Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) has commenced the process of adding a second gas processing plant to increase the national processing capacity to 450 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).
The plant, to be known as Train Two, of the Gas Processing Plant (GPP), will be constructed at a cost of $700 million and comes with a nominal capacity of 150mmscfd, expandable to 300mmscfd.
It will provide enough capacity for Ghana Gas to process incremental natural gas volumes from the Greater Jubilee and Tweneboa, Enyera and Ntomme (TEN) fields.
Signing
GNGC yesterday signed an implementation agreement with a consortium to pave the way for the execution of the project.
The consortium includes the Integrated Logistic Bureau Ghana Limited and John Moore International Limited.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Gas, Dr Ben K. D. Asante, signed on behalf of the processing company, while a representative of the consortium, Hilton John Mitchell, signed on behalf of the consortium.
The project, sited at the west wing of the existing GPP Train 1 at Atuabo in the Western Region, is expected to be executed within 24 months.
Other features
The natural gas liquids (NGLs) will be fractionated into pure components such as propane, butane, pentane and stabilised into condensate components.
The project will also include a storage facility, additional compressor package at Atuabo Mainline Compressor station and utilities and liquid waste treatment system.
It is said to be critical in meeting the country’s energy demands and play a key role in the country’s industrialisation agenda.
After signing the agreement, Dr Asante stated that the company was incorporated in 2011 with the mandate to gather, process, transport and market gas.
“We are here today because we want to expand our existing infrastructure to meet the demands of the economy,” he said.
“Currently, we continue to process daily about 120mmscfd. We are extracting about 40 to 50 per cent of the inherent liquids of the raw natural gas supplied to us by our upstream partners. With this, we are able to generate close to 350 megawatts of power on a daily basis with the gas that comes from the Train 1,” Dr Asante stated.
Considering the importance of the new project to the economy, the Ghana Gas CEO said even with the first processing plant, the company was able to generate 300 tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) a day.
“So you can imagine how things will look when we go to the second processing plant,” he added.
Importance of new project
The key difference between the two plants, Dr Asante added, was the usage of turbo expansion which would enable the company to extract more LPG from the raw gas.
“With this technology, we intend to double the liquid output that is currently on stream. So we are doubling LPG, condensers, etc. It is really significant, with our current operation, GNGC supplies close to 40 per cent of LPG we consume in the country,” he stated.
Dr Asante said when the second plant was completed, it would put an end to the importation of LPG and save the country a significant amount of foreign exchange.
The country, the Ghana Gas CEO said, used 90 per cent of the gas produced for power generation and, therefore, the move would be a major boost in the power sector and end “dumsor” in the country.
The gas project, Dr Asante added, would help in the production of fertiliser which was an essential commodity in agriculture and decrease its importation in the country.
A Deputy Minister of Energy, Andrew Agyapa Mercer, assured the company of the government’s continuous support to enable it execute its mandate effectively.
Gas as transitioning fuel
The Board Chairman of Ghana Gas, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, noted that natural gas would undoubtedly become the key energy transition fuel for the country and as such, Ghana Gas was resolved to play a leading role in harnessing and diversifying natural gas utilisation for the socio-economic development of the country.
The board chairman commended the staff for their zeal to achieve the milestone and ensure that the project materialised.
Mr Agyapong also commended the consortium for expressing interest in the project and expressed the hope that all the necessary steps would be concluded for the smooth completion of the project.
Great project
For his part, Mr Mitchell said the project was a great one and needed to be celebrated.
He added that with the resources and expertise put together as partners, the project would be executed on time and at a cost effective manner.
“We expect this to create approximately 1,500 direct and indirect jobs for the Atuabo enclave and also expect that it achieves the desired result of increasing labour and improving labour efficiency in the area,” he added.
