Tullow to suspend gas export to Atuabo for two weeks

Europa

January 20, 2017 7:55 AM

The move is to enable works on inter-connection between the Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) fields and the Jubilee Field for gas exportation from the FPSO Atta Mills.

Tullow Ghana Limited, operators of Ghana’s main oil and gas exploration field, has announced that it will from February 3, 2017, begin a 15-day shutdown of operations at its offshore Jubilee Oil Field.

The interconnection when done will also enable evacuation and export of additional natural gas from the TEN fields through the 58-km offshore pipeline of the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) to its onshore Atuabo Gas Processing Plant.

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The shutdown will result in the immediate halt of production and export of natural gas from the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah to Atuabo.

It will further lead to the curtailment of lean gas from Atuabo to the Aboadze Thermal Enclave, which at the moment relies on gas from Ghana Gas to generate power.

However, the Corporate Communications Manager of Ghana Gas, Mr Alfred Ogbamey said he is hopeful that loadshedding will not occur during the period.

“All stakeholders and partners along the gas production value chain have been informed and prepped for this. We anticipate that other stakeholders and the VRA, which has long been aware of this and captured it in their 2017 gas forecast, have put in place adequate measures to avert the consequential effect of the TEN inter-connection,” he said.

He, however, indicated that the country could go through some challenges, as“VRA is presently unable to offtake their nominated volumes.”

He said: “Tullow and Ghana Gas have been ready to supply Aboadze with 90 million standard cubic feet of gas a day for a while, but Aboadze’s TAPCO plants are out for maintenance. This has reduced VRA’s lean gas offtake since January.”

He added that with the curtailment of gas supply, the Ghana Gas will also interconnect its installed second De-ethenized Overhead Compressor at Atuabo.

“That will ensure that Atuabo will operate continuously without the need for 4000-hours scheduled maintenance disruptions. When one compressor has to be serviced after 4000 hours of operation, we’d now be able to switch onto the other and carry out works without halting production,” Mr Ogbamey explained.

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