Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, says natural gas presents a middle ground for an equitable and just energy transition for Africa, as the world grapples with energy trilemma.
He said natural gas was relatively cleaner and cheaper as compared to the other fossil fuels, and was the main resource to help support large scale industrialisation in Africa to bridge the poverty gap that has plagued the continent from time immemorial.
The Minister said this during the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) in Accra.
It WAGP project comprises of four States, namely Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Benin.
The meeting of the Committee of Ministers is a platform for reflection, dialogue and collaboration on the matters pertaining to the operations and regulation of the WAGP.
Mr. Jinapor said in Ghana for instance, one of Government’s flagship programmes, the 24-hour economy, which sought to empower local businesses and industries to operate on 24/7 basis could only be successful with reliable and affordable energy supply.
He said since the commencement of commercial operations in 2011, the WAGP had been very pivotal in the supply of gas to feed thermal power plants in Ghana and the other WAGP countries.
The Minister said in Ghana, the pipeline had contributed to Ghana’s ability to expand electricity generation capacity, reduced dependency on more expensive liquid fuel imports, and attracted investment into various sectors, including manufacturing and industry.
Mr. Jinapor said Africa currently holds over 600 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas, and noted that West Africa had an outsized share of this resource.
“Nigeria leads the way with over 200 trillion standard cubic feet. With this huge reserve of natural gas, our sub-region has no excuse to remain energy poor,” he added.
He said the plan to extend the WAGP and the merger with the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) to be constructed from Nigeria to Morocco could extend the benefit of the pipeline to more countries, without jeopardising the existing project and its current beneficiaries.
The Minister reiterated Ghana’s continuous commitment to collaborating with all the WAGP stakeholders to create the right environment and opportunities for the expansion and smooth running of the pipeline to secure fuel supply.
He assured the public that under the direction of President John Mahama, steps were being taken to improve power distribution and minimise the sector shortfalls.
“The WAGP will continue to play a critical role in the energy security of Ghana. This is in spite of efforts in Ghana to increase both oil and gas production; and to build additional gas processing capacity,” he stressed.
Madam Chafari Kanya Hanawa, Director General, West Africa Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA), said the WAGP project had achieved significant successes since commencement of commercial operation in 2011.
“The project has created a regional market for export of Nigeria’s gas, and helped the buyer countries to make significant cost savings over alternative fuels, and has transported over 300 trillion Btu of natural gas across the network to Benin, Togo and Ghana”
“The WAGP has also transported 130 trillion Btu of gas from Takoradi to Tema, and that after years of loss making, WAPCo began paying corporate income tax to the four countries in 2024; it paid a total of US$7.2 million, just to mention a few,” she added.
She said despite the successes, many challenges remained to be resolved in order to make WAGP more reliable, more attractive and larger.
Madam Hanawa said fundamentally, these included amending the WAGP Acts in some States Parties to, among other things, extend the tax holiday for WAPCo, and give the WAGPA the power to regulate all shippers on the WAGP value chain.
GNA
