West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) will temporarily suspend natural gas transportation from Nigeria to Togo and Benin from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1 due to maintenance and modernization work on the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), the company said.
WAPCo, which operates the pipeline transporting gas from Nigeria through Benin, Togo and Ghana, said in a statement issued on Aug. 21 that the work was aimed at maintaining the integrity of the infrastructure, improving reliability and upgrading equipment.
In Togo, the work will include replacing the subsea valve on the Lome lateral and inspecting the pipeline, WAPCo said.
In Benin, the company will conduct an internal inspection of the Cotonou lateral and carry out work to interconnect its network with BGTS.
In Nigeria, the work will focus mainly on replacing valves at Itoki and the Lagos Beach Compressor Station (LBCS). Installation of the NGIC metering system is also planned at the Itoki site.
The maintenance will temporarily suspend gas flows from Nigeria through the regional network.
The interruption could put additional pressure on Togo’s power supply, as some of the country’s electricity generation relies on gas-fired power plants supplied through the WAGP.
Togo has experienced repeated disruptions to electricity supply this year, including outages linked to maintenance at thermal power plants.
Ghana will continue to receive gas supplied from the western section of the pipeline to Tema, WAPCo said, although the country’s overall gas supply will be reduced during the maintenance period.
WAPCo describes the WAGP as the first regional natural gas transmission network in sub-Saharan Africa. The pipeline links Nigeria with Benin, Togo and Ghana.
The company said the maintenance programme was intended to improve the safety, reliability and resilience of the infrastructure.
For Togo, maintaining a reliable gas supply is important for power generation as the country seeks to strengthen its electricity system.
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