Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, John Abdulai Jinapor, has described as completely false and baseless, claims by the Director of Public Affairs at the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), Mr. Ernest Owusu Bempah, that the Sankofa Gas is the most expensive gas in the whole world.

According to him, the truth on the matter is captured in a document on the Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG) by the PURC which accounts for the various Gas sources and their prices. He revealed that the price per MMBTU for Sankofa is $6.1 whilst that of the Tema LNG which was signed under the Akufo-Addo government is $8.32.

Clearly from this, Mr Jinapor stated that the claim by Mr Owusu Bempah that the Sankofa Gas (OCTP) price is the most expensive in the world is false and “can only be a figment of his own imagination”.

“The claim by the Director of Public Affairs at the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), Mr. Ernest Owusu Bempah, on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, that the Sankofa Gas is the most expensive gas in the whole world is completely false and baseless.”
John Abdulai Jinapor

In addition, Mr Jinapor noted that the Sankofa field has been supplying about 210MMBTU per day which is in excess of the contractual volume of 170MMBT per day. Therefore, he explained that it is “warped logic” for Mr Bempah to make the wild claim that the government has paid some “phantom $3.6bn on a so-called take or pay charges” in relation to the Sankofa project.

“For the record, The World Bank is supporting the Sankofa Gas Project with a $500 million payment guarantee for the payment obligation under the Gas Sales Agreement.”
John Abdulai Jinapor

Terms of deal on Sankofa Gas

Mr Jinapor indicated that the International Finance Cooporation, which is the World Bank Group’s private sector investment arm, was one of the Lead Arrangers in a bank consortium that mobilized more than $1 billion, including $300 million from IFC, while the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency provided a $217 million Political Risk Insurance for the successful implementation of the project.

Owing to this, he stated that it is “complete hogwash” for the Director of communication to make the wild allegation that the IMF kicked against the project which has contributed significantly towards providing power at a cheaper price.

“As it is the case, the Ghana National Gas Company is currently saving Ghana about $300m and providing almost half of our LPG needs in Ghana. It takes visionary leadership to think through such a project.”
John Abdulai Jinapor

It will be recalled that Mr Bempah stated that government has so far paid an amount of $3.6 billion in the past seven years for an alleged ENI Sankofa gas pipeline deal signed by the Mahama administration. He explained that on a monthly basis, Ghana is paying $46 million, making it $552 million yearly.

The Director of Public Affairs at the Ghana National Gas Company Limited (GNGC), Ernest Owusu Bempah, highlighted that the Akufo-Addo government had no choice but to continue with the contract when it came into office because of the terms and conditions.