How Ghana gas saved $207 million after Ghanaian Engineers took over in five years.
The Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) recently disclosed that it has saved a whopping $207 million since March 2017 when Ghanaian engineers and technicians took over the running of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant from the Chinese.
The GNGC was established in 2011 with the aim of building, owning, and operating natural gas infrastructure required for the gathering, processing, transportation, and marketing of gas.
According to Dr. Benjamin K.D. Asante, the CEO of the GNGC, the company has been able to save about $3 million per month, which translates to $36 million annually, by engaging Ghanaian engineers to operate the plant. This has ultimately ensured a reliable supply of lean gas to the Aboadze and Tema power enclaves, and has resolved the issue of frequent power outages in the country.
The GNGC currently produces 330 million standard cubic feet (MMscfd) of natural gas per day, supplying lean gas to the VRA’s twin power plant (TAPCO), TICO Plant, Karpowership, and Amandi Power Plant, among others. Since the Tema enclave started using lean gas for power generation instead of petroleum products, it has significantly reduced the cost of generating 1,000 Megawatt of power from $70 million per month to $33 million, which is impressive.
In addition, the use of gas for power generation has also reduced atmospheric emissions from 8.3 million tones per year to 1.3 million tones, which is in line with the United Nations’ Goal of minimizing green gas emissions. The CEO of GNGC also gave assurance of the company’s commitment to ensuring an adequate reserve margin of gas for the protection of both planned and unplanned outages.
On its corporate social responsibility, the company has completed 152 development projects since 2023 while 301 of them were ongoing across the 16 regions. These include Astro-turfs, mechanized boreholes, classroom blocks, markets, toilet facilities, and community-based health posts.
Furthermore, GNGC has conducted three successful shutdowns for maintenance works at the Atuabo Gas Plant without negatively affecting the supply of gas to the power enclaves.
According to Dr. Asante, the vision of the company is to become a fully integrated gas services firm providing a reliable supply of gas and gas derivatives in Ghana and the West African Sub-region.
It also aims to contribute towards the country’s industrialization process by installing and operating the gas infrastructure required for processing and delivering the product to the market in a safe, cost-effective, and environmentally responsive manner.