The Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) has signed a US$700million Project Implementation Agreement with its joint venture partners to construct a second Gas Processing Plant (GPP Train 2), aimed at scaling-up the country’s gas resources in line with government’s industrialisation agenda.
Integrated Logistics Bureau Limited (intels), Jonmoore International, Phoenix Park Limited, and African Finance Corporation make up the consortium for the project.
The gas plant will be sited at Atuabo in the Ellembele district of the Western Region and have a nominal capacity of 150 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), expandable to 200 MMscfd.
The project, expected to be completed within 24 months, will generate 1,500 direct and indirect jobs within the Atuabo power enclave.
The Chief Executive Officer of GNGC, Dr. Benjamin K. D. Asante, and Dr. Hilton John Mitchell, a representative of the Consortium, signed the agreement on Friday in Accra.
No ‘dumsor’
Addressing the gathering before the signing, Dr. Ben Asante said the project will enable his outfit to become a fully integrated gas services company and provide a reliable supply of gas and gas derivatives in Ghana and the West African sub-region.
He said it will further fulfil Ghana Gas’ vision of supplying gas in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner.
Explaining the project’s significance, the Ghana Gas boss said the new plant – upon coming onstream – will improve the output of liquids processed from natural gas to 80 percent compared to the existing facility, which produces between 40 and 50 percent of gas liquids.
The plant will help the nation generate more megawatts of electricity and ultimately resolve the perennial power outages (‘dumsor’) experienced in Ghana. The by-products from processed gas, he explained, can be used to manufacture fertiliser – which will boost the agriculture industry and ultimately reduce the country’s fertiliser imports.
“The key difference between the first processing plant – in terms of its output and processing – and this project is that now we have the capability to extract even more liquids from the raw gas train that is coming to us. We are doubling the amount of LPGs, condensing and other things,” he said.
“Currently, we use about 90 percent of the gas we process or reproduce for power generation. With this consistent supply from our upstream partners and reliable delivery from our midstream partners, the incidence of ‘dumsor’ has essentially disappeared. This is result of the fact our upstream supply of gas and midstream partners and us (Ghana Gas) have been reliable in ensuring that gas supply and delivery reaches the intended consumers, and ‘dumsor’ will continue to be a thing of the past,” Dr. Ben Asante pointed out.
Boosting supply
In his remarks, the Board Chair of Ghana Gas, Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, said the project upon completion will enhance the company’s operations and further boost utilisation of the country’s gas resources for government’s industrialisation agenda.
He said the facility will play a critical role in helping Ghana achieve its energy transition objectives of using renewable energy sources for industrial purposes and reducing global carbon emissions.
“In this era of global discourse on transition fuels, it is undoubted that natural gas will become the key transition fuel for Ghana; as such, Ghana Gas is resolved and poised to play its leading role in harnessing and diversifying its utilisation for socio-economic development of the country,” he said.
On his part, a Deputy Minister of Energy, Egyapa Mercer, said the project will be useful additional infrastructure in the country’s power generation system.
It will also support government’s efforts at providing an alternative power supply to drive socio-economic development, he added.
Dr. Hilton John Mitchell, who spoke on behalf of the joint venture partners, expressed the Consortium’s commitment to working collaboratively with the GNGC to deliver the gas processing plant on schedule and in a cost-effective manner.
The project
The construction of a second train gas processing plant with a nominal capacity of 150 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), expandable to 200 MMscfd, to process incremental raw gas volumes from the Greater Jubilee and TEN fields.
The project forms part of the GNGC’s strategic development plan and is expected to increase national gas processing capacity to 450 MMscfd.
The new gas processing facility will process raw gas – with natural gas liquids (NGLs) being fractionated into pure components like propane, butane, pentane and stabilised condensate components from the Jubilee and TEN Fields.
The lean gas containing methane and ethane will be tied into the lean gas export from existing GPP Train 1 and delivered into the onshore export pipes. Some components of the GPP Train 2 are a storage facility, an additional compressor package at Atuabo Mainline Compressor Station, and the provision of utilities and a liquid waste treatment system.
