First phase of GNPC- power barge ready in September

Accra (Greater Accra), 4 March, '99 -

Accra (Greater Accra), 4 March, '99 - The first phase of the 125 mega watts (mw) power barge being constructed by the Ghana National Petroleum (GNPC) in the Western Region will be ready by September this year. The barge, which is being constructed with a 110 million-dollar grant from the Japanese government, is the first of two barges being constructed on the eastern part of Effaso in the Western region. The second is being sponsored with funds from the US Maritime Administration and is valued at 65 million dollars. Mr. George Aggrey, an official of the GNPC Tano Project who said these on Wednesday, noted that the barge is located in the Tano Basin, adding that associate transmission lines and sub-stations are being built to tie in into the national grid. The project became necessary because of the increasing electricity consumption occasioned by the success of the Economic Recovery Programme. Low rainfall levels have also adversely affected generation capacity of the two dams on the Volta Lake. It has become clear that Ghana cannot depend entirely on hydro- power. The natural gas turbines to be located on barges in the Tano area will be the first gas-fired power generation in Ghana. Mr Aggrey said the barges, which were originally meant for Effaso, had to be re-located at the eastern end of the village of Effaso because of the high noise level, on the advice of EPA. He said "the good thing about the barges are that, they can be run on oil and gas. "Therefore, when the West African gas pipe lines are ready, we will benefit from it". He said there are two transmission routes. The first goes through to Elubo, while the other goes through Asiamah, both in the Western region. GNPC is building a sub-station near the Ghana Ivorian border to tap power from the barge onto the Ghana-Cote d' Ivoire lines. Mr. Carl Okpatta, a geologist, said a project is currently being developed to introduce about 260 mw of additional generation capacity in Ghana, fuelled by indigenous natural gas resources. "Oil and gas reserves in the Tano Fields, situated at 20 kilometres and 35 kilometres offshore south-east of Ghana, are being developed". He said the corporation has since its establishment actively promoted Ghana's hydrocarbon potential to oil companies. The GNPC is currently working in association with Hunt Oil, Sante Fe Energy, Dana Petroleum, Nuevo and YuKong, as well as West Oil who have signed petroleum agreements for oil exploration in Ghana. Mr. Okpatta said Ghana has a few blocks along its coastline, which have not been licensed. They are Saltpond, on-shore parts of Tano and a vast area of the Voltaian basin. "GNPC is, therefore, looking for investors to participate in the programme of developing them into viable and profitable ventures", Mr. Okpatta added. Mr. Okpatta said 953 billion cubic feet of gas is being explored to increase the power generation capacity of the country. Earlier, Mrs Esther Cobbah, Public Affairs Manager of GNPC, said for several years, the corporation was the lone importer of crude oil, adding, "it was something we endured and not what we enjoyed". She said it is sad that a lot of people do not know about GNPC's operations, while others give it bad publicity because of what they personally hold against certain personalities. "The nation must strive at its own agenda and desist from looking at personalities to determine how a body or individual is treated". Ms Cobbah said GNPC is also linking up with countries in the sub-region to establish a strong power generation source.