The West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) is a natural gas pipeline to supply gas from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

's Escravos region of the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

area to

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. It is the first regional natural gas transmission system in sub-Saharan Africa.

History

The project began in 1982, when the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

(ECOWAS) proposed the development of a natural gas pipeline throughout West Africa. In 1991, a feasibility report conducted by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

on supplying Nigerian gas to West African markets deemed that a project was commercially viable. In September 1995, the governments of four African countries signed a Heads of State Agreement. The feasibility study was carried out in 1999. On 11 August 1999, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by participating countries in Cotonou,

. In February 2000, an Inter-Governmental Agreement was signed. The WAGP implementation agreement was signed in 2003. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the project were held at

Sekondi-Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indu ...

, Ghana, on 3 December 2004. Construction began in 2005. The offshore pipeline was completed in December 2006 and was scheduled to start operating on 23 December 2007 but was delayed after leaks were detected in supply pipelines in Nigeria. The second delivery deadline was scheduled on 13 February 2008, but regular deliveries were delayed again, when one of the contractors of Willbros was shot and killed in Nigeria by armed robbers. Gas deliveries were expected by the end of 2009 after commissioning regulating and metering stations in Takoradi and

Tema Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most populo ...

, Lagos Beach, Nigeria, Cotonou, Benin, and

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

in May 2008. However, deliveries were postponed again due to an irregular amount of moisture found inside the onshore gas pipeline.

Route

The pipeline consists of three sections with a total length of . The long offshore section starts at the Itoki terminal in southeastern Nigeria and runs through the waters of Benin, Togo and Ghana parallel to the coastline, approximately to offshore in water depths of between and . The Nigerian onshore section of the pipeline connects the offshore section compressor station at Lagos Beach with the Chevron-owned Escravos–Lagos Pipeline System, operational since 1989. It is possible that later the WAGP will be extended to Côte d'Ivoire and in longer term even to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

Technical description

The diameter of the onshore section is . The diameter of the offshore pipeline is and the capacity is 5 billion cubic meter (bcm) of natural gas per year. The pipeline was constructed by Willbros, with Bredero Shaw Ltd applying a concrete coating to the pipeline at its facility in Tema, Ghana. The pre-commissioning services were provided by BJ Process and Pipeline Services. The total pipeline costs around US$974 million, for which the

provided a guarantee of $50 million for Ghana, while the

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...

provided a $75 million political risk guarantee for WAGPo as a whole.

Project company

The pipeline is owned by West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAGPCo), a consortium of

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

(36.7%),

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC Limited is a for profit oil company in Nigeria. Formerly a government-owned corporation, it was transformed from a corporation to a limited liability company in July 2022. NNPC Limited is the only entity licensed to operate in the country ...

(25%),

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

(18%),

Volta River Authority The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana. They are also the responsible for the maintenance of the hydro power supply plant. Establishment The VRA was established by the Volta River Development ...

of Ghana (16.3%), Société Togolaise de Gaz (SoToGaz - 2%) and Société Beninoise de Gaz S.A. (SoBeGaz - 2%). The managing director of the company is Walter Perez. It is operated by Chevron Corporation.

Consumers

In Ghana, provided gas was intended for the

Takoradi Power Station The Takoradi Power Station is a thermal power station at Aboadze, east of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. It consists of three power plants. The Aboadze power station became operational in 1997 and is the first fossil fuel power station operated by the ...

at Aboadze near

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indu ...

, operated by

and the Takoradi International Company's (TICO). As of 2014, however, most of the gas was being consumed in Lagos.

Controversy

Environmental group Friends of the Earth has criticized the project, after local communities in Nigeria complained it would damage land, destroy livelihoods and pollute fishing areas.

Damage by Pirates

On 27 August 2012, the West African Gas Pipeline was damaged when pirates who had tried to board an oil tanker in an attempt to get away from the pursuing Togolese Navy, severely damaged the pipeline with their anchor. For nearly a year, the supply of gas to Ghana, Togo and Benin ceased, causing major power supply problems to the affected countries.

References

External links

{{Portal, Africa, Nigeria, Energy
WAGPCo website

Energy Information Administration, March 2003 Energy infrastructure completed in 2006 Natural gas pipelines in Nigeria Natural gas pipelines in Benin Natural gas pipelines in Togo Natural gas pipelines in Ghana Benin–Nigeria relations Benin–Togo relations Ghana–Nigeria relations Ghana–Togo relations