Ghana warns about power cuts as Eni, the Italian gas company, works to increase gas supply
The West African nation said that the Italian energy group Eni would temporarily suspend operations on Sunday at a Ghana gas plant to implement an increase in supply, which could result in power outages.
Ghana, which is the second largest cocoa producer in the world, has tried to boost oil and gas production, both to increase revenue and to prevent fossil fuels becoming stranded.
The energy ministry announced on X that it had reached an agreement with Eni for a 30 million standard cubic foot per day increase in natural gas supplies to 270 millions.
Eni's statement stated that to facilitate the upgrade some operations will be temporarily suspended, which would "impact the availability of natural gas for electricity generation."
John Jinapor, the Energy Minister of Ghana, said that the country would "probably experience some interruptions or interactions" while the plant is offline.
He said: "Once we finish the work, we will stabilise the supply of gas and increase the production of gas. This will improve power delivery."
According to Eni's website, the Offshore Cape Three Points Project off Ghana's Atlantic Coast provides 65% of Ghana's energy needs.
Tullow Oil announced in a press release last week that it planned to increase gas supply from its Jubilee & TEN projects by about 130 million standard cubic feet per day. (Reporting from Emmanuel Bruce, Anait Miridzhanian. Editing by Bate, Robe Corey-Boulet, and Mark Potter.
(source: Reuters)
