• Ghana commits to end routine gas flaring by 2026, ahead of global timelines
• 28.5 bln cubic feet of gas flared in 2024, equal to 10.4% of national output
• New processing plant and grid integration key to meeting target

Ghana has pledged to end routine flaring of natural gas by 2026, a move reported by local media on September 18 as faster than international deadlines.

The country still burns a significant share of its production. The Public Interest and Accountability Committee’s (PIAC) 2024 annual report shows that 28.5 billion standard cubic feet of gas were flared, equal to 10.4% of volumes extracted from the Jubilee, TEN, and Sankofa-Gye Nyame fields.

This stems from limited treatment and transport capacity. The Atuabo processing plant can handle 150 million cubic feet per day, while national production averages over 760 million cubic feet daily.

Between January and July 2024, operators Tullow, Eni, and Kosmos flared nearly 33 million cubic feet per day on average, even though gas is central to Ghana’s power generation. Installed capacity reached 5,260 MW in November 2024, with nearly two-thirds supplied by gas-fired plants, according to the Energy Commission.

The plan to end flaring, combined with the construction of a second gas processing plant, is designed to close the gap. Data from 2024 show that achieving this goal will require new investment in gas infrastructure and stronger integration of associated gas into the national energy system.