<<Print>>

Ghana is to start producing its own gas in May, 2014 from the Ghana Gas Infrastructure Project at Atuabo in the Western Region. The project, aimed at producing 150 million standard cubic feet of raw gas per day from the Jubilee Oilfield, is scheduled for completion by the end of April, 2014, extra four months of the initial completion period in December, 2013. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gas Company, Dr. George Sipa Yankey, told President John Dramani Mahama during his inspection of the gas infrastructure project at Atuabo. He told the President that the delay in completing the project within the initial schedule, was due to some technical challenges. He, however, assured the President that the engineers had overcome those challenges and were working hard to complete the project by the end of April, 2014. The overall Ghana gas infrastructure project is currently 75 per. cent complete while the gas processing plant component is 60 per cent complete and the onshore and offshore pipelines 94 per and 95 per cent complete, respectively. Aside the processing of gas, the plant will separate raw gas into various components such as lean gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas liquid, as well as other mineral residues like propane and bitumen. Sinopec of China is the lead contractor for the gas project. Other petroleum companies working on the project are Aecom from the United States of America, Thermo Design Engineering of Canada, Yokogawa of Japan, Technip of France and Worley Parson of the United Kingdom. Dr Yankey assured skeptics that the Ghana Gas Company and the government were fully committed to the execution of the gas project. He said the completion of the project would reduce the cost of power generation and ensure reliable power supply in the country. The Chairman of the Ghana Gas Company, Dr Kwesi Botchwey, said the company had resolved to deliver the gas project according to the specification and with good quality. President Mahama, in a remark, said the gas infrastructure project was critical to the country in terms of the numerous petro-chemical products to be derived from it. He said he was certain that the gas infrastructure project would be completed on the April 2014 dateline for Ghana to start producing its own gas by the middle of next year. "I am convinced that by the middle of next year, we should start producing our own gas," the President said, and commended the engineers and management of the project for bringing the project that far. "DO' not rest on your oars, but rather work diligently to deliver the gas at the scheduled time," he told the engineers and Management.