We’ll boycott transportation of gas from Atuabo – LPG Truck Drivers

The Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Truck Drivers has threatened to boycott the transportation of gas from the Atuabo Gas Plant until the high propane content in gas from their production is resolved.

The Ghana Gas Company, on Monday held a Presser and disputed allegations by the LPG Truckers that high pressures from gas produced by the company caused the leakage that led to the Atomic Junction gas explosion.

The Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Asante who addressed the Press conference disputed claims that gas from Ghana Gas is not odorized, hence cannot be detected early when there is a leakage.

He claimed that Ghana Gas adheres strictly to the rules set by the Ghana Standards Authority in the production of gas to avert explosions.

“Ghana Gas LPG is made from raw gas. Its pressure is a little high. But I want to say this again, it is still within the limits of what Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has stipulated”.

But Chairman of the Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Truck Drivers, Mohammed Shafiu reacting to the issues on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM advised government not to take chances with the high propane gas content from Atuabo Gas Plant, insisting authorities must pay attention to the concerns raised about gas from Atuabo.

“Atuabo Gas is causing most of the explosions in the country. Most of the Gas station operators know the high risk of the Atuabo gas, so a lot of them don’t patronize it. They prefer the foreign Gas from Tema.

“We bear no malice towards the Operations of the Atuabo Gas Plant. It’s a national asset, but what we are saying is that they should resolve the dangers associated with it and make it safer for use in our homes. They have to admit the problem we are talking about and work on it. If you conduct a survey and sample views of Gas marketing stations across the nation, you’ll be surprised the kind of feedback you’ll get from those who normally take delivery of gas from Atuabo. We the Drivers will stop loading Gas from Atuabo Plant, until they resolve the issues.”

High propane level

According to Shafiu, the propane in the Atuabo gas is high and ranges between 50% and 70% while butane constitutes the remaining depending on the blend for the consignment.

Also the Atuabo gas has about a pressure of 9 bar unlike that from Tema which has a pressure of 5 bar. It is suitable for industrial use but we have it in the system and being sold for domestic use. The liquid content in the Atuabo gas is very minimal as well.

Atuabo has no smell

He contended that the gas from the Atuabo processing plant is odorless, has no smell of LPG and makes it riskier when discharging the content., which, he said, poses great danger to users, explaining that in the event of leakage at homes, users of Atuabo gas cannot really smell it and puts them at risk.

NPA aware of the challenges

According to him, they have complained consistently about those dangerous developments to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), but to no avail.