Ghana National Gas Company Limited is nearing completion of procurement for a third gas compressor to boost operational efficiency and ensure uninterrupted power supply, Chief Executive Officer, Judith Adjobah Blay has disclosed.

Speaking at a media soiree at Alisa Hotel in Accra, Ms. Blay said the new compressor, with a capacity of about 220 MMscf of gas, will enable the company to handle more volumes of gas and create redundancy in its operations.

According to her, the addition is critical to ending power outages popularly known as “dumsor” that occur when the plant is shut down for maintenance.

“What it is going to do is that once in the next 18 months or so we build that compressor, it means that when we shut down the plant now, or the compressor that is existing now to repair it, there will be no power outages,” she explained.

She noted that operational efficiency at Ghana Gas is key because the company’s core mandate is to contribute to electricity production.

“The bottom line to what we do is that we contribute to electricity production, and therefore, if we don’t create the necessary operational efficiency, it will affect the bottom line, which is making sure that we have our lights on,” she said.

Ms. Blay explained that redundancy allows the company to switch to an alternative facility during maintenance without necessarily causing a total shutdown. She added that the procurement is at its tail end and an agreement for the compressor will be announced soon.

“We are almost at the end of the procurement of a third compressor… very soon within the month you are going to hear us say Ghana Gas has executed an agreement to procure a third compressor,” she stated.

Touching on expansion, the CEO said Ghana Gas currently operates about 400 kilometres of pipeline network, including an offshore pipeline that brings gas from offshore to its inlet at Atuabo for processing and transmission to power producers.

She clarified that while Ghana Gas does not process gas from ENI, which is currently about 280 to 300 MMscf, all ENI gas passes through its pipelines.

“We are not only processing the raw gas from Tullow; we are also transmitting the gas from ENI through the plant in Atuabo, our distribution station in Aboadze, through the West African Gas Pipeline and the reverse flow to Tema,” she said.

Report by Bernard K Dadzie Greater Accra Region