Ghana doubles its Gas production

In 2019, gas production witnessed its greatest boost since the inception of natural gas production in Ghana with a total of 169,509 million standard cubic feet of associated and non-associated gas produced from all fields in 2019, an 85% increase over 2018’s volume of 91,459 MMSCF.

While the Jubilee field has produced the highest volumes since 2014, this trend was reversed for the first time in 2019 with the Sankofa field contributing the highest volume of 69,942 MMSCF, this translating to 41% of total output.

By the end of 2019, Ghana Gas was owing Ghana National Petroleum Corporation some US$668.118 million, basically because Volta River Authority, which off takes most of the lean, processed gas produced by Ghana Gas, could not pay for it, being in turn owed by GridCo, the electricity transmission company which itself is in turn owed by Electricity Company of Ghana, the retail electricity distributor. Completing this chain of indebtedness is the debt owed ECG by customers, state institutions, private enterprises and households alike.

Ghana Gas has been working hard to expand and diversify its customer base. In 2019 alone it added on three new off takers – Independent Power Producers all – and is now shipping gas from Takoradi where it is processed to Tema where demand is highest through reverse flow along the West Africa Gas Pipeline. However gas supply still far outstrips demand – in 2019 57% of all the gas produced from Ghana’s three operating gas fields was either re-injected or flared.

On the upside though the 2018 price of lean gas was slashed by 31.23% in 2019, making fuel for thermal power generation cheaper and improving the economic viability of IPPs in Ghana. Instructively more and more heavy industries are seeking and are being given bulk gas supplies directly by Ghana Gas.