WAPCO completes 70% of pipeline cleaning

The West Africa Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) announced that maintenance work will finish on March 2, 2025. Currently, 70 percent of the work is complete.

WAPCo operates a 569-kilometre pipeline from Nigeria to Takoradi in Ghana. They temporarily shut down gas transmission on February 5, 2025, for maintenance. This includes cleaning and inspecting the pipeline.

Mr. Benoni Owusu Ayeh is WAPCo's Operations and Maintenance Superintendent West. He explained that the shutdown allows them to launch the Pipeline Inspection Gauge (PIG) into the pipeline. This process is required by regulations for cleaning and inspection.

Mr. Ayeh shared this information during a press conference at WAPCo’s Regulating and Metering Station in Tema. Regulations require pigging every five years to maintain pipeline integrity.

So far, three pigs have been successfully launched from Tema to Takoradi. The fourth pig is expected early Saturday morning. After receiving it, they will launch the final intelligent PIG to complete the process.

The intelligent PIG collects data on the interior of the pipeline. Dr. Isaac Adjei Doku, General Manager of Corporate Affairs, addressed media reports about gas supply issues. He clarified that some gas continues to flow from Nigeria during maintenance.

Dr. Doku noted that gas used for pigging comes through Takoradi for power generation by Volta River Authority (VRA). He also mentioned that they are replacing two subsea valves near Tema and Cotonou.

The replacement vessel arrived on Monday, located 18 kilometers offshore from Tema's Regulating and Metering Station. Lateral depressurization was completed on Wednesday, allowing valve replacement to begin.

Ms. Michelle Burkett, Managing Director of WAPCo, urged media support in informing the public about maintenance importance. She emphasized maintaining pipeline integrity benefits all countries involved.

Ms. Burkett also expressed a desire to strengthen relationships with media for better information dissemination regarding maintenance works.