Company develops infrastructure to support gas imports

September 27, 2013 (Back Page)

A wholly-owned Ghanaian company is embarking on a venture to help meet the growing demand for gas in Ghana.
Quantum Power Ghana Gas Limited is currently developing a Liquefied Natural Gas ( LNG) reception, storage, regasification and delivery infrastructure to support LNG imports by industrial scale gas users in Ghana.
Upon completion, the company’s initiative will provide adequate and more affordable fuel to power Ghana’s thermal plants which would become the major source of power in Ghana’s energy mix when the country achieves its 5000 megawatts capacity by 2017.
  LNG is a natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4) that has been converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport. It permits transportation across longer distances than pipelines.It is odourless, colourless, non-toxic and non-corrosive.
The Workshop
Consequently, a two-day workshop organised by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in collaboration with Quantum Power Ghana Gas Ltd on LNG negotiations for power producers, industrial gas users and general stakeholders in the gas industry is underway in Accra.
It is being run by internationally recognised LNG experts who are leading discussions on global and Atlantic basin LNG markets, commercial and technical agreements involved in establishing an LNG supply chain and key commercial and legal issues that drive LNG supply negotiations.
Participants were drawn from 28 public and private institutions in the oil and gas sector of the economy.
The participants will be taken through topics such as LNG Basics and the LNG Value Chain, Global and Atlantic LNG Markets, Regasification Terminals, Risk Management and Pricing, Commercial Models, LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements and the way for Ghana LNG.
The event is in conformity with the ministry’s agenda of encouraging a creative private-sector-led LNG solution for the country in which power generators could arrange imports of LNG to feed their businesses.
Opening the workshop, a Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr John Abu Jinapor, said there was the need to “facilitate investment and provide a clear fiscal and operational regulatory regime around which you can plan and develop LNG businesses,” and accordingly assured that the government had put in place the necessary measures to promote the LNG sector.
He said the Energy Commission had developed and published a competitive, fair and transparent licensing regime for investment in LNG regasification facilities, LNG importation and gas distribution while the PURC had set out clear processes for setting energy tariffs.
The government, Mr Jinapor explained was “interested in achieving the lowest possible priced LNG, in order to achieve the lowest possible priced power and to make Ghanaian industry increasingly competitive.”
He disclosed that the government was therefore supporting the Ghana Grid Company (Gridco) to embark on major projects aimed at addressing the transmission challenges through progressive replacement of over-aged and obsolete equipment and reinforcement of others including the construction of 161kV and 330kV transmission lines, construction of new substations across the country as well as expand  some existing substations and the installation of capacitor banks.
“Furthermore, the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company are equally being supported to strengthen and improve reliability of the electricity distribution grid,” Mr Jinapor pointed out.