Page 6 - AfrOil Week 33 2021

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil
TLTC and Ecow-Gas hope to make Tema LNG a regional gas supply hub
GHANA
to begin importing LNG without making large capital expenditures or taking out large loans. “Countries can share risk and absorb capacity as demand fluctuates,” he commented.
TLTC is slated to commission Tema LNG in the near future. The terminal will consist of a floating regasification unit (FRU) and a separate floating storage unit (FSU). The FRU is capable of handling 1.7 million tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG, and the FSU will be able to store 145,000- 160,000 cubic metres of gas
A unit of Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Nether- lands) is slated to use the new terminal to supply LNG from Nigeria to Ghana National Petro- leum Corp. (GNPC) under a long-term off- take contract. Officials in Accra hope the deal will make larger volumes of gas available on the domestic market, supplementing local produc- tion and pipeline imports from Nigeria. How- ever, the project is running behind schedule, as Tema LNG is still waiting to finish construction and take delivery of its first LNG cargo.™
TEMA LNG Terminal Co. (TLTC), the owner of the Tema LNG terminal offshore Ghana, is reportedly working with an affiliated firm to establish its facility as a regional gas supply hub.
According to S&P Global Platts, Tema LNG hopes to support small-scale deliveries to other West African countries. It is particularly keen on supplying LNG to Liberia and Sierra Leone, where its affiliate Ecow-Gas, an infrastructure development company based in the Nether- lands, has won the exclusive right to build and operate new LNG regasification and storage facilities in these two countries, Platts reported earlier this week.
As of press time, no information was availa- ble on how much Ecow-Gas might invest in the project or when LNG shipments to Liberia and Sierra Leone might begin. Platts did say, though, that TLTC would support its affiliate by transfer- ring LNG from its storage facilities, which will be able to hold more than 180,000 cubic metres, to tankers for delivery to the other countries. Tema LNG is capable of loading small-scale LNG cargoes in the range of 7,000-30,000 cubic metres economically, so it will be able to support shipments to the facilities that Ecow-Gas plans to build, it added.
In turn, it said, these arrangements will transform Tema LNG into a regional gas hub, capable of importing gas for delivery to Ghana’s domestic market and also re-exporting gas to other West African states. This hub will be able to deliver small amounts of LNG to regional markets either by sea or by land, as it can load both tankers and trucks.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Platts that co-operation between TLTC and Ecow-Gas would allow West African countries
INVESTMENT
Gambia says Block A1 is available again following BP’s withdrawal
Rendering of Tema LNG terminal (Image: Helios Investment Partners)
GAMBIA
GAMBIA’S Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said last week that Block A1, an offshore licence area in the Mauritania-Senegal-Gambia-Guin- ea-Bissau-Conakry (MSGBC) basin, was once
again available for investment.
The ministry made this announcement after
wrapping up negotiations with BP (UK), the most recent holder of the licence for the site.
P6
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 33 18•August•2021