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GLNG AFRICA GLNG

ACEP urges Ghana’s government to invest

in associated gas utilisation

THE African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), a gas to meet Ghana’s needs and also serve as a hub
INVESTMENT Ghanaian think-tank, said on July 12 that Accra for small-scale deliveries to other West African
should consider investing in associated gas uti- states. The Ghanaian Times quoted Edmund
lisation as well as LNG imports, as the country Agyeman-Duah, TLTC’s project manager, as
would benefit from making full use of its hydro- saying: “Tema LNG’s year-round supply of gas
carbon resources. will enable the Ghana National Petroleum Corp.
Charles Ofori, policy lead at ACEP, pointed (GNPC) to supply reliable and cost-effective
out during the CSO Budget Forum that crude gas into the Tema power and industrial enclave,
oil producers working in Ghana had burned off while strengthening West Africa’s energy
47bn cubic feet (1.331bn cubic metres) of associ- security.”
ated gas worth $300mn between 2019 and 2021. It is worth noting, however, that TLTC has
He reported that domestic demand for LPG, yet to receive its first load of LNG. The com-
which is made from processed gas, had been pany, which is backed by London-based Helios
rising during that interval and stated that flar- Investment Partners and South Africa’s African
ing had prevented the country from realising the Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM),
value of the gas and from putting it to good use. has repeatedly announced its readiness to take
The CSO Budget Forum is a gathering of civil delivery of its first cargo from Shell (LNG), only
society organisations (CSOs) that seek to influ- to adjust its schedule and then push its target date
ence the government’s budget discussions. back once again.
Ofori acknowledged that significant invest- According to previous reports, TLTC’s ter-
ments would be required to facilitate the utili- minal consists of a floating regasification unit
sation of associated gas from domestic oilfields. (FRU) and a separate floating storage unit (FSU).
But he also argued that the Ghanaian govern- The FRU is capable of handling 1.7mn tonnes
ment’s decision to prioritise the importation of per year (tpy) of LNG, and the FSU can store
LNG via an offshore terminal near Tema was 145,000-160,000 cubic metres of gas. Both ves-
affecting the country’s ability to attract funding sels are already present at the terminal but have
for associated gas utilisation projects. yet to begin regular commercial operations.
In the meantime, he commented, the coun- GNPC has arranged to use the terminal to
try continues to have unreliable power supplies, receive LNG from Nigeria from a unit of Shell
even though the rate of electrification is high. under a long-term off-take contract. Officials
This combination hampers industrial develop- in Accra have said they hope the deal will make
ment, he noted. larger volumes of gas available on the domestic
Tema LNG Terminal Co. (TLTC), the oper- market, supplementing local production and
ator of the LNG import facility, has put itself pipeline imports from Nigeria.™
forward as the best solution to this conundrum,
describing itself as capable of handling enough

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