The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO), owners and operators of the West African Gas Pipeline, will on February 5, commence the maintenance activities on the offshore section of the pipeline stretching from Nigeria to Aboadze in Ghana.
The exercise which would also be used to change the subsea valves of the pipeline would be completed on March 2, 2025.
Dr Isaac Adjei Doku, General Manager of Corporate Affairs of the company made this known during a media briefing at the Aboadze metering station to promote public understanding of the activities, ensure transparency as well as provide accurate information on how the activities would affect gas transportation services and measures in place to ensure a safe and timely execution of the project.
The Corporate Affairs Manager said the company had begun installing the necessary equipment, including an effluent management system for the project.
Dr Doku explained that, per the West African Gas Pipeline Authority’s regulations, WAPCO was required to clean and inspect the pipeline every five years.
He said the February cleaning would be the third since the establishment of the processing plant and that the first cleaning was done in 2012, the second in 2020 and the third in 2025.
The cleaning dubbed “PIGGING,” is being done to remove debris, dirt, and liquids from the pipelines.
It is also to inspect the internal walls of the pipelines, replace subsea valves and conduct ancillary works needed.
According to him, during the cleaning period, the company would temporarily suspend the reverse gas flow transportation of natural gas from Ghana’s Western Region to Tema in the East and Gas transportation services from Nigeria to Cotonou (Benin), Lomé (Togo) and Tema (Ghana).
Dr Doku indicated that the company would not suspend all its services, adding that an average of about 90,000 mmscf/d of gas required to push the Pipeline Inspection Gauge (PIG) from Nigeria to Takoradi would be transported, which means WAPCO would be transporting gas to Takoradi.
On safety and efficiency, he said the maintenance would prioritise the safety of the workers and that WAPCO has extensively engaged all relevant stakeholders to ensure a smooth and successful project.
“WAPCO engineering and safety teams have worked to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure all activities are completed safely and efficiently as possible.”
Dr Doku explained that most of activities would take place offshore at the two WAPCO facilities that is, WAPCO’s Lagos beach compressor station located at Badagry, Lagos State Nigeria and Takoradi at the Aboadze regulating metering station.
“Our Lagos Beach compressor station is where the cleaning and inspection devices known as PIGs will be inserted into the pipeline, while the Aboadze regulating and metering station is where each PIG will arrive after traveling through the 569 km stretch of pipeline”.
He hinted that WAPCO anticipated only a minimal disruption to the activities of host communities within the vicinity of their facilities in Badagry Nigeria and Aboadze, Ghana as most of their activities would be offshore and confined within the premises of their facilities.
Dr Doku said the exercise was paramount because it was regulatory to ensure safe reliable operations, aligned with industry best practices as well as confirmed the conditions and integrity of the pipeline.
He said the company had engaged the Environmental Protection Agencies in the respective countries and was implementing a world class affluent management system at its facilities in Takoradi where the company expects to receive some effluent from the cleaning of the offshore pipeline.
Dr Doku expressed the company’s gratitude to the governments of Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, and Benin for their support.
He also appreciated the Maritime and regulatory authorities across the four counties as well as its
customers, shippers, gas off takers, host communities and all stakeholders.
Mr Auwal Ibrahim, WAPCO General Manager Operations and Maintenance said “WAPCO is committed to maintaining the proactive stakeholder engagement processes established during the project’s preparation phase and during execution.”
He said the company would continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders on all matters to ensure the project’s safe execution success.
He said though the cleaning exercise was cost inclusive WAPCO would maintain its prices for its customers.
