Petroleum is critical for the survival of every nation and human pursuit. It is used as fuel for transport, fuel to generate electricity to light homes, run factories, machines, etc., as gas for cooking, as raw material to produce fertiliser to increase food production and for the manufacturing of plastic which is utilised in a wide range of products used in daily life.
It was because of these that President Mahama spent time and resources to develop the sector.
In January, 2015, his government signed an agreement to begin work on the EN/Vitol Sankofa field. The investment was worth US$ 7 billion and is reportedly the single biggest investment signed in the recent history of Ghana.
The Atuabo Gas Plant at Atuabo which was started by the Late President Mills, was completed and commissioned by President John Dramani Mahama on September 16, 2015. It is currently supplying lean gas to the Aboadze enclave of thermal plants. At full capacity, it can supply 120 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to generate about 500 MW of electricity.
This saved the nation GHC500 million in fuel importation for electricity generation annually. The plant has the capacity to produce 240,000 tonnes of Liquefied petroleum Gas (LPG) a year, which is about 70% of total annual demand in Ghana.
Gas supplies rose in 2016 when production began in the TEN fields. The country’s second FPSO which was named after former President John Atta Mills, sailed to the TEN fields in March, 2016 for production of oil and Gas after its inauguration.
The operationalisation of TEN and Sankofa was expected to bring Ghana’s gas production to above 300 million standard cubic of gas per day.
The Oil and Gas sector, during HE John Mahama’s regime, was providing direct employment for 7,545 Ghanaians. Under the Rural LPG Promotion Programme, a total of 53,000 gas cooking stoves and cylinders were distributed free of charge under his Administration.
Anthony Obeng Afrane