(Ecofin Agency) - In Ghana, following the notice of the closure of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant on January 3, an energy analyst Kojo Poku on Thursday revealed that gas from the Jubilee oil fields will be flared for the period that the Plant will be shut down.

According to Poku, the flaring is compulsory as the country lack a gas storage facility and natural gas can only be stored when it is liquefied.

“We don't have the facility to store gas in Ghana because it's very expensive; you have to build a whole facility to compress the gas to become liquid and store it. So, when Atuabo is shut down for maintenance, the gas from the well has to be flared because if you keep it in the wells, there will be a blow-up because there'll be pressure build-up in the wells and it will blow up the pressure valves which they have, so, they'll have to flare the gas during the Atuabo maintenance”, he said.

The Atuabo Gas Processing Plant processes natural gas from the Jubilee oil fields and sends it to the various thermal plants in the Aboadze power enclave. Ghana Gas on January 3, 2016, announced to all its shareholders that the Plant is to be shut down from Friday, January 15, 2016, for routine maintenance.

Meanwhile, the Corporate Communications Manager of Ghana Gas, Alfred Ogbamey had said in a statement that the planned maintenance, which is the second since the commencement of lean gas and associated liquids production at Atuabo, is to last for about two weeks. He added that the plant has been operating for over 8,000 hours since 2014.

Anita Fatunji