Nigeria Gas (N-Gas) has suspended its plan to cut gas supply to Ghana, following the payment of $9.5 million out of $181million owed the company by the Volta River Authority (VRA).
N-Gas had threatened to suspend gas supply to Ghana Friday, October 15, 2015 if the country failed to pay all the debt.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mrs Harriet Wereko Brobby, the Corporate Communications Manager for the West African Pipeline Company (WAPCo), said the amount was paid to N-Gas last Thursday, while discussions were still ongoing.
“I can say that for now, the planned curtailment has been put on hold while discussions are still ongoing, and we at WAPCo in Ghana have received a letter to that effect, instructing us not to carry out the planned curtailment,” she said.
Details unknown
She confirmed that the details of what transpired between N-Gas and the Ghanaian delegation were not known, since the message was simply for the planned curtailment to be suspended.
Mrs Brobby said it was important to note that Ghana still remained its biggest off-taker, and, therefore, it was good that both sides were working to find solutions to the current situation to avoid future occurrences.
“I must say that we are aware of the efforts of VRA to ensure that we did not get here but unfortunately, it has happened but we hope that at the end of the deliberations, both parties would be satisfied,” she said.
Threats
Last Wednesday, WAPCo threatened to cut gas supply to Ghana by midnight yesterday, October 16, 2015 if the VRA failed to settle its indebtedness to the company.
At a press conference in Accra, the Managing Director of WAPCo, Mr Walter Perez, said the decision followed a formal order from N-Gas to WAPCo, the company that transports gas to the VRA.
If the threat had been carried out, it would have worsened the power crisis facing the country.
To forestall the possibility of plunging the country into total darkness, a high-powered government delegation, led by the Power Minister, Dr Kwabena Donkor, and including the Chief Executive of the VRA, Mr Kirk Kwofie, and other officials travelled to Nigeria to confer with the management of WAPCo on a payment plan for the debt.
Our needs
Currently, Ghana’s daily gas needs are estimated at about 450 million standard cubic feet (mmscf) and the national gas company, Ghana Gas’ output currently is estimated at a little over 100 million mmscf, which is not enough to fuel the generating units in the Aboadze and Tema thermal enclaves.
The country currently has associated gas reserves of more than five-trillion standard cubic feet (TCF).
Work is currently going on at the ENI-Sankofa Project while additional volumes are expected to be added to the reserves.
N-Gas
N-Gas is owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Chevron and Shell.
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