Irish oil and gas major Tullow is collaborating with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to provide extensive disaster management training as Ghana gears up to achieve first oil.

Speaking exclusively to the Western File, Japheth Baidoo, western regional director of NADMO, said the two parties are in the advanced planning stage of the operation and will soon train a cadre of disaster management and response workers.

"We are currently working on a comprehensive blueprint on disaster volunteer groups. They will monitor the activities of the coastal communities, in terms of disaster," he said.

He clarified that the partnership will not interfere with the work of Zoil Ghana, which is responsible for sanitation in coastal communities.

Tullow is set to achieve first oil by the final quarter of this year, after an extensive drilling campaign that began in 2007.

The company has also invested in training and development programmes in Uganda, which is also preparing to achieve first oil from a field in Lake Albert.

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