By Kofi AHOVI
The West African Gas Pipeline has restarted operations, following a one-year outage, which was caused by vandalism and fuel quality problems in Nigeria.
The volume of gas flowing is approximately 30 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcfd), which is enough to generate 110 megawatts to fuel one out of the four installed turbines at the Takoradi Power Station in the Western Region.
The resumption of flows on the line would allow power plants in Takoradi to switch from the expensive light crude it has been using to produce electricity since the shutdown in May 2009.
Flows along the pipeline, which were originally started in 2008, were suspended due to the destruction of supply lines in Nigeria, where energy infrastructure is routinely targeted by rebels who are angered by unequal distribution of oil wealth.
The 678 kilometre (420 mile) line was designed to transport gas from Nigeria's oilfields to Benin, Togo and Ghana to help ease chronic power shortages around West Africa, which are seen as a hindrance to the region's development.
The gas flowing into Ghana is not compressed, which means volumes fall short of optimal.
This is due to the pre-commissioning activities, which are ongoing at the huge Lagos Beach Compressor Station (LBCS) in Nigeria, as well as the other regulating and metering stations near Tema, Lome and Cotonou.
Pre-commissioning involves checking/testing the various items of equipment to ensure everything is in proper working order before introducing gas. Once pre-commissioning is completed, the sites are deemed to be mechanically complete and ready for commissioning. The commissioning process itself is estimated to take two months.
This facility is supposed to compress the gas originating from Escrovas to maximize the volumes that the pipeline can carry. The compressors for capacity of 170mmcfd, ultimately rising to six compressors with capacity of 474 mmcfd.
The use of natural gas to run the Takoradi thermal power station is expected to bring down electricity cost considerably. Since its construction a decade ago, it has been run on heavy diesel oil, which has proved very expensive, compared with the hydro-electric power from the Akosombo dam.
The construction of the pipeline has certainly been worth it, but this has come at a considerable cost, as lots of construction difficulties were encountered pushing the project far behind schedule and far over the original planned cost.
The original estimate for construction cost was US$615million, however, by the end of 2008, a year after the pipeline should have been completed, it had risen to US$750 million. During 2009, largely due to a change of contractor was necessary, a supplementary budget of US$200 million was made, bringing the final construction cost close to US$1 billion.
The construction of the pipeline began in 2005 and was expected to be completed in 2007 but this could not be realized due to unforeseen construction problems.
The West African Gas Pipeline has been more than 25 years in the making, having first been proposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a key regional economic goal.
It took another 10 years before the next step was taken, but when in 1992 a World Bank study confirmed the viability of such a pipeline, interest began to rise and planning for the pipeline began to pick up pace.
US oil giant, Chevron, holds a 36.7% stake in the West African Gas Pipeline Co.
Other shareholders include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Royal Dutch Shell, Ghana's Takoradi Power Company Limited, Societe Togolaise de Gaz and Societe Beninoise de Gaz.
The West African Gas Pipeline has restarted operations, following a one-year outage, which was caused by vandalism and fuel quality problems in Nigeria.
The volume of gas flowing is approximately 30 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcfd), which is enough to generate 110 megawatts to fuel one out of the four installed turbines at the Takoradi Power Station in the Western Region.
The resumption of flows on the line would allow power plants in Takoradi to switch from the expensive light crude it has been using to produce electricity since the shutdown in May 2009.
Flows along the pipeline, which were originally started in 2008, were suspended due to the destruction of supply lines in Nigeria, where energy infrastructure is routinely targeted by rebels who are angered by unequal distribution of oil wealth.
The 678 kilometre (420 mile) line was designed to transport gas from Nigeria's oilfields to Benin, Togo and Ghana to help ease chronic power shortages around West Africa, which are seen as a hindrance to the region's development.
The gas flowing into Ghana is not compressed, which means volumes fall short of optimal.
This is due to the pre-commissioning activities, which are ongoing at the huge Lagos Beach Compressor Station (LBCS) in Nigeria, as well as the other regulating and metering stations near Tema, Lome and Cotonou.
Pre-commissioning involves checking/testing the various items of equipment to ensure everything is in proper working order before introducing gas. Once pre-commissioning is completed, the sites are deemed to be mechanically complete and ready for commissioning. The commissioning process itself is estimated to take two months.
This facility is supposed to compress the gas originating from Escrovas to maximize the volumes that the pipeline can carry. The compressors for capacity of 170mmcfd, ultimately rising to six compressors with capacity of 474 mmcfd.
The use of natural gas to run the Takoradi thermal power station is expected to bring down electricity cost considerably. Since its construction a decade ago, it has been run on heavy diesel oil, which has proved very expensive, compared with the hydro-electric power from the Akosombo dam.
The construction of the pipeline has certainly been worth it, but this has come at a considerable cost, as lots of construction difficulties were encountered pushing the project far behind schedule and far over the original planned cost.
The original estimate for construction cost was US$615million, however, by the end of 2008, a year after the pipeline should have been completed, it had risen to US$750 million. During 2009, largely due to a change of contractor was necessary, a supplementary budget of US$200 million was made, bringing the final construction cost close to US$1 billion.
The construction of the pipeline began in 2005 and was expected to be completed in 2007 but this could not be realized due to unforeseen construction problems.
The West African Gas Pipeline has been more than 25 years in the making, having first been proposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a key regional economic goal.
It took another 10 years before the next step was taken, but when in 1992 a World Bank study confirmed the viability of such a pipeline, interest began to rise and planning for the pipeline began to pick up pace.
US oil giant, Chevron, holds a 36.7% stake in the West African Gas Pipeline Co.
Other shareholders include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Royal Dutch Shell, Ghana's Takoradi Power Company Limited, Societe Togolaise de Gaz and Societe Beninoise de Gaz.
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