Ghana Gas deny reports of CEO under pressure to sign dubious $812 million Ghana Gas Phase 2 contract

The Ghana National Gas Company Limited has denied media reports that its Chief Executive Officer is being pressured to sign a dubious $812 million Ghana Gas Phase 2 contract.

A statement issued by the head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu, on Wednesday, May 15 said as a company that owns and operates infrastructure required for the gathering, processing, transporting and marketing of natural gas resources in Ghana and internationally, Ghana Gas embarked on this infrastructure expansion project to process incremental gas flows from the Upstream Partners to meet the rising demand for gas for power generation and industrial use.

Contrary to the claims that the entire process has been shrouded in opacity and corruption, he added that the award of the contract for the GPP 2 project to the selected tenderer, went through a rigorous tender process.

He stressed that the Company has complied strictly with Act 663 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003, as amended, and all relevant approvals have been obtained.

“Indeed, following the approval by the Board of Directors of Ghana Gas in 2021 to commence the GPP 2 project, management applied and sought approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to adopt the Restricted Tender procurement method under Section 38(a) of Act 663 as amended for the EPCC and financing of the GPP2 project.

"In accordance with the Restricted Tender Procurement method, tenders were submitted by four (4) firms, and upon evaluation of their Technical and Financial bids, by the Entity Tender Committee, the selected tenderer was awarded the Contract following concurrent approval received from the Central Tender Review Committee (CTRC) of the Ministry of Finance.

“Accordingly, Ghana Gas and the selected tenderer have signed a Project Implementation Agreement to outline the terms and conditions for the EPCC and financing of the project. The selected tenderer has incorporated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to undertake the project and Ghana Gas is currently in negotiations with the SPV to execute the relevant agreements for the implementation of the project.

“We wish to place on record that there is no external influence being exerted on the CEO to execute the agreements as is being alleged in the Daily Post publication and we urge all well- meaning Ghanaians to disregard any such mischievous publication,” the statement said.

Below is the full statement:

Re: CEO Of Ghana Gas Company Under Pressure To Sign Dubious $812million Ghana Gas Phase 2 Contract

The Ghana National Gas Company Limited has become aware of a publication in the Daily Post newspaper in its Monday 6th, May 2024 edition, and Ghanaweb news portal on Tuesday May 7, 2024 as well as other news media commentaries relating to the caption above.

The company wishes to state unequivocally that there has never been any such occurrence as is being reported by the media houses in question.

Ghana Gas condemns in no uncertain terms such misleading publications regarding the award of the contract for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning (EPCC) and financing of Ghana Gas’ project technically known as the Gas Processing Plant Train 2 (GPP2 project).

As a Company that owns and operates infrastructure required for the gathering, processing, transporting and marketing of natural gas resources in Ghana and internationally, Ghana Gas embarked on this infrastructure expansion project to process incremental gas flows from the Upstream Partners to meet the rising demand for gas for power generation and industrial use. Contrary to the claims made in the Daily Post publication, that the entire process has been shrouded in opacity and corruption, Ghana Gas wishes to state emphatically that the award of the contract for the GPP 2 project to the selected tenderer, went through a rigorous tender process and we have complied strictly with Act 663 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003, as amended, and all relevant approvals have been obtained.

Indeed, following the approval by the Board of Directors of Ghana Gas in 2021 to commence the GPP 2 project, management applied and sought approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to adopt the Restricted Tender procurement method under Section 38(a) of Act 663 as amended for the EPCC and financing of the GPP2 project.

In accordance with the Restricted Tender Procurement method, tenders were submitted by four (4) firms, and upon evaluation of their Technical and Financial bids, by the Entity Tender Committee, the selected tenderer was awarded the Contract following concurrent approval received from the Central Tender Review Committee (CTRC) of the Ministry of Finance.

Accordingly, Ghana Gas and the selected tenderer have signed a Project Implementation Agreement to outline the terms and conditions for the EPCC and financing of the project.

The selected tenderer has incorporated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to undertake the project and Ghana Gas is currently in negotiations with the SPV to execute the relevant agreements for the implementation of the project.

We wish to place on record that there is no external influence being exerted on the CEO to execute the agreements as is being alleged in the Daily Post publication and we urge all well- meaning Ghanaians to disregard any such mischievous publication.

We caution the media to be circumspect with their reportage, verification of facts and cross checking, so as not to harm the reputation of innocent individuals and organizations.

Ghana Gas remains committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in all our operations and would appreciate responsible and accurate reporting in our operations.

Signed:
Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu
(Head of Corporate Communications)