Deputy Minister for Energy, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has assured that the shutdown of FPSO Kwame Nkrumah in May this year will not affect power generation much.
“The shutdown is to allow maintenance works to be carried out, and I want to assure Ghanaians that there is no cause for alarm; previous shutdowns had effects because even though gas was available from TEN, Ghana Gas was going through maintenance – and that compelled the Volta River Authourity to use other means, which included buying more crude oil in order to address the power shortfall at that time,” he explained.
“This time around we will not have that problem, because Ghana Gas is operating and therefore TEN is going to give us 60million standard cubic feet daily,” he added.
The minister was speaking to the media in Takoradi after a visit to the Jubilee Field with stakeholders in the industry – namely VRA, GRIDCo, GNPC, Ghana Gas, Petroleum Commission as well as Tullow – on how this resource will be managed in a way that will not cause any negative effects.
According to him, the ministry is working hard to ensure there is a seamless shift from the shutdown period to the period where gas will be stored for Jubilee.
“We have confidence in Tullow that they will work harder until we have a permanent solution regarding the problem, somewhere next year,” Dr. Amin Adam said.
He stated that government will not entertain too many shutdowns because it has so much effect on citizens.
“Even when gas from Sankofa comes on stream, the shutdown will still have effects in terms of revenue that we will get to undertake development activities, and it is in our interests to ensure we work together in ensuring this problem is permanently solved,” he said.
