The West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAPCo) has embarked on alternative source of transporting gas from Republic of Benin, which is gradually becoming an oil-producing country, for other West African countries.
There are indications that WAPCo has begun talks with Dangote Refinery to buy gas to bridge an estimated 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) deficit in Ghana by the year 2020, which has dire consequences for power generation in Ghana.
Managing Director of WAPCo, Walter Perez, who spoke yesterday in Lagos at the Natural Gas Business Forum 2017 organized by the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), told stakeholders that the company’s main mandate is to transport natural gas from Nigeria to customers in Benin, Togo and Ghana in a safe, responsible and reliable manner, at prices competitive with other fuel alternatives.
Perez said Nigeria has enough gas to supply all of Africa for a long time with reserves of 187 trillion cubic feet of gas, but has been hampered by several challenges, which have made gas supply inefficient.
He said: “When the pipeline was built, it was constructed so that the gas from Escravos and Utorogu (in Nigeria) can flow into our pipeline in a place called Itoki in Ogun State. Now, we envision that gas will enter the pipeline from many locations, the first of which is Takoradi (Ghana).
“One time, Takoradi was thought to be the major off-taker for the West Africa gas pipeline. At this point, in a year’s time, we will be reversing the flow from Takoradi to Tema, using the West African gas pipeline.”
But President, Nigerian Gas Association, Dada Thomas, said that the shortfall in natural gas supply, further execrated by pipeline vandalisation, is great a problem to the nation as is the impact of cost-reflective electricity tariffs, unworkable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and over-regulation of gas price.
