Barring any last minutes hitches, Ghana would receive its first gas from the West Africa Gas Ltd. (WAGL) LNG terminal currently under construction in Tema on the 1st of July 2017.

This, according to Ole Agerndal, the Project Director of WAGL, is as a result of “WAGL’s decision to fast-track the construction process in order to supply much-needed gas to the plants in Tema.”

Parliament recently approved a Gas Sales Agreement between government and WAGL to supply gas to power thermal plants lying idle in the Tema energy enclave.

The project which involves the construction of an intake station at Tema to receive gas from a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) would also see an of extension of the breakwater at the Tema port by at least 300metres, the laying of an 8km pipeline from the Tema jetty all the way to the metering station, and dredging activities among others.

Speaking to the media after a stakeholders meeting among the partners of the project in Accra, Ole Agerndal, revealed that an FSRU has already been acquired and is currently anchored at the Tema port. WAGL also has an agreement with BP to supply it with raw gas, according to the Project Director.

On the capacity and quantity of gas expected from the FSRU, he stated that the FSRU has the capacity to supply up to 750mmscuf/day although the project would start with the supply of 180mmscuf/day and as and when demand increases, supply would be ramped up. Power plants which could benefit from this gas project include the Asogli (Phase I & II) and the KTPP.

Speaking further on the possible effects that the project would have on the energy generation sector in Ghana and the probability of gas from WAGL being supplied to plants in Takoradi, Ole added that although there is currently no pipeline infrastructure to facilitate supplies beyond Tema, the WAGL project “would have a domino effect as the availability of gas in Tema would possibly see pipelines being laid to connect to Takoradi.”

Ghana, has for some time now gone through a debilitating power crisis that has adversely affected the performance of the nation’s economy. In government’s bid to solve the crisis, several measures were adopted some of which included embarking on a full-steamed policy to rope in the private sector to enter into the energy generation sector.

Although many private sector players jumped into the fray leading to the construction of a number of thermal plans in Tema and Takoradi, the problem has now shifted from the lack of generation capacity to the unavailability of gas to power these plants as a result of the unreliability of gas supplies from the West African Gas Pipeline.

The WAGL project thus comes in handy and on time to supplement other efforts being made by government and other players in the energy sector.