Mills, Mahama's Atuaba Gas Plant, one of Ghana's most valuable investment

A lot of people do not know that oil exploration in Ghana started in 1896, some 127 years ago, but the fact is that exploration activities were halted until 1957 when Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana continued.

Unfortunately, he was ousted from power in 1966 which ended his dream of helping Ghana to produce oil in commercial quantities in those days.

Oil exploration was further given serious attention by J.J. Rawlings who was the Chairman of the PNDC Military Government and Head of State. By 1983, Ghana had about 54 oil wells, yet production in commercial quantities began in 2007. At this stage, the country was wasting several millions of dollars through flaring of gas.

Meanwhile, Ghana was importing natural gas from Nigeria through the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) and anytime there were problems with the pipeline, our country was unable to get gas to power electricity plants leading to power outages.

Therefore, the Mills/Mahama Administration commissioned the National Gas Development Taskforce in February 2011 to oversee the setting up of a national gas company to meet the gas needs of the country and also to stop the wastage of gas flaring.

In April, 2011, the taskforce submitted its report recommending the evacuation and treatment of associated gas from the Jubilee Field production, and acting upon the above, the Mills/Mahama-led government sanctioned the establishment of the Ghana National Gas company to undertake the project. The company was incorporated in July, 2011 and official production started in November 2014.

The US$3 billion project which was constructed by UNIPEC, a subsidiary of Sinopec, a Chinese Petroleum Company was financed through a facility agreement from the China Development Bank and the Chinese Government.

The gas plant which is employing about 1,500 people, produces 300 million standard cubic metres a day. This generates about 750MW of power through the Volta River Authority (VRA).

Thanks to the visionary leadership of Presidents Mills and Mahama, not only has the Atuabo Gas Plant created employment opportunities for thousands of people, but many towns in the environs of the gas plant, including Takoradi, have had their fortunes changed with an influx of workers coming in from other parts of the country and beyond. More importantly, 56% of the nation's gas consumption has been taken care of by the plant.

The prospect for Ghana in respect of the Atuabo Gas Project is very bright for the boosting of Ghana's economy and its development. But there are much more to do; increase in gas production to meet the other 44% of national consumption need, and excess gas for export.

Former president, Mahama is one of the originators of Atuaba Gas Plant and has the wherewithal and blueprint to give Ghana the best of the gas plant. This is one of the many reasons why we have to support him to win the 2024 presidential election with overwhelming parliamentary seats.

We made a mistake by electing Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia as President and Vice President respectively, but that is in the past. There is the urgent need to change the suffering of Ghanaians by allowing God to do something in our lives through John Dramani Mahama in 2024.