Cost of electricity to homes and factories are expected to be reduced in the coming months following the start of gas production by ENI.
That is the verdict of the Executive Director of the Kumasi Institute of Technology, Energy and Environment (KITE) Ghana, Ishmael Agyekumhene.
ENI last week[3, July 2018] started gas production from the Sankofa field in the Offshore Cape Three Point (OCTP) Integrated Oil and Gas Project.
Calling for an increased in the use of gas to power thermal plants in Ghana, Mr. Agyekumhene stated that the current cost of fuel being used to power thermal plants for power generation in the country should stabilize as ENI begins gas production, which should lead to better electricity prices in the country.
“Gas will help stabilize the fuel cost that Ghana spends on its thermal plants. Gas is also a little bit more stable. It is also cheaper running the thermal plants on gas than on crude oil,” he said.
Commencement of production by ENI is on schedule as the Sankofa field is expected to provide 180 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) for at least 15 years, enough to convert to gas to power half of Ghana’s power generation capacity.
Production started from two of the four deep-water subsea wells connected to the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel “John Agyekum Kufuor”.
After the final steps of commissioning of the offshore facilities, production will gradually flow via a dedicated 60km pipeline to the Onshore Receiving Facility (ORF) in Sanzule, where gas will then be compressed and distributed to Ghana’s national grid.
