While plans are underway to join the Ghana Gas and the West African pipelines, government is planning another dedicated pipeline from the Western Region to Tema to help evacuate larger volumes of gas in the near-future.
The second pipeline will also serve as a substitute whenever problems are encountered with the West African pipeline.
Chief Director of the Petroleum Ministry, Prof. Thomas Akabza, told B&FT that the project, estimated to cost around US$250million, has become necessary in anticipation of larger volumes of gas and the increasing number of thermal plants in the Tema area.
Technicians, Prof. Akabza said, have determined that up to 350 million standard cubic feet of gas can be evacuated to Tema when the Ghana Gas and the West African pipelines are joined.
Other gas projects, meanwhile, are in the works: the Sankofa project is expected to produce at maximum 170 MMSCFD while some 50 MMSCFD is expected from the Tweneboah, Enyeara and Ntomme (TEN) project in addition to the 120 million from the Jubilee Field.
All that gas cannot be used up in the Aboadze enclave of the Western Region; indeed, Tema is witnessing an increase of thermal plants in recent times -- all of which will require gas to operate.
While the VRA�s 220megawatt Kpon Thermal Power Plant (KTPP) project is nearing completion, Sunon Asogli is working on a second-phase 360megawatt plant.
Another IPP, Cenpower, is working on a 350 megawatt thermal plant in the Tema enclave that will use gas if it is available -- although the project has an inbuilt cost-cover for two other types of fuel, being light crude oil and diesel.
Also to be located in the Tema area are the much-anticipated 450megawatt powerships being built by the Karadeniz Energy Group of Turkey.
The B&FT understands that the powerships will be starting with Heavy Fuel Oil and moved on to gas when it becomes available.
The GNPC has said it is issuing guarantees for the powerships because they will serve as one of the avenues by which it will seek to dispose of the Sankofa gas.
�One of the conditions of ENI for this project [Sankofa] to go on is for GNPC to ensure that it has capacity to take the gas. So this is why GNPC entered into this,� Alex Mould, CEO of GNPC, told the B&FT recently.
�We have to make sure that the capacity is ready to take the gas. If not, then we start paying penalties to ENI for not being able to take the gas. It is a take or pay contract. So far as the gas is available we are supposed to take,� he explained.
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