WAPCo yet to start investigations of gas pipeline fault

The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) operator of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) says investigations into the actual problem with the pipeline are yet to start.

Mrs. Harriet Wereko-Brobby, Mrs. Harriet Wereko-Brobby, General Manager, Corporate Affairs of WAPCo told ghanabusinessnews.com that for now the there are only suspicions of the exact nature of the technical problem that has led to the shutdown of the pipeline which has affected the supply of gas from Nigeria to Benin, Togo and Ghana. As a result of the shutdown, there has not been gas supply to the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Sunon Asogli Power Plant, all in Ghana.

As a result power generation from the VRA has been reduced and the Sunon Asogli plant has been shut down, according the Ghana Grid Company Ltd.

The WAPCo made the announcement of the shutdown Tuesday August 28, 2010 and since then power is being rationed in some parts of Ghana under a load shedding programme.

“We need to find a vessel, and that takes time,” she says. She indicated that the vessel that could do the investigations to locate the exact technical problem with the pipeline in Lome “Has been spotted somewhere in Central Africa.” She would however not say how soon it will arrive in Ghana.

“We need the vessel to come and do the investigation and establish the problem, so we would know what to do,” she said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi