The Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adams, has indicated that government is keenly observing possibilities of integrating the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) with the Tema liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to increase flexibility in the gas supply mix, and boost security.
According to the minister, the completion and operation of the Takoradi to Tema Interconnection Project (TIPP) links the Ghana Gas Company’s system to the WAGP system at Aboadze in the Western Region of Ghana, allowing gas from Ghana’s domestic sources to be transported in reverse flow to Tema, increasing the country’s domestic gas supply to the network, and an indication that more can be done to mobilise gas in the country.
“As the review of the Gas Master Plan (GMP) is ongoing, government is considering the contractual, technical and commercial possibilities of integrating WAGP with the Tema LNG terminal to increase flexibility in the gas supply mix and boost security,” he said.
The Tema LNG facility has the scalable ultimate capacity to receive, store, regasify and deliver roughly 3.4 million tonnes (Mt) of LNG a year – which is equivalent to approximately 500 million cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of natural gas.
The project was developed to play an increasing role in meeting Ghana’s growing energy demand by providing the power generation industry with a highly reliable and clean fuel supply to meet projected power and industrial needs.
The deputy minister made these remarks at the 10th-anniversary launch of the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited’s (WAGPCo) commencement of commercial operation.
The WAPCo has officially launched activities to commemorate its 10th commercial operation anniversary celebration with the unveiling of a special monument in honour of the Takoradi to Tema Interconnection Project (TIPP) at its Regulating and Metering Station (R&MS) in Tema.
The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) owns and operates the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) – a regional infrastructure linking natural gas resources to customers with a growing demand for cleaner and more efficient energy in the West Africa sub-region, especially in Ghana.
The WAGP transmission system was originally designed and built to transport natural gas from supply sources in Nigeria to customers needing natural gas for cleaner and more efficient power generation in Benin, Togo and Ghana. Ghana is the main customer for the WAGP with delivery points at Tema and Takoradi.
Managing Director of WAPCo, Gregory Germani, in his anniversary launch address, indicated that the establishment of the WAGP with its guarantees of a cost-effective, secure, cleaner and reliable energy for power generation has contributed to regional economic growth and development, benefiting families, communities, businesses and industries across the region.
“As we celebrate over 15 years of existence and 10 years of commercial operations, we must not forget how it all came to be. It is important to remember that the WAGP is the product of a vision from ECOWAS – a dream of a gas pipeline across the West African sub-region, with a promise of economic integration among member-states,” he said.
He expressed heartfelt gratitude to government and the other partners of the company – including the Ministry of Energy, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and the Ghana National Gas Company, with technical support from Eni Ghana – for their tremendous effort in the construction of TTIP which involved an expansion of the delivery capacity of WAPCo from 140 MMscfd to 235 MMscfd at the Tema facility.
“Following the completion of TTIP, the combination of gas supply from both Nigeria and Ghana and growing demand across our delivery stations in Tema, Lomé and Cotonou, the WAGP is seeing record levels of delivered volumes and project growth on the horizon,” he added.
