Page 12 - AfrOil Week 06 2023

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

The NGOs said in their complaint that Marsh’s US, European and Asian banks and insurance
involvement with EACOP Ltd violated the companies to shun the pipeline project, and it
OECD guidelines because of the pipeline pro- appears to have persuaded a number of big-
ject’s own shortcomings with respect to human name institutions to do so.
rights and the environment. EACOP is the midstream component of the
They noted that the guidelines called on com- Lake Albert Development Project (LADP), a
panies not to contribute to adverse impacts, to $10bn initiative that aims to monetise Uganda’s
mitigate such problems whenever they occurred crude oil resources. It calls for the construc-
and to promote sustainable development. Fur- tion of a pipeline to carry production from the
thermore, they alleged that Marsh had failed to Tilenga and Kingfisher oilfields, which France’s
conduct adequate due diligence before agreeing TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil
to the brokerage deal. Corp. (CNOOC) aim to bring online in 2025,
As of press time, neither the US State Depart- and it will be heated to compensate for the waxy
ment nor EACOP Ltd had responded to IDI’s nature of the crude.
announcement on the filing of the complaint. CNOOC’s Kingfisher field and TotalEner-
Marsh has also not commented on the matter. gies’ Tilenga field will eventually see yields top
This is not the first time a Western finan- 250,000 barrels per day (bpd), with 216,000 bpd
cial-sector company has come under fire for flowing to world markets via EACOP. The bal-
its ties to EACOP Ltd. #StopEACOP, a coali- ance will be directed to a 60,000-bpd refinery in
tion formed by multiple environmental and Uganda, which will turn out fuels for consump-
civil society organisations, has been pressuring tion in local and regional markets. ™

PROJECTS & COMPANIES
Ghana’s GNGC signs $700mn agreement to

build second gas-processing plant

GHANA STATE-OWNED Ghana National Gas Co.
(GNGC) has signed a $700mn agreement with
its joint venture partners on the construction
of a second gas processing plant, which will be
known as GPP Train 2, at Atuabo.
The project is designed to double the capac-
ity of GNGC’s existing complex from 150mn
cubic feet (4.25mn cubic metres) per day to
300 mcf (8.50 mcm) per day. It may also be
expanded later, doubling its capacity to 300 mcf
(8.50 mcm) per day and bringing Ghana’s total
gas-processing capacity up to 450 mcf (12.65
mcm) per day.
The project, which will be partly financed by
African Finance Corp. (AFC), is expected to be
completed within 24 months. It will process raw
gas, with natural gas liquids (NGLs) being frac- The new plant will complement existing facilities at Atuabo (Photo: GHGC)
tionated into pure components such as propane,
butane, pentane and stabilised condensate com- signing ceremony that the project would enable
ponents from the Jubilee and Tweneboa-Enyen- the company to become a fully integrated gas
re-Ntomme (TEN) offshore oilfields. service company and provide a reliable supply of
GPP Train 2 is being built within the frame- gas and derivatives in Ghana and neighbouring
work of the GNGC’s decade-old strategic devel- countries. He also noted that by-products from
opment plan. It will include a storage facility, processed gas could also be used to manufacture
an additional compressor package at Atuabo fertiliser, which could reduce Ghana’s imports
Mainline Compressor Station and provision of and bolster the domestic agriculture sector.
utilities and liquid waste treatment. GNGC was established in 2011 as a limited
Once it comes on stream, GPP Train 2 is liability company with the responsibility to
expected to boost NGL output by 80% com- build, own and operate natural gas infrastruc-
pared to the existing facility. ture required for gathering, processing and
GNGC’s CEO Benjamin Asante said at the transportation and marketing purposes. ™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 06 09•February•2023