Commercial production of gas begins
- By: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu | Graphic Online
- Apr 2, 2015
- 2 min read
The Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) has begun commercial production of gas from the Jubilee Fields after successfully completing the commissioning of the $1 billion Western Corridor gas infrastructure development project in the Western Region.
As of last Monday, the company was producing and supplying about 80 million standard cubic feet (mscf) of gas to the Aboadze Thermal Plant in the Shama District.
The official completion of the commissioning process, which involved checking, inspecting and testing of the integrated systems and facilities of the project for functionality, reliability and safety, ended on March 31, 2015.
The facilities include the Offshore Pipeline, the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant and the Onshore Pipeline.
Energy Commission
The Energy Commission, after a satisfactory process, has consequently granted the company a temporary permit to commence commercial production of energy.
However, according to the Corporate Communications Manager of Ghana Gas, Mr Alfred Ogbamey, the attainment and sustenance of maximum production of the various gas products could only be achieved if the downstream offtakers or power-generating companies were ready to utilise entire volumes produced.
“It’s important to note that commissioning completion does not necessarily imply that the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant will be operating at maximum capacity. Maximum capacity operation of the plant is driven mostly by downstream offtake and upstream supply.
“As indicated by the CEO of TICO during the President’s working visit to the Western Region last week, the Takoradi International Company is working hard to bring on-stream some of their turbines to increase offtake of Atuabo gas in the coming weeks.”
The benefits
He said the current 80mscf was helping the Volta River Authority (VRA) to generate about 320 megawatts of electricity from three turbines at Aboadze.
Mr Ogbamey said Atuabo was presently supplying 300 tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) daily out of its projected maximum 500 tonnes capacity onto the domestic market, while 30 tonnes of condensates were produced daily for power generation in the Tema enclave.
“It is important to note that with constant supply of gas to the thermal units, Ghana Gas would save the country huge foreign exchange used for the importation of light crude oil and LPG,” he added.
Source: Graphic.com
By: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu
