Ghana to reposition petroleum sector to boost economy

Ghana's Minister for Petroleum Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has said an envisaged Gas Master Plan will re-position the petroleum sector to play its core roles in helping to meet the country's economic aspirations.

The plan, which is before cabinet, he said, would be passed before the end of the year to direct how gas is used for power and non-power purposes.

Addressing the just ended 7th Ghana Oil, Gas and Power Summit, Buah noted that the plan would also prioritize the use of gas for power plants above any other consideration.

Ghana produces about 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from the Jubilee field, but expects to triple that volume in the next four years when more gas fields are expected to come on stream.

"All our oil, gas and power sectors have long been recognized as key catalysts for Ghana's speedy ascent to the league of upper middle income countries. It is for this recognition that the Ministry of Petroleum is pursuing a menu of policy goals aimed at strengthening linkages between the oil and gas sectors," the minister explained.

The plan will thus set out priority usage areas, pricing mechanisms, spatial development options for gas infrastructure, as well as make proposals for institutional regulatory reforms.

"Our emerging role in the gas market heralds the development of the local gas market, with the potential to evolve into a regional hub," Alex Mould, CEO of Ghana National Gas Company Limited, told the participants at the summit.

He announced that the GNPC and Quantum Power, a pan-African energy infrastructure investment platform, early this year announced an agreement on Heads of Terms for the construction and operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage, regasification and delivery facilities at Tema, 38 km east of the capital Accra.

The construction of the 550 million U.S. dollar "Tema LNG Project" is expected to commence before the end of this year and will be implemented on a build-own-operate-transfer basis.

"Importing LNG is necessary to complement security of gas supply in Ghana," Mould emphasized.

Source: XINHUA