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Roughly seven years after the discovery of oil, Ghana’s hydrocarbons sector has seen significant growth in terms of both production and infrastructure, yet the industry is still very much a work in progress. New projects are being ramped up to develop the sector, including for the downstream segment. Ghana’s proven crude oil reserves were estimated at 660m barrels as of January 2013, which could be higher as exploration is still ongoing. In the near term, the country has begun to shift to optimising the development of its hydrocarbons in a sustainable manner. It also aims to finalise linkages with associated sectors, including the power industry – an objective that the planned gas processing plant, upon completion in late 2014, should start to fulfil. While financial and technical bottlenecks have hampered the pace of refinery activity and new electricity generation, should these challenges be resolved, the country could emerge as not only an exporter of crude, but also as a downstream petroleum products manufacturer and a provider of surplus electricity to the regional power pool. This chapter contains interviews with Kwesi Botchwey, Chairman, Ghana National Gas Company; Abdalla Salem El-Badri, Secretary-General, OPEC; and Kirk Koffi, CEO, Volta River Authority.

This section includes information on hotels, government and other listings, alongside useful tips for visitors on topics like currency, visas, language, communications, dress, business hours and electricity.

OBG introduces the reader to the different aspects of the legal system in Algeria, in partnership with Gide Loyrette Nouel. This section also includes an interview with Samy Laghouati, Partner, Gide Loyrette Nouel.

In conjunction with Mazars, OBG explores the taxation system, examining Algeria’s investor-friendly environment. OBG talks to Samir Hadj Ali, Chartered Accountant and Managing Partner, Mazars, on encouraging research and development.

Having made considerable gains in health care provision over the past five decades, Algeria has been undergoing a transition in terms of its health challenges. Under the current 2009-14 five-year plan, the government had pledged $6.2bn for the establishment of new health infrastructure, including 1500 new facilities. Renovation of existing facilities is also being undertaken, coordinated with a certain level of decentralisation to allow the management of health efforts to become more autonomous in the regions. Algeria continues to put a strong emphasis on improving provision of education across the country. A decade has passed since the beginning of educational reform, and authorities are now cementing new practices and aiming to understand which elements need further work. Expansion of infrastructure and continued teacher training should also help to improve standards. This chapter contains interviews with Yiğit Gürçay, Senior Vice-President and Area Director – MENA, GlaxoSmithKline; and Abdelhak Lamiri, President, Groupe INSIM