Ghana re-aligning Gas Master Plan into Gas Act to drive deregulated downstream
…Beats Nigeria in flagging off LPG Cylinder Recirculation pilot programme
As part of policy consolidation efforts to deepen the official deregulation of downstream petroleum sector in Ghana, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has revealed that the Ministry of Energy is in final stage of re-alignment to commence legislative consolidation of the Gas Master Plan into a Gas Act.
Speaking at the opening of the third edition of the Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhipCon) in Accra, organised by the Ministry of Energy and National Petroleum Authority in collaboration with the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, he noted that expected law was an important requirement for the development of Ghana into a petrochemical hub in the West African sub-region.
According to him, the proposed Gas Act would provide an enabling environment and appropriate incentives for investors and assured of government’s resolve to make the security of gas supply as feedstock for petrochemical plans a priority.
Dr. Bawumia also announced the planned commencement of the pilot implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Model under the National Liquefied Petroleum Gas Promotion Policy in October this year.
He said the policy seeks to ensure that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) consumers have access to safe, efficient, affordable and environmentally-friendly LPG for commercial, industrial and domestic use by 2030.
Already, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has assured that the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company is currently producing 37,000 cylinders needed for the pilot project in October this year, in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region and Kwaebibirim in the Denkyemboa District of the Eastern Region.
Recall that Nigerian has similar scheme but has been delayed by logistics issues in the capacity of indigenous cylinder producing firms to meet target time and standard delivery specifications over the years.
The Vice president further averred that the procurement of natural gas from domestic sources has been secured under the regulation governing domestic supply obligations of upstream gas producers.
Accordingly, he urged investors to take advantage of the favourable petroleum market environment in Ghana to invest in infrastructure such as oil jetties, pipelines and distribution facilities, as well as refineries, gas processing plants, storage and loading gantries.
Dr. Bawumia added that the downstream petroleum sector has witnessed significant investment and expansion of petroleum products and outlets facilities since deregulation, stressing that “As a country, our vision for the petroleum downstream industry is to ensure that Ghana becomes a key player in the downstream petroleum industry in the West African sub-region. To this end, government is also working on Petroleum Transportation Infrastructure Master Plan aimed at enhancing the pace of infrastructure sourcing, with a regional context in mind.”
He disclosed that the Plan would facilitate the demand of an alternative transportation infrastructure for petroleum products such as railway lines, pipelines and river badges, to major demand centres across the country and link the sub-regional markets to further deepen the regional integration agenda.
