Government will name the country’s new Floating Production, Storage and Offloading facility (FPSO) after the late President John Evans Atta Mills.
The new FPSO will be used on the Tweneboa, Enyera and Ntome oil fields located on Ghana’s Jubilee Field.
The ship with the facility on board will augment the operations of the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.
The Energy Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, revealed this to journalists in Singapore on Tuesday.
The sector Minister indicated that the decision was made after an exhaustive debate on what name should be given to the FPSO.
Consideration was given to Ghana’s history and the roles played by past Presidents.
“We started with the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who basically laid the foundation of the oil industry and clearly that is why the first FPSO Kwame Nkrumah was named after him,” the Minister explained.
According to him, ex-President John Rawlings was also considered for his contribution to the setting up of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) while ex-President John Kufuor was also acknowledged for the discovery of oil under his administration.
Late President Mills, the Minister said, “saw the actual oil production in Ghana and we see today where President John Mahama is leading the effort to build Ghanaian capacity.”
He mentioned that the President has overseen the passage of necessary regulation which has established “a strong petroleum regulator.”
Clarifying the reason why the late President Mills was chosen, Armah Buah said the priority in the naming of the FPSO took into account “those [Presidents] who have passed.”
The Minister added that the country acknowledges all the efforts past leaders have Ghana have made towards the establishment of a strong oil production sector for the nation.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana