Reganosa to Operate Ghana LNG Terminal
Spanish LNG terminal operator Reganosa announced on January 8 it had won a contract to operate and maintain a 1.7mn metric ton/year LNG import facility in Ghana – the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa and Reganosa's first in Africa.
Reganosa will operate and maintain the Tema LNG project's floating storage unit (FSU), floating regasification unit (FRU), as well as a 6-km gas pipeline and a pressure reduction and metering station connected with the existing pipeline network. The FRU, supplied by China's Jiangnan Shipbuilding, arrived on site on January 7 and is on track to start bringing ashore LNG this quarter. Reganosa noted that this marked its first Africa-based project.
The terminal will provide gas supplies to power generation and industrial facilities in Tema that rely on costlier and more polluting liquid fuels. Its developer is Access LNG, a joint venture between Helios Investment Partners, an Africa-focused private investment fund, and Gasfin Development, which develops LNG infrastructure. The partners reached financial close in November last year, after obtaining a $31mn loan from the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF).
"The Tema LNG terminal project supports Ghana’s ambitions to continue on its trajectory as one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, by delivering the energy infrastructure to support accelerated industrialisation," Helios partner Ogdemi Ofuya said in a statement. " As evidenced in similar fast growing economies in Asia and Latin America, the introduction of LNG into the energy mix serves as a catalyst for industrial and economic growth."
Ghana also imports gas from Nigeria, through the West Africa Gas Pipeline. The 474mn ft3/day line delivers gas also to customers in Benin and Togo along the way.