Raphael Adeniran
The West African Gas Pipeline Project (WAGP), whose operational timeline has fallen behind schedule by more than two years, is expected to begin operations by December this year, official with the Nigerian Gas Company said last week.
The pipeline which connects Nigeria’s natural gas supplies to Ghana through Togo and Benin, was initially scheduled to deliver its first batch of natural gas by 2005, but had to be shifted to 2007 due to technical and funding constraints.
Officials of WAGP halted the project after leaks were detected in supply pipelines in Nigeria in 2007.
"We should complete the clean up of the pipelines by the end of the month and begin to provide 30 million cubic feet per day (mcfd) of gas to Ghana from December," Sam Ndukwe, the pipeline's budget coordinator for the Nigerian Gas Company, told the press on the sidelines of an industry conference last week.
Ndukwe estimates natural gas delivery through the pipeline will increase to 130 mcfd by December 2009.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in 1982, as one of its key regional economic policies, proposed the development of the natural gas pipeline throughout West Africa to complement generation fuel in the region’s energy sector.
The WAGP will traverse 620 miles (1,033 kilometers) both on and offshore from Nigeria's Niger Delta region to its final planned terminus in Ghana. The main portions of the pipeline have already been completed.
The $620 million WAGP has the capacity to transport approximately 400 Mmcf/d of gas to Ghana, Benin and Togo at the peak of the project. A consortium of Chevron, Shell, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC), Societe Beninoise de Gaz (SoBeGaz), and Societe Togolaise de Gaz (SoToGaz) are joint venture partners of the WAGP project.
A study, commissioned by Chevron, estimates that 10,000 to 20,000 primary sector jobs will be created in the region by WAGP. New power supplies, fueled by gas from the project, will stimulate the growth of new industry. The industrial growth has the potential to spawn additional 30,000 to 60,000 secondary jobs. In addition to the $1 billion in investment (WAGP and power facilities) already projected, the study sees approximately $800 million in new industrial investment occurring in the region.
The World Bank estimates that Benin, Togo and Ghana can save nearly $500 million in energy costs over a 20-year period as WAGP-supplied gas is substituted for more expensive fuels in power generation. Ghana estimates that it will save between 15,000-20,000 barrels per day of crude oil by taking gas from the WAGP to run its power plants. Chevron has signed a 20-year agreement to supply natural gas, via the WAGP, to a 220-MW power plant proposed in Ghana. Under terms of the contract, the plant will receive 40 Mmcf/d of natural gas.
The West African Gas Pipeline Project (WAGP), whose operational timeline has fallen behind schedule by more than two years, is expected to begin operations by December this year, official with the Nigerian Gas Company said last week.
The pipeline which connects Nigeria’s natural gas supplies to Ghana through Togo and Benin, was initially scheduled to deliver its first batch of natural gas by 2005, but had to be shifted to 2007 due to technical and funding constraints.
Officials of WAGP halted the project after leaks were detected in supply pipelines in Nigeria in 2007.
"We should complete the clean up of the pipelines by the end of the month and begin to provide 30 million cubic feet per day (mcfd) of gas to Ghana from December," Sam Ndukwe, the pipeline's budget coordinator for the Nigerian Gas Company, told the press on the sidelines of an industry conference last week.
Ndukwe estimates natural gas delivery through the pipeline will increase to 130 mcfd by December 2009.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in 1982, as one of its key regional economic policies, proposed the development of the natural gas pipeline throughout West Africa to complement generation fuel in the region’s energy sector.
The WAGP will traverse 620 miles (1,033 kilometers) both on and offshore from Nigeria's Niger Delta region to its final planned terminus in Ghana. The main portions of the pipeline have already been completed.
The $620 million WAGP has the capacity to transport approximately 400 Mmcf/d of gas to Ghana, Benin and Togo at the peak of the project. A consortium of Chevron, Shell, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC), Societe Beninoise de Gaz (SoBeGaz), and Societe Togolaise de Gaz (SoToGaz) are joint venture partners of the WAGP project.
A study, commissioned by Chevron, estimates that 10,000 to 20,000 primary sector jobs will be created in the region by WAGP. New power supplies, fueled by gas from the project, will stimulate the growth of new industry. The industrial growth has the potential to spawn additional 30,000 to 60,000 secondary jobs. In addition to the $1 billion in investment (WAGP and power facilities) already projected, the study sees approximately $800 million in new industrial investment occurring in the region.
The World Bank estimates that Benin, Togo and Ghana can save nearly $500 million in energy costs over a 20-year period as WAGP-supplied gas is substituted for more expensive fuels in power generation. Ghana estimates that it will save between 15,000-20,000 barrels per day of crude oil by taking gas from the WAGP to run its power plants. Chevron has signed a 20-year agreement to supply natural gas, via the WAGP, to a 220-MW power plant proposed in Ghana. Under terms of the contract, the plant will receive 40 Mmcf/d of natural gas.
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