30 August 2011, Sweetcrude, Accra – Ghana has joined the list of countries eyeing LNG imports after launching a feasibility study into a floating storage and regasification unit.
The exercise is being funded by a $691,000 grant from the US Trade and Development Agency, which means the field is limited to US companies.
Ghana’s state-owned Bulk Oil Storage and Transmission Company is overseeing the project on behalf of the government.
Ghana needs the gas to fuel power plants where output is frequently disrupted by supply shortages. The country currently receives pipeline gas from Nigeria and its own indigenous reserves but a growing shortfall is expected by 2020, the spokesman added.
Crippling energy shortages in recent years have resulted in frequent blackouts for both business and domestic consumers.