MORE GAS TO FLOW... As multi-billion Jubilee Gas Project begins (LEAD STORY, JAN 31, 2011)

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Sekondi

WORK has begun on the multi-billion dollar Jubilee Gas Project to harness the country’s natural gas deposits with the laying of flow lines to pipe the gas from the Jubilee Field to the Jomoro District of the Western Region.
Technip, the company which did the subsea installation for oil production for the Jubilee partners, has been contracted by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to engineer, weld and install a 14-kilometre rigid steel flow line under Phase I of the project for onward extension to the shore.
Under the current phase, the flow lines will be connected to the gas export riser linked to the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah for onward transportation to the shore.
Officials say the flow lines will constitute the deep-water section of a pipeline which will be used to pipe natural gas from the Jubilee Field to the onshore processing plant.
At the moment the move by the country to harness its natural gas has attracted the attention of power producers and other companies that are interested in the production of fertiliser, ammonia, urea and methanol using natural gas.
Technip has successfully completed the fabrication and spooling of the 14 kilometres of 12,75-inch flow lines on board the laying vessel, Apache II, at the Technip Spool Base in Alabama, USA, and the vessel is expected to arrive in Ghana next Thursday.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Ghana Country Manager for Technip, Mr Stephane Sole, said the company did not engage only its own expertise but also involved some officials of GNPC in the process of designing and welding the flow lines, as well as the procurement and engineering staff at its Paris office during the preparation phase.
He said the move was to afford Technip the opportunity to transfer its skills and knowledge to Ghana through the GNPC, a policy which was in line with its resolve not only to work for the country but also enhance the skills of Ghanaians, whom he described as curious and highly trainable.
Mr Sole said the onshore operations would be run from the Sekondi Naval Base which had supported Technip since its arrival in the country.
The Apache II, he said, was fully loaded with the flow lines and would start work immediately it arrived, as the initial preparations had been concluded.
He said the offshore operations would integrate workers from the GNPC to attend to the operations offshore, saying, “Within our onshore team to support the offshore operations there will also be the involvement of the GNPC team during the whole project, from engineering to installation.”
Mr Sole said there had been meetings with lead operators of the Jubilee Field partners, including the GNPC, and they had been very co-operative.
“From the beginning of the project, the permanent and effective communication among the GNPC, Tullow Oil and the partners and Technip will be one of the key factors for the success of these operations,” he said.