Tema, Aug. 07, GNA - Members of the Governing Board of the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA) who are visiting the country for the first time on Thursday visited the Regulatory Meeting Station (RMS) of the project at Kpone, near Tema.

The members are in the country to ascertain the progress of work and evaluate the commitment made by the four interested partners, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Benin as well as other players such as the suppliers of the gas and the shipping companies.

Explaining the rationale for the visit, Nana Akyena Chairman of the Authority said the project had long been delayed because originally, gas supply to Ghana was scheduled for December 2006.

He said the two reasons identified to have caused the delay were cash flow problems for the subcontract awarded to Willbros Company, a US based company to carry out the civil works and the detection of a pipe leakage at Cotonou in Benin last year.

Nana Akyena said prior to visiting Ghana, all the board members of the Authority had visited the other countries.

Issues, which concerned the Board members at the site, included the procedure for the regulation of the gas when it arrives in December this year and the kind of systems put in place to ensure that gas was delivered on specification.

One hundred and thirty cubic feet of gas equivalent to 20,000 barrels of oil a day, is expected to be generated at the Tema RMS.