An average of 80,000 MMBtu per day have reached Ghanaian terminals since January along the West African Gas Pipeline system, Ghana’s Energy Minister Oteng Adjei told parliament, according to a release from the Finance Ministry.
Daily deliveries have ranged between 120,000 MMBtu to none at all, he said, according to the release.
The system, which runs offshore from Nigeria to terminals in Benin, Togo and Ghana, has an intended initial capacity of 170,000 MMBtu per day, according to its Web site, but has suffered problems since it started in 2008.
Flows on the 678-km line were interrupted for about a year in 2009 due to vandalism of supply lines in Nigeria, where energy infrastructure is routinely targeted by rebels angered over unequal distribution of wealth.
The pipeline was designed to transport gas from Nigeria’s oilfields to ease chronic power shortages around West Africa, seen as a hindrance to the region’s development.
The pipeline is owned by consortium of companies including Chevron , Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and Shell, along with local power companies.
Ghana’s dependence on the line is expected to shrink in coming years as it exploits natural gas reserves held in its offshore oil fields, which began producing in December.
