A renowned oil and gas infrastructure engineer and Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s national gas company, Dr Benjamin  K.D Asante, has been appointed Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Ghana Chapter.

Society of Petroleum Engineers is the largest individual member organisation serving managers, engineers, scientists and other professionals in the global upstream segment of the oil and gas industry.

It has over 124,800 members in 134 countries across the world.

Dr. Asante will steer the affairs of the SPE Ghana Chapter for one year.

Commenting on the appointment, Dr. Ben K.D Asante said,” I’m ready to serve by working to ensure that the key focus of the organization in Ghana, which is closing the gap between industry and academia is achieved.’’

Profile of Dr Ben K.D Asante

Dr Ben K.D Asante is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas).

He has over 25 years of global experience in the oil and gas industry.

He is one of the few African oil and gas engineers to have testified as an expert pipeline engineer before the US Supreme High Court.

He has also provided expert witness testimonies on gas custody transfer disputes in South America.

Dr Asante is a lecturer at the School of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and a former Engineering and Technical Director of Ghana’s premier Gas Infrastructure project, which birthed the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant and allied gas infrastructure in the Western Region, Ghana.

He is the mastermind of Ghana’s first Gas Master Plan in 2008.

He has also provided consulting, engineering services, project management and technical support for various projects throughout the world, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He has also worked in various technical and management roles for major Operating Companies and Engineering Consulting companies in Canada, including Nova/TransCanada; USA and Ghana.

He was adjudged the Best Worker for the Year for Excellence at the Global Energy Firm, Enron Corporation, in 2001.

Dr. Asante holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from KNUST, Ghana, and MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary, Canada.

He also obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College, London/University of Calgary, where he later taught Gas Processing and Pipeline Engineering.

He has published 15 technical papers and made over 80 technical presentations within and outside North America on Oil/Gas Infrastructure Design and Operations.