(Ecofin Agency) - The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), has advised the Ghanaian government to consider buying gas from other suppliers in Nigeria after N-Gas, which delivers gas via the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo), failed to meet the agreed volumes.

N-Gas under the agreement with Ghana is to supply 120 Mmscf/d of gas, but instead the company supplies an average of 30 Mmscf.

According to the Executive Director of ACEP, Mohammed Amin Adam (photo), the contract permits third party access on the pipeline, therefore the need to think of the alternative as indigenous gas production was not sufficient to feed the country’s rising gas demands.

“If N-Gas is not giving us much of the gas, we should be able to negotiate with other suppliers in Nigeria and the agreement on the West African Gas Pipeline allows for third party access to the pipeline. So you can negotiate with other suppliers in Nigeria who can supply you through the same West African Gas Pipeline without breaking the law or breaching the contract,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Volta River Authority (VRA), the country’s power producing company has said that it had thought about purchasing gas from third party sources excluding WAGPCo.

A source from VRA has said that the shortage in the supply of gas from Nigeria was due to vandalism on some pipelines in Nigeria, and not as a result of the country’s arrears to N-Gas.

Ghana’s present demand for gas is estimated to rise to approximately 400 Mmscf but gas output from native gas companies is not sufficient to feed this demand.

The gas processing plant at Atuabo can produce 120 Mmscf/d of gas but the plant is currently supplying an average of 80,000 Mmscf/d. Some volumes of gas is also anticipated from the Tweneboa-Enyera-Ntomme (TEN) fields which began operation this year, producing 80,000 Mmscf/d.

Anita Fatunji