Ghana secures gas supply agreement from Equatorial Guinea
Ghana has signed a Heads of State Agreement with Equatorial Guinea for the supply of 150 million to 200 million standard cubic feet of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) per day.
The agreement was secured during President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s three-day official visit to that country. The move forms part of measures by government to ensure stable power supply and to guarantee Ghana’s energy security.
The agreement was signed by Ghana’s Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko, and Mr Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines, Industry, and Energy of Equatorial Guinea, and witnessed by President Akufo-Addo and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Briefing journalists on arrival at the Jubilee Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport, Mr Boakye Agyarko stated that there had been previous agreements entered into between the two countries that did not come into effect.
“But this time, we have been given the marching orders by both Presidents to make sure that by the end of 2017 the agreements (for the supply of LNG) come live. The significance of this gas supply is for the stable state of power generation in our country,” he said.
Though unsatisfactory, Ghana has had to rely on Nigeria for the supply of gas from the Nigerian Gas Company (N-Gas) transmitted through the West Africa Gas Pipeline for some time.
Out of the 120 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, as per the agreement with N-gas, Ghana receives, on a daily basis, only 30 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, impacting negatively on the nation’s power generation ability.
Mr Agyarko, who described the arrangements with Equatorial Guinea as “good news,” said Ghana would receive LNG from that country, which can be stored for 21 days and used accordingly to further improve the country’s power situation.
“Properly delivered, this will allow Asogli, for example, to expand its power production from 120 MW and scale up all the way to 580 MW. This will, to a very large extent, stabilise further the electricity generation, transmission and distribution that we have,” the Energy Minister said.
“At the conclusion of the arrangement, it is our faithful expectation that gas, as a feedstock instead of crude oil, will be cheaper in terms of power production. This could mean that once the cost of producing electricity comes down, we will be in a further position to lower the user tariffs that our citizens pay for electricity.
“We are glad that under the President’s leadership and direction, we have been able to come thus far. The nation will begin to benefit from what has happened over this trip,” he said.
Source: GNA