The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) and the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA), concerned about losing its market in the West Africa sub-region over its high gas tariff regime have commenced discussions to amend its tariff structure to stay competitive in the market.
Currently, the company produces 95 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, from the initial 85 million standard cubic feet, through an agreement arrived at before Ghana had developed any gas fields of its own. Ghana since then though has acquired both its Jubilee and its Tweneboa, Enyenra Ntomme (TEN) gas fields and is about to commence production from its latest ones – the Sankofa and Gye Nyame gas fields which have the capacity to produce 190 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).
Gas obtained from the Sankofa Project will enable 1,000MW of domestic power generation, which is equivalent to approximately 40 per cent of the country’s total installed generation capacity. This also offers an opportunity for the Ghanaian industry to enjoy lower electricity tariffs and thus become more internationally cost competitive.
Since gas from the Sankofa Gas Fields is much cheaper than gas from Nigeria, a Committee of (Energy) Ministers meeting held in Accra last Friday, November 30, 2018, brought together industry players from Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana to among other things, find sustainable measures aimed at implementing a new tariff rate and establishing a new tariff setting methodology that can last for more than three decades.
Credit: energymixreport.com and Oriental News
