The Minister for Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah- Kofi Buah, has said the country’s benefits from gas resources are expected to scale up upon completion of its gas fields.
The Ghana Gas Infrastructure Project, which has been completed and is due for commissioning is expected to provide about 100million cubic feet of gas (mmscf) a day to power plants at the Aboadze power enclave.
At the opening of the 3rd edition of the Ghana Gas Forum on the theme, “Harnessing Ghana’s Gas Potentials,” Mr Buah said this singular project was already delivering benefits to the economy and when other gas fields were completed, the benefits would scale up.
“Current estimates of our gas resources are about five trillion cubic feet. The benefits are even set to scale up in the coming years if other gas fields being developed are completed,” he said.
He said the country was more excited about the discovery of gas and how it could transform its economy and explained that, “Ghana has entered its Gas era and I believe that step-by-step, we can build a strong industry if you see the line-up of projects that are expected to bring us gas.”
Upcoming gas projects
According to the minister, the country is set to commission a second Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for its Tweneboa-Enyera-Ntomme (TEN) project by the end of the month.
The second FPSO, which is to be christened “FPSO Mills”, he said would sail to Ghana by December 2015 and would not only bring oil but gas as well.
“Mr Chairman, again I share with you my joy of joining the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana to Singapore at the end of the month to commission the country’s second FPSO for the TEN Project. The project will deliver about 60,000 barrels of oil per day and about 60mmscfd of gas,” he said.
Touching on the ENI Sankofa project, Mr Buah said, that was the biggest gas investment in recent times and the first of its scale in West Africa.
He explained that, “the project will produce 180mmscf from reserves of about 1.07 TCF for gas with total investment above US$6billion.”
The Greater Jubilee Full Field development, he said, was also on course to commence production in 2018 with recoverable reserves of about 60mmbbls of oil and 100Bcf non associated gas.
Gas for power generation
The sector minister also added that the advantages to be derived from the development and use of gas for power generation could not be over emphasised as it would provide fuel security for power plants, contribute to significant savings as well as save the country foreign exchange associated with crude imports.
“Apart from the power sector, long term availability of indigenous gas will enable the county fulfill our dream of creating a quantum economic leap within a generation through its preferential usage in transportation, fertiliser and petrol chemical industries,” he said.
Source: Graphic