Tullow Ghana flares 75 million cubic feet of gas daily

Tullow Ghana has flared 1,500 million standard cubic feet of gas since the break down of the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah on July 3.

According to the Director of Oil and Gas at the Environmental Protection Agency Kojo Agbenor Efunam, it is prudent to reduce oil production in order to decrease the flaring of gas from the jubilee field.

Mr. Agbenor Efunam, said EPA had permitted Tullow to flare gas due to the breakdown of the compressor on the FPSO, which the company says will most likely be fixed by mid-August 2015.

"As at third July, they started flaring, Daily we are looking at 75 million standard cubic feet"

In 2014, Tullow Oil Ghana was permitted by the EPA, to flare 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per month between June and October .

This was due to the delay in the completion of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant in the Western Region.

"If you are having problem processing the gas and you are producing more, then that means you are going to flare more gas. So it's a kind of a balancing situation so that the minimum amount of gas that you want to flare will also go with the production" Mr. Agbenor Efunam explained.

Tullow is expected to flare 1,575 million standard cubic feet of gas within a period of three weeks.

The Atuabo Processing Plant is currently not operating due to a breakdown of the FPSO, making it impossible to supply gas to the Volta River Authority's thermal plants at Aboadze in Takoradi.

This has resulted in the increase of the current power deficit from 400 to 600 megawatts.

The EPA says it is monitoring the amount of flaring to prevent any environmental hazards.