Menu

The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) has suspended gas supply to Ghana because of the failure of the Ghanaian government to settle outstanding debts, Harriet Wereko-Brobby, WAPCo’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Wereko Brobby said the Volta River Authority, Ghana’s state power firm, still owes N-Gas consortium – which is led by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – around $180 million, while the N-Gas consortium in turn owes Wapco about $104 million.

The WAPCo spokeswoman said the recent suspension of gas supply to Ghana would be the first time the pipeline has been closed because of unpaid gas bills. Wapco supplies up to 25 percent of Ghana’s gas supply.

Last October, Ghana’s former power minister, Kwabena Donkor, had reached an agreement with the NNPC-led N-Gas consortium in Abuja to settle its debts in three installments. However, the Ghanaian government appears to have reneged on the terms of the deal.

With the suspension of WAPCo’s gas supply, the Ghanaian government may be forced to rely on other sources of imported gas to boost power supply given low water levels at the country’s main hydroelectric plants.

Ghana’s growing electricity shortages may cause more problems for the government of President John Dramani Mahama, who had promised to end blackouts before the general elections in November this year.

WAPCo is the operator of the West Africa Gas Pipeline, which transports natural gas from Nigeria to customers in Benin, Togo, and Ghana.

The company is a public-private partnership that is owned by Chevron West African Gas Pipeline Ltd (36.9%); NNPC (24.9%); Shell Overseas Holdings Limited (17.9%); Takoradi Power Company Limited (16.3%), Societe Togolaise de Gaz (2%); and Societe BenGaz S.A. (2%).