Ghana Loses $720m In Gas Project – Mould

Former Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Alex Mould, has accused government of causing the nation to lose about $720 million by diverting funds earmarked for completion of two major pipeline projects – WAPCO reverse flow and the Karpower Aboadze-Sekondi pipeline connectivity.

According to him, the gas pipeline project was delayed by almost 18 months, even though GNPC had already earmarked funds for these projects.

“The relocation of the power ship from Tema to the Western region should have been completed by mid-2018; according to the initial arrangement and timelines by the previous John Mahama administration which secured and signed the Power Purchase Agreement under emergency. The relocation should have been completed once the ten-kilometre gas pipeline was laid from Aboadzi to the Sekondi Naval Base.

“But the current NPP led administration diverted the funds to bailout Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) in 2017 and this was the main cause of the 18-month delay of the evacuation of gas and possibly the cause of Tullow not meeting its production targets,” he stated.

Earlier this month when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo turned on the valves of the Karpowership for the use of natural gas from the country’s gas fields by the 450-megawatt plant, the Energy Ministry stated at the ceremony the country was losing US$40 million a month for the Karpowership operating from Tema due to the delay in executing the pipeline projects.

“The relocation will save a whopping monthly take-or-pay cost of $40million and projected annual savings of $480million”, it stated.

But the former GNPC CEO said from what the government is saying and by simple calculation, “$40 million multiplied by 18 months is $720 million financial loss to the State due to the delay in executing the pipeline projects.

“And this $720million was to cushion you and I from paying high electricity bills but the government chose to use the $10 0million we left on GNPC balance sheet as at December 2016 to bailout BOST just for their parochial interest” he bemoaned.

Mr Mould further expatiated on how the prolonged delay in relocating the power barge to the Secondi power enclave as against the initial arrangement the former administration handed-over to the present President Akufo-Addo government had cost financial losses to the state.

“The whole issue is that GNPC/Ghana Gas has not been able to resolve the reverse flow in a timely manner to be able to pump compressed gas to Tema enclave from Aboadzi.

”As such Ghana has been saddled with a take-or-pay bill which could only be resolved by an expedited offtake, hence the necessity for Karpowership relocation.

“Unfortunately, some challenges occurred between GNPC and Ghana Gas in 2017 and 2018 which delayed funding of the relocation project.”