Transportation of natural gas from Nigeria through the West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP) to Ghana, Togo and Benin has saved the countries a whopping $1.237 billion between 2011 and 2022.
In addition, since 2020, natural gas produced at the western part of Ghana has also been transported through the WAGP to the eastern part to feed thermal power plants as well as industrial users in Ghana, which has helped the country to save cost against alternative fuels.
According to the Director General (DG) of the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA), Barr/Mrs. Chafari Kanya, during her meeting with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters in Abuja, between 2011 and end of 2022, the WAGP delivered over 35 trillion Btu of natural gas to Benin, 33 trillion Btu to Togo and 245 trillion Btu to Ghana. This has made natural gas the dominant source of electricity generation in these countries.
Thus, in 2022, natural gas accounted for 63%, 66% and 79% of electricity generated in Ghana, Togo and Benin respectively.
The West Africa Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA) is the regulator of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), a 678Km gas pipeline established under the WAGP Treaty signed in Dakar, Senegal, in 2003, by the Republic of Benin, Republic of Ghana, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Togolese Republic.
Kanya said that the natural gas delivered through the WAGP from inception to the end of 2022 yielded over $123 million for Benin, $114 million for Togo and $1 billion for Ghana.
To ensure that other ECOWAS member countries get access to natural gas through the pipeline, Kanya said that the Authority was working with ECOWAS Commission and other stakeholders within the context of the proposed African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) to extend the WAGP beyond its current reach.
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On his part, the President of the ECOWAS Commission underscored the importance of the WAGP as a strategic regional project which is associated with ECOWAS, adding that ECOWAS was proud of the achievements of the WAGP.
Touray stated that energy security was vital for the ECOWAS region and an initiative like the WAGP was critical to achieving energy security, especially in the wake of the transition to greener sources of energy. He added that the WAGP extension had become more important as more countries in the region, such as Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal were making significant discoveries of natural gas in their offshore fields. He reiterated the Commission’s support for the extension.
Also at the meeting on the ECOWAS Commission side were Dr. Habibu Yaya Bappah, the Executive Assistant to the ECOWAS Commission President; Ms. Anna Wadda, Advisor to the ECOWAS Commission President on Policy and Mr. Chukwuemeka Francis Ezekiel, Communication Officer, ECOWAS Commission. Others on the WAGPA side were Mr. Hamis Ussif, the Director for Market Surveillance and Development, WAGPA, and Mr. Yao Oniakitan Iroko, the Director, Environment, Safety and External Relations, WAGPA.
