Nigeria assures Ghana of increased gas supply

Nigeria has assured Ghana and its West African neighbours - Togo and Benin - of significant increased gas supply in the coming days, as Aboadze has started receiving about 30 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMSCFD) form Ghana gas.

Nigeria's Minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani K. Alison Madueke, in a statement read on her behalf, assured an emergency meeting in Accra of the committee of ministers of Ghana, Togo and Benin that supply will increase from 90 MMSCFD contractual volumes in the next couple of months.

Ghana currently receives about 50 MMSCFD form WAPCo argument by 30 MMSCFD from Ghana Gas, the full commissioning of which is expected to add more gas later.

“Nigeria is unconditionally committed to the objectives of the West African Gas Pipeline”, the Nigerian Minister said.

“Over the last month alone, gas supply to the region has stabilized to about 90 million standard cubic feet per day. This is certainly higher than the 60 million average for the first ten months of the year. The challenges we have seen in supply are gradually being addressed and very shortly we are going to be seeing a significant improvement in both the reliability and growth in supply”, Alison-Madueke's representative said.

Over 200 MMSCFD is expected to be added to the gas stock in Nigeria over the next couple of weeks, which should translate into additional supply for the region, the statement said.

To improve gas supply locally, where demand has equally been soaring – and to the sub-region, Nigeria has been implementing a number of reforms including an increase in the commodity's price.

The Nigerian central bank has also recently intervened by paying gas suppliers over US$140 million, being outstanding debts, in a bid to boost the confidence of suppliers to make necessary investments in the sector.

The Nigerian government has also signed an agreement with the major gas suppliers for an additional 2.6billion cubic feet of gas per day over the next three years.

“As we speak, we have almost completed doubling the pipeline capacities from Escrovos all the way to Lagos…all of these are aimed at ensuring that the region is able to access a significant addition in supply that comes from the centre supply base in Nigeria.

While Nigeria has assured of increased gas supply to the region, the price at which it supplies is likely to go up as it forms a key part of the agenda for the meeting of energy ministers.

The approved tariif methodology for the West African Gas pipeline project provides that for each tariff is reviewed and implemented for that specific time period.