Ghana will receive an increased volume of gas for the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) as Company announce to improve supply to thermal plants and industries in the sub-region.

General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Harriet Wereko-Drobby,has said the firm is ready to increase gas transportation to turbines and industrial entities, if there is no further attacks on oil and gas installations and its attendant declaration of force majeure on those facilities.

“It has become imperative for WAPCo to increase gas supply to its customers in the sub-region, following the completion of its 678- kilometre pipeline, which is the basic infrastructural facility for moving gas. The firm built the pipeline at $1billion and the term has come to leverage it to increase gas supply to West Africa.

“In view of the fact that gas plays a major role in electricity generation, WAPCo supplies 85 per cent of its gas to power firms, while industries get 15 per cent.”

According to her, WAPCo gets   gas from N-Gas2 owned by the Federal Government, Shell and Chevron, among others.

A cut in gas supplies to Ghana, in the past years had result in a huge power shortfall that worsen the power situation in the country.

But the  Federal Republic of Nigeria in May this year assured Ghana of an increased volume of gas for the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo),

Minister of State in charge of Petroleum Resources, Saidu A. Mohammed, speaking at at the Committee of Ministers (COM) meeting on the West African Gas Pipeline Project in Cotonou, Benin, had revealed that the ramping up of gas supply will be achieved because the Nigerian government is making headways in resolving onshore gas pipeline vandalisation.

And according to Wereko Brobbey, the firm is transporting gas to its customers through its pipeline network, which runs from Itoki in Ogun State to Badagry in Lagos State to Cotonou in Benin Republic to Lome in Togo and terminated at Tema in Ghana.

She said, the firm has entered a commercial stage, in which it has to make commercial value out of gas transportation, adding that  making commercial value out of gas transport was key to the survival of the company.

WAPCo is transporting 70million standard cubit feet of gas per day (scfd) to its customers in sub-region, a feat the firm’s Chief Executive Officer, Walter Perez, has attributed  to the drop in pipeline vandalism.

Perez said there has been stability in product supply as pipeline vandalism dropped significantly and  said the company is on the verge of meeting the demands of its customers.

The West African Gas Pipeline Company limited (WAPCo) is a limited liability company that owns and operates the West African Gas Pipeline.

The company has its headquarters in Accra, Ghana, with an office in Badagry, Nigeria, and field offices in Cotonou - Benin, Lome - Togo, Tema and Takoradi, both in Ghana.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owns 25 per cent stake in WAPCo, making it the second largest shareholder after Chevron West African Pipeline Limited with 36.7 per cent stake.

The Royal Dutch Shell owns 18 per cent stake;  Volta River Authority of Ghana 16.3 per cent and Societe Togolaise de Gas(So ToGas- 2 per cent. She said the shareholders were motivated by the desire to make gas available for users in the sub-region and to also get returns on their investments.

By Fiifi Abdul Malik/ghanaguardian.com