Alex Mold is worried about a government regasification contract

General News of Monday, July 15, 2019

Source: ghanacrusader.com

2019-07-15

An expert in finance and energy warned the government against the lack of transparency of all agreements signed with Helios / China Harbor Engineering and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, as well as the Rosneft LNG regasification project.

Alex Mold, former CEO of GNPC, said he was concerned about the apparent lack of world-clbad technical, commercial and legal advisors from all LNG regasification project agreements signed a year ago in the name of government, given the short trading period suggesting a need to hurry up.

Helios and China Harbor Engineering and GNPC are building a terminal for the regasification project, which will be managed by Tema LNG Terminal Company.

Last June, the GNPC signed a new agreement with Rosneft on the sale and purchase of gas for the same natural gas supply contract it had signed with Gazprom in September 2017.

The energy experts then raised many questions about what required the repeal of the Gazprom contract and the costs badociated with the repeal of this contract.

"It has now been a year since stakeholders, including Parliament and civil society, do not receive a lot of information on the LNG regasification project from the government, through the Ministry of Energy." 39; Energy or GNPC.

There are more unanswered questions that require answers, "Mold told the media during an interview at the LNG Western Africa 2019 conference held last week in Accra.

"I do not know the details of the contract to re-gas LNG. I did not see any agreement. I think he's supposed to build a breakwater. I do not know who bears the cost of the breakwater, whether it is the government as GHAPOHA or it is transferred to the project.

"If the project is to be transferred, we have to look at the overall economic situation. We must examine the supply of gas to the breakwater.

"But it is very interesting that a transaction of this size, magnitude and difficulty is signed within three months. It's something we need to look at. We must make sure that all the I's are dotted and that the Ts are crossed. This involves calling on the right consultants to make sure the feasibility is done before any decision is made. It also requires understanding what security structure is behind the transaction and what commitment Ghana has made to the project. Then time will tell.

Mr. Mold added, "It is understood that the Ministry is levying approximately 250 million cubic feet through the GNPC on all the power plants in the Tema enclave. Although it is believed that GNPC is not directly involved in terminal issues, GNPC would have signed an agreement with the terminal company to guide the eventual takeover of the terminal (as an entity). BOOT); However, the details are unclear and it is difficult to know who the EPC contractors are, apart from the fact that the GSA is between Rosneft and GNPC.

The completion of the project is scheduled for the second half of 2020, but based on a study of gas demand and supply forecasts, it is estimated that a gas surplus has increased to about 2028 ", did he declare. the national gas aggregator appointed by the government, but it is suggested that the new gas bill to be approved by Parliament proposes Ghana Gas (GNGC) as aggregator. "