<<Print>>

The Prime Minister of the oil-and-gas-rich island of Trinidad and Tobago says his country is poised to help fast-track the development of Ghana’s hydrocarbon industry with its century-plus experience in the industry. 

Addressing management of Ghana Gas at the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant in the Western Region, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said his country was excited to share with Ghana the benefits of over hundred years’ experience in the oil and gas industry.

“We wish to assist Ghana by offering opportunities for sport in pipeline development, gas processing, electricity generation, and aluminium production.” 

Prime Minister Rowley said: “Trinidad and Tobago has tremendous experience in negotiations and transactions with multi-national oil companies such as BP, Shell, Texaco and we will bring these expertise to Ghana. There is no need to re-invent the wheel. So Trinidad and Tobago will share these experiences so Ghana can develop quickly,” he noted. 

The Prime Minister’s delegation included Minister Stuart Young of the Office of the Prime Minister, Energy and Energy Industries Minister Nicole Olivierre, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, Special Advisor to the PM on Energy Matters, Professor Kenneth Julien, and a host of business leaders from the petroleum-rich Caribbean nation.

Other members of the delegation included Professor Andrew Jupiter and Mr Gerry Brooks, chairmen of the national petroleum company of Trinidad and Tobago and the national gas company respectively.

The visiting delegation was accompanied to Atuabo by Ghana's Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osa Mills, and the Chief Director of the Ministry of Petroleum, Professor Thomas Akabzaa.

Briefing the Prime Minister and his delegation, Dr George Sipa Yankey, CEO of Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas), operators of Atuabo, said Ghana’s premier gas infrastructure development in the Western Region was the product of a multi-national project undertaken by 10 reputable international companies from at least eight countries.

He said the companies included Canadian firm TDE, which fabricated the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant; Micoperi, an Italian company which constructed the Offshore Pipeline; and Sinopec Services, the Chinese state-owned company which constructed the Onshore Pipeline.

Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and other engineering services were provided by Tecnip from France, Woodgroup Kenny from the UK, Aecom from the USA, Yokogawa from Japan, Wolley Parsons, a Ghanaian-US partnership, as well as a Singaporean company. 

Dr Yankey said the contributions of Ghana Gas to the socio-economic development of the Western Region and Ghana, especially in the supply of lean, has been immense. 

He said the company, at full capacity, helps the nation generate about 660MW of electricity, supplies over 50% of the national demand for LPG and remains the only producer of condensates in Ghana. 

According to Dr Yankey, Ghana Gas was presently supplying about 60 million standard cubic feet of gas a day to the Aboadze Thermal Plant due to reduced flow of natural gas from the Tullow Ghana Limited-operated Jubilee field. That enables the Volta River Authority to generate about 240 megawatts of power onto the national grid.

The Trinidadian Prime Minister’s entourage was conducted round the gas processing plant by the Director of Operations, Mr Robert Lartey. 

The Prime Minister, who held bilateral discussions with the President of Ghana and senior government officials and visited the Tema Oil Refinery and the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), has since left for London for talks with British Prime  Minister David Cameron.