GNPC, Rosneft sign gas agreement

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) last Friday, May 24, 2018, signed a 12-year agreement with Rosneft for the supply of natural gas to Ghana. 

The signing took place on the sidelines of the 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, Russia.

The Board Chairman of the GNPC, Mr Freddie Blay, signed on behalf of the corporation, with Igor Ivanovich Sechin, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board of Rosneft, signing for his company.

Supply contract

The supply contract is a hybrid Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)/gas supply agreement, by which Rosneft will deliver LNG to a regasification terminal located at the Tema Port to be processed and the gas delivered to the GNPC at the existing Tema metering station.

The gas delivered by Rosneft, in the volume of ca. 1.7 mmtpa (or 250 mmscf per day), will provide a competitive and secure source of fuel, supplying 25 per cent of Ghana’s overall power generating capacity. 

Access to the LNG places Ghana at the centre of West Africa’s rapidly growing energy market, providing opportunities to create jobs and build local capacity.

Development of opportunities

The GNPC and Rosneft have also agreed to cooperate in the development of opportunities in the upstream and downstream sectors.

Rosneft is an established upstream operator.

The GNPC Chairman expressed the hope that “this large transaction will stimulate further opportunities for investment between the two countries, both within the oil and the gas sectors and beyond. We hope that through this strong cooperation, Ghana can also act as a gateway for Russian investment within the wider West African region”.

For his part, Mr Sechin stated that “the signed documents open a new stage in the development of cooperation between Russia and Ghana. Ghana has placed itself among dynamically developing world economies with the energy demand growing year on year”.

Also in St Petersburg were a Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Mohamed Amin Adam; Ghana’s Ambassador to Russia, Oheneba Dr Lesley Akyaa Opoku-Ware, and another member of the GNPC Board, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II.

In attendance at the signing ceremony were some members of the GNPC Management Team, such Joseph Dadzie, General Manager, Commercial; Matilda Ohene, General Manager, Administration and Board Secretary; Dr Patrick Ofori, Manager, Sustainability; the Legal Manager, Adwoa Wiafe, and the Principal Legal Counsel, Louisa Amoako-Quaicoe.

Gas sales and purchase agreement

It is recalled that in September 2017, the GNPC entered into a gas sales and purchase agreement (GSA) with Gazprom.

Due to a corporate restructuring, Gazprom’s supply obligations under the GSA have been assumed by Rosneft, an affiliate.

“We are happy to be working with Rosneft on this LNG transaction and already the two parties are looking at greater cooperation and partnership in the upstream sector,” the CEO of the GNPC, Dr K. K. Sarpong, had remarked at the end of the Tema LNG negotiations.

Rosneft and Gazprom are both majority owned by the government of the Russian Federation. Other significant shareholders in Rosneft include BP and the Qatar Investment Authority.