Approximately ten miles out from the West African coast, the lay barge Sea Horizon has been welding and positioning concrete-coated pipes at depths ranging from 100 to 250 feet. This is the long awaited West African Gas Pipeline, which will carry Nigerian natural gas through to Ghana, via Togo and Benin – a flagship project marking a new era in cooperation and enterprise for the sub-region.

The legal, regulatory and financial hurdles in realising the project have been formidable, but the $600 million cross-border connection is now close to being completed and almost ready for launch. When operator Chevron, which is leading the development, presses the start button, gas from Africa’s biggest energy producer will flood into the pipeline, providing a ready and abundant source of energy for Ghana and neighbouring states.

The project, which will provide affordable fuel for energy generation, has been described by President Kufuor as a major foundation for regional economic growth and development.

Despite the recent deepwater oil discovery offshore, Ghana remains heavily dependent on energy imports. Having access to a reliable flow of gas from one of its close neighbours will not reverse this, but will surely help to ease the supply situation at a time of high and rising global energy prices. Ghana is expected to save up to 20,000 barrels of crude oil per day by using gas from the pipeline to run its power plants.

Chevron heads the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) alongside other stakeholders including Ghana’s Takoradi Power Company, Shell and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Togo and Benin also hold a small equity interest each.The initiative is supported by the World Bank and a host of other multilateral sponsors.

The arrival of Nigerian natural gas will boost Ghana’s competitiveness. Switching some of the country’s power infrastructure to gas will enhance energy security and at the same time cut electricity production costs, providing cheaper, more sustainable energy.

The 425-mile pipeline will ultimately link to a terminal point in Takoradi, where much of Ghana’s thermal power generating stock is located. Another point of the pipeline will link to the city of Tema to supply Ghanaian industry direct. The pipeline will have a capacity of 475 million cubic feet of gas per day and provide an important new source of revenue for Nigeria, as well as vital energy supplies for Ghana. In theory, it could be extended to other regional demand centres.

Principally located in shallow offshore waters, where it will mostly be invisible to the eye, the pipeline will stretch from the Nigerian coastline all the way to Ghana, with feeder lines along the way. The Sea Horizon is laying the pipes at an average rate of up to almost two miles per day.

One of the more significant aspects of the scheme is its environmental benefits. In Ghana, the opportunity to burn natural gas for power generation or industry is a step forward from a reliance on other fuels, typically diesel or heavy fuel oil. Natural gas is a cleaner burning alternative to these other options.

For Nigeria, the sale of additional gas volumes to Ghana and other markets will help it cut down gas flaring at upstream production sites. Nigeria has been keen to reduce the incidence of gas flaring at its oil and gas fields but has been hampered in the past by lack of available markets in which to sell its gas product.

When fully operational the pipeline could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 86 million tons over the next 20 years through flare reduction and changing to a cleaner burning fuel.