The delay in contractual maintenance work between the Ministry of Energy and the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) since October last year, due to a lack of funds from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, was very unfortunate and nearly drove the country into another period of load shedding. The timely intervention by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) emergency response, providing crude oil and other alternative sources of gas to power the plants, assured stability until the maintenance is over.
Energy Policy Analyst Benjamin Nsiah discussed this on the Adekyee Mu Nsem morning show on Ahotor 92.3 FM, hosted by Citizen Kofi Owusu in Accra. He believes that the previous government did not put adequate systems in place for buying and storing enough crude oil, light oil, and gas since last October when it was time for maintenance.
The unfortunate rescheduling of the maintenance exercise to February has given the NDC government time to adequately prepare and prevent any load shedding.
In another development, the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) has initiated preparatory works ahead of its mandatory maintenance shutdown, expected to last for 28 days. According to sources WAPCo’s Takoradi Regulatory and Metering Station at the Aboadze Thermal Plant on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, to assess the ongoing preparations.
WAGPCo West’s Operations and Maintenance Manager, Engineer Benoni Owusu Ayeh, assured that the maintenance work would be completed within the scheduled timeframe.
“We are also using this opportunity to fix our sub-sea valves, particularly in Tema and Cotonou, where we had some issues. Additionally, we will undertake onshore maintenance activities. This is the longest shutdown we have had, occurring once every five years, and we have synchronized all activities to maximize efficiency,” he explained. He further emphasized the importance of the maintenance, highlighting that the extended shutdown was necessary to uphold the pipeline’s integrity.
Meanwhile, WAPCo had earlier announced a two-week postponement of its offshore pipeline cleaning and inspection exercise, known as “pigging,” to accommodate key stakeholder interests. Initially set to commence on January 20, 2025, the comprehensive maintenance work will now begin on February 3, 2025.
Stroy by: Alexander Kukah
