The Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), the gas aggregator in Ghana, has organised a maiden media training programme for journalists to build their capacity and knowledge in the gas industry for effective reporting.
The journalists were selected from the Western Region, where Ghana Gas operates from, with only five joining them from Accra, the capital of Ghana.
The training exposed the journalists to the technicalities in the gas industry, issues in the industry and steps being taken to address them, especially the financial issues.
Mr Albert Mensah Tandoh, who is the Operations Manager of Ghana Gas, made the first presentation; he focused on effective gas industry reporting.
He took the journalists through the history of Ghana Gas, starting from 2011, and explained why it became necessary to establish Ghana Gas when the West African nation started commercial oil production in 2010.
He walked the journalists through the process of gathering gas, processing and transportation of gas for power generation.
He said Ghana Gas takes the raw gas from the Jubilee Field offshore and processes it at the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant.
He mentioned that the company processes raw gas into lean gas, LPG and condensate, which is a residual product.
According to him, the lean gas is for power generation while the LPG is sold for domestic use, adding that the condensate goes to the Tema Oil Refinery and blend with other products to produce premix fuel.
Dr. Riverson Oppong, the Commercial Manager of Ghana Gas, also made a presentation on “Commercial Operations” of the company.
He touched on the upstream, midstream and downstream of the oil and gas industry.
He explained that Ghana Gas is a midstream company and serves as a link between the upstream and the downstream.
Touching on the commercial structure of the gas industry, Dr. Oppong noted that there are about three structures, which are integrated, merchant, tolling and hybrid structures.
Besides, he touched on the regulators of the gas industry, stating that Ghana Gas is regulated by PURC, EPA, Energy Commission, Petroleum Commission, among others.
Leonard Akuffo Kwapong, who is the Gas Accountant, also took the media through the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) and Natural Gas Clearing House (NGC).
The Cash Waterfall Mechanism was instituted by the Ministry of Energy to ensure that revenue collected from the regulated electricity market is allocated across the electricity value chain in an equitable and transparent manner.
Mr. Kwapong told the media that the two initiatives were laudable but noted that there were still some challenges as far as the implementation was concerned.
Stephen Donkor, the Manager in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility, said Ghana Gas had initiated about 398 projects across the country since the inception of the company.
The training, which was very interactive, provided the media the opportunity to ask questions concerning the company’s operations in Takoradi.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com/