By Ernest Bako WUBONTO
The West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA) has announced the completion of its pigging exercise on the 20-inch 678km-long pipeline mainline and laterals in Tema and Cotonou, opening the door for gas supply from Nigeria to resume.
This means the recent power outages recorded in Ghana due to shortage of gas supply from Nigeria for power generation could be over. However, it’s worth noting that other factors are also responsible for power outages in the country.
The pigging exercise on the West Africa Gas Pipeline – which refers to maintenance activities carried out to clean, inspect and enhance the efficiency of the pipelines – was aimed at boosting flow and upholding the system’s integrity.
Director-Market Surveillance and Development, WAGPA, Hamis Ussif highlighted that the pigging exercise included replacement of subsea valves in Tema and Cotonou; cleaning the pipelines of any debris in line with regulatory requirements and industry practice; inspecting the pipelines’ inner perimeters to detect any corrosion, damage or defect; and ensuring pipeline system’s integrity for more reliability and efficiency.
He explained that as the regulator, WAGPA requires this exercise to be done in line with Section 6.35 of L.I.1814 (WAGP Regulations), as part of the pipeline system’s integrity management plan.
“It is WAGPA’s responsibility to ensure that the West Africa Pipeline Company (WAPCo) in Ghana conducts this exercise efficiently and safely to minimise its impact on natural gas users, with the ultimate aim of ensuring a robust system. We encourage all stakeholders to support the efforts for a successful exercise,” he said.
Director General, WAGPA, Chafari Kanya Hanawa – during an inspection visit to the WAPCo premises in Tema following the successful completion of maintenance activities five days ahead of the initial deadline – mentioned the authority is aware that shutting down the pipeline, even for a short period, affects gas supply to stakeholders; hence the commitment and deployment of all needed resources to complete the exercise ahead of time.
“WAGPA’s role as a regulatory body is to ensure compliance with the laws agreed upon by the four State Parties – Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo. Routine pigging of the pipes is a mandatory activity; and even though it has an impact on the population in terms of power supply, it is important that we do it,” she said.
She indicated further that WAGP is unique to the sub-region, because nowhere else in the world has there been any gas pipeline infrastructure that has been able to achieve this milestone – hence the need to support its operation.
She added that Nigeria has enough gas to supply the whole sub-region but lack of infrastructure remains a major bottleneck, emphasising the need to invest more in needed infrastructure to enable flow to all countries in the sub-region.
Mr. Ussif mentioned that between 2011-2023, WAPCo has saved the country about US$1billion compared to if Ghana used liquid fuel, underscoring the importance of its operation to sustainability of the local economy.
In terms of natural gas contribution in Ghana’s power generation, he revealed that in 2022, 22.498MWh, representing 63.2 percent of total electricity generation, was from gas.
The West African Gas Pipeline has a current capacity of 170 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), with potential expansion to 474 MMscfd. Since its construction, the pipeline has facilitated approximately 245 million MMBTU of natural gas supply to Ghana, contributing to the generation of over 71,843 GWh of energy.
WAGPA’s core functions include representing interests of the four nations; regulating the pipeline’s development and eventual decommissioning; and facilitating its efficient operation.
