The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited, WAPCo, says it has successfully completed the cleaning and inspection of its 20-inch offshore pipeline from Badagry in Nigeria to Takoradi, Ghana.
A release issued by the company in Accra on Thursday, February 27, said the Internal inspection of the 569 km offshore pipeline was completed on Sunday, February 23, 2020, almost one month ahead of the scheduled completion date of March 20, 2020.
The company also revealed that it gathered a significant amount of data during the inspection and will be analyzed over the next couple of months to further provide critical insights and assurance of the overall integrity of the pipeline to support WAPCo’s continuous optimal operations.
“Following the successful cleaning and inspection of the offshore pipeline, WAPCo is resuming the transportation of gas to its customers in Benin, Togo and Ghana. In Ghana, WAPCo is currently transporting natural gas to its Takoradi Regulating and Metering Station only,” the statement added.ADVERTISEMENT
The unavailability of gas from the West Africa Gas Pipeline has been blamed for the irregular power supply that has plagued the country in the past few weeks.
It is however unclear how this announcement by WAPCo will improve the power situation.
The temporary shut down left a number of gas-powered power plants without fuel unable to contribute to the national grid.
According to the WAPco statement however, gas transportation to its Tema Regulating and Metering Station will commence after the completion of ongoing expansion works under the Takoradi to Tema Interconnection Project (TTIP) expected to be operational in March 2020.
“With the completion of the pipeline cleaning and inspection exercise, WAPCo is better positioned to offer reliable and improved service to its customers in Ghana, Togo and Benin in their effort to provide greater access to affordable and reliable power for economic growth,” the statement concluded.
Intermittent power cuts will stabilize soon – Deputy Energy Minister
A Deputy Energy Minister, William Owuraku-Aidoo, says the erratic power supply being experienced in some parts of the country should stabilize soon.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Owuraku-Aidoo, said the state is “looking at just a matter of days to bring this whole problem to an end.”
He explained that challenges with an ongoing pigging exercise “is what is creating the problems that we are encountering right now.”
by Richard Annerquaye Abbey
