The supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), after being delayed in March is set to arrive at the Tema LNG terminal at the end of May, S&P Global Platts confirms.
The project consists of a dedicated floating regasification vessel and a separate LNG storage vessel and has the capacity to import 1.7 million tonnes per year of LNG. The project is backed by Helios Investment Partners and Africa Infrastructure Investment.
According to the spokesman for the project, “the project is operationally ready, and is currently awaiting an agreement between Shell and GNPC on the first delivery date,” S&P Global Platts indicated.
Shell has been chosen as the supplier of LNG under the contractual agreement involved in the operation of the LNG Terminal. Accordingly, Shell said in a strategy presentation in February that it wanted to grow its LNG market footprint by creating new markets.
However, as at May 5, a Shell spokeswoman averred that the company was unable to give any information on timings for the first cargo.
Essentially, the project began construction in 2018 and has experienced numerous delays since. Once in operation, Tema LNG Terminal will operate the USD350mn project for 12 years, after which the terminal operatorship will be transferred to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).
LNG importation and counter findings from ACEP
According to Platts, in March, France-based certification company Bureau Veritas (BV) completed the classification of Ghana’s dedicated LNG regasification vessel, the Torman, which arrived in Ghana from China in January.
Also, the LNG storage vessel, the Vasant, is currently headed for Tema. After being chartered to act as the dedicated storage vessel for the Ghana LNG project.
These notwithstanding, this comes at a time when a number of LNG export projects are largely operational across North and West Africa. But Egypt in 2015 became the first and only country in all of Africa with a terminal to import LNG. Nonetheless, this is set to change as Ghana prepares to begin LNG imports.
However, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), during a policy briefing underscored that the government could save the country the loss of more than $300 million from the supply of LNG.
Among the concerns raised by the Energy think tank, is the government’s repression of existing capacities of domestic sources of gas supply. Also, ACEP indicated that the cost of the LNG is more than imports from Nigeria via the West Africa gas pipeline (WAGP).
Accordingly, ACEP findings show that Ghana has very little industry support for the pursuit of LNG. However, contrary to this assertion by ACEP, GNPC maintains that there is a ready market for the LNG. On this account therefore, ACEP noted that GNPC risks tons of tax payers’ money to serve as an offtaker to the contract.
On top of this, the Think Tank indicated that there was no single binding contract between GNPC and any potential buyer as at March 2021.
