The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) is considering expanding the capacity of its pipeline in anticipation of increased utilisation due to potential new gas sources in Ghana and Nigeria. The company is planning to expand capacity from 170 million ft3/d to 315 million ft3/d of gas.
Walter Perez, Managing Director of WAPCo, told press in Accra that the company is “proactively moving forward with initial engineering” to facilitate expansion of the pipeline.
“Although gas volumes currently received from Nigeria are significantly below expectation, we envision increased utilisation of the pipeline going forward with potential new sources here in Ghana and likely new sources in Nigeria,” Perez commented.
If the company does not transport more gas from Nigeria to recipient countries, it may transport gas from Ghana to Benin and Togo (and perhaps La Cote D’Ivoire) in the future. The pipeline was contracted to deliver 133 million ft3/d of gas to Benin, Togo and Ghana; however, it has transported much lower volumes of gas than expected due to lack of supply. At the best of times the pipeline provided approximately 40 – 60% of the contractual volumes.
However, the pipeline remains to be “a critical and strategic asset for regional economic growth and integration,” Perez noted. “It is clear that multiple layers of protection are needed to confront the challenges we face on and offshore. In and around WAPCO host communities, especially in Nigeria, indiscriminate sand mining has been a constant threat to the onshore section of the pipeline. Offshore, the company has endured several key challenges, including two major pipeline breaches.”
Edited from various sources by Rosalie Starling