Atuabo gas makes impact
The discovery of oil reserves in commercial quantities, off the coast of Ghana in 2007 indicated a turning point in the development efforts of the country, as it was seen as holding the potential for the country’s economic transformation.
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To harness the associated 1.2 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of gas, then President John Evans Atta Mills, in February 2011, commissioned a National Gas Development Task Force to review and make appropriate recommendations for the speedy commercialisation of the gas.
In April 2011, the task force, led by Dr Kwesi Botchwey, submitted its report to President Mills.
The recommendations therein included the evacuation and treatment of gas from the Jubilee Field.
The setting up of the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) was, therefore, a bold attempt to make full use of the gas through local participation, giving true expression to the government’s emphasis on local content in the oil and gas industry.
When, in July 2011, Ghana Gas was incorporated as a limited liability company, with the responsibility to build, own and operate infrastructure required for the gathering, processing, transporting and marketing of natural gas resource, many critics were pessimistic about our ability to carry the project through.
The Daily Graphic notes that building Ghana Gas had not been without challenges. We recall the objection concerning the location of the project and the misunderstanding associated with it, which was amicably resolved.
Then was the issue of working capital as a result of Ghana’s difficulty in accessing the bilateral loan from the Chinese.
These and many more led to the contractor, Sinopec, having difficulty in completing the project on schedule.
The Daily Graphic is happy that, today, the thermal generation units of the Volta River Authority (VRA) which had been relying on erratic supply of gas from the West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP) is operating fully on gas supplied from the Atuabo plant run by Ghana Gas.
The Aboadze turbines, which have not been able to produce more than 70 megawatts (MW) of power since it was inaugurated are producing 185MW. What is more, we are told that the gas from Atuabo has higher heating and combustion values and is far more efficient than what is supplied by the WAGP.
In this era of erratic power supply, nothing could be more welcome.
The experts say that the project debt and the equity used to finance the project are expected to be paid back from the cash flow to be generated by Ghana Gas. Moreover, the country will be saved more than $500 million annually, while there will be availability of gas for all purposes to Ghanaians.
It is our fervent hope that having put in such thought, effort and financing, the Ghana Gas project will be properly taken care of and not allowed to suffer the fate that many an indigenous effort has suffered.
We congratulate the government and all those at Ghana Gas and elsewhere who have made this a reality. We celebrate Ghana Gas as we look forward to the expansion of Phase II and its collaboration with ENI, as we are told this will lead to the production of more than 170 million scf daily by 2017.