Alex Mold warns government against natural gas deal

General News of Sunday, July 14, 2019

Source: Benjamin Owusu

2019-07-14

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, worries about the apparent absence of world-clbad technical, commercial and legal advisors from all LNG regasification project agreements signed a year ago at name of the government, given the short suggest 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. It should also be remembered that, last year, last June, GNPC had signed with Rosneft a new agreement to sell and purchase gas on the same natural gas supply agreement signed with Gazprom in September 2017. This question raised many questions. then by energy experts on what required the repeal of the Gazprom contract and the cost 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 LNG re-gas contract, I have not seen any agreement, I think it is supposed to build a breakwater, I do not know who will bear the cost. " whether it is government as GHAPOHA or whether it should be transferred to the project. If it is to be forwarded to the project, we must examine the overall economic data. We must also examine the breakwater supply of gas. "

"But it's very interesting that a transaction of this size, size, and difficulty is signed within three months, something we have to look at. East is dotted and Ts are crossed in. It's about getting the right consultants to make sure the feasibility is done before making any decisions. "

"It also requires understanding what security structure is hiding behind the transaction and what commitment Ghana has made to the project – time will tell."

It is understood that the ministry will use about 250 mmscfd per GNPC for all the Tema enclave plants.

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 according to a study of gas supply and demand projections, it is estimated that gas progress is in surplus until In about 2028.

GNPC is still 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 an aggregator.