are not limited to, commodity value forecasting, M&A advice, strategy, tax planning and corporate compliance consultancies operating directly with oil and gas clients. It also includes business process consultants, environmental consultancies, HSE training and development firms, and engineering or risk and certification consultancies.

CATEGORY 33

EXCELLENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

The award for Excellence in Environmental Stewardship recognises any efforts, initiatives or technological developments that have minimised or eliminated the environmental footprint of the oil and gas industry within a community or region. Organisations working directly with, or in, the oil and gas sector that can demonstrate a positive contribution to the advancement of environmental considerations in any part of the industry are eligible to enter this category.

CATEGORY 34

DIGITAL INNOVATION OF THE YEARNEW

This award recognises the company that has made the smartest use of digital technology to transform how it works in Ghana’s oil and gas industry. Examples include automation, data analytics, artificial intelligence, remote monitoring, digital permit and safety systems, mobile apps, and digital payments at service stations.

The innovation must be in use, not at concept stage, and entrants must show measurable results during the entry period. The category is open to upstream, midstream and downstream companies, service providers, and technology firms serving the industry.

Judges will consider

• Originality of the solution and how it was implemented
• Measurable improvements in safety, efficiency, cost, uptime or customer experience
• How widely the solution has been adopted across the business
• Potential to raise standards across the wider industry

CATEGORY 35

OIL AND GAS INSTITUTION OF THE YEAR

The oil and gas sector involves exploration, extraction, refining, transportation, consultancy, recruitment, management, insurance, finance and marketing. This award recognises an institution offering courses in the sector with a proven track record of its students in the job market. The institution should have held at least its first graduation.

CATEGORY 36

BEST SERVICE STATION

In judging this category, the following parameters will be considered:

• Volumes
• Architecture
• Safety protocols
• Fuel supply reliability (hours of service)
• Availability of convenience stores

Requirements

A nominating company must propose a particular station for this category.

CATEGORY 37

BEST PUMP PRICES

In judging this category, the following parameter will be considered:

• The company that maintains the lowest average price in each pricing window in the year under review

Requirements

A nominating company must propose a particular station for this category.