Ghana is expected to start producing its own gas in May, 2014, from the Ghana Gas Infrastructure Project at Atuabo in the Western Region.

The project, which is to process 150 million Standard Cubic Feet of raw gas per day from the Jubilee Oilfield, is billed to be completed by the end of April, 2014, four months away from the original completion period of December, 2013.

Dr George Sipa Yankey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gas Company announced this when President John Dramani Mahama on Friday inspected the Gas Infrastructure Project at Atuabo. He attributed the delay in the completion period for the project to some technical challenges that were being tackled.

The CEO assured President Mahama that the engineers had overcome the challenges and were working hard to finish the project by the end of April, 2014. “The overall Ghana Gas Infrastructure Project is 75 per cent complete. The gas processing plant component is 60 per cent complete, while the onshore and offshore pipelines are 94 per and 95 per cent complete.

“Apart from the processing of gas, the plant would separate raw gas into various components such as lean gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas liquid as well as other mineral residues like propane and bitumen,” he stated. The lean gas would then be transmitted through the pipelines to the Aboadze metering station for power generation.

Sinopec of China is the lead contractor for the gas project. Other petroleum companies working on the project are Aecom from the United States of America, Thermo Design Engineering from Canada, Yokogawa from Japan, Technip from France and Worley Parson from the United Kingdom.

Dr Yankey assured skeptics that the Ghana Gas Company and the government were committed to execution of the gas project. He said the completion of the project would reduce the cost of power generation and ensure reliable power supply in the country.

Dr Kwesi Botchwey, Chairman of the Ghana Gas Company said the company was resolved to deliver the gas project according to the specification and with good quality. President Mahama said the gas infrastructure project was critical to the people of Ghana in terms of the numerous petrochemical products that they would derive from it.

He said he was convinced that the gas infrastructure project would be completed by the said date for Ghana to start producing its own gas by the middle of next year. "I am convinced by the middle of next year, we should start producing our own gas."

President Mahama commended the engineers and management of the project for bringing the project thus far. "Do not rest on your oars, but rather work diligently to deliver the gas at the time that we have scheduled," he tasked the engineers and management.