The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo), operator of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), will not be able to achieve its profit projection for 2012 as a result of its vandalised gas pipelines in Lome, Togo, which has caused the company to declare force majeure on its gas operation.
The company revealed over the weekend that it loses between $500,000 and $600,000 daily and about 93 billion naira ($591 million) in 47 days; since it announced the shutdown of its pipeline system six weeks ago after experiencing a loss of pressure around the Lome segment of the pipeline.
According to WAGPCo MD, Charles Adeniji: “We lost the possibility of providing gas transportation services to our numerous clients and on each day we do not work, we lose around $500,000 to $600,000 daily. So, the number of days we have not worked multiply that, it would give you the opportunity of making money we have been denied because of these vandalised pipelines.”
Adeniji said the vadalisation of the pipelines have affected the company’s revenue projection and marketing strategy.
The pipelines were shut in August after after the Togolese Navy informed the company that there was a cross fire ensued between the Navy and a suspected vessel that was seen around the anchorage of the Lome waters on August 28.
According to the managing director, repair work has begun at the affected sites and the company would resume full operation of gas supply to its clients before end of the year.
An update given by Adeniji on the extent of repair on the damaged pipeline, revealed that divers hired by the company to repair the damaged pipelines discovered that the pipeline was severed into two but the two sections of the main pipeline which were badly damaged have been recommended for replacement.
“In my line of work, we talk in terms of probability. So, there is a 10 per cent probability that if everything goes according to the way we expected it, we will finish the repair work by the end of October. But, there is a chance we will finish it by November ending. Even though things don’t go the way we project it sometimes, we have enough time to do some corrections and we are confident that there is a 90 percent probability that we would finish everything relating to the repair work before the end of the year and resume gas production,” Adeniji said.
The West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP) is the first sub-regional natural gas project in Africa. It was initiated by governments of Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Togo to supply gas from the Escravos region of Niger Delta to feed gas-fired generating plants of the three participating countries. The International Project Agreement (IPA) was signed in May 2003 by WAGPCo and the Government of Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, with the Secretariat of the ECOWAS as witness.
Although the project was completed four years behind schedule, the project which was initiated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was scheduled to be completed in 2007 at an initial cost of about $550 million, but the cost was jerked up to about $1 billion due to delay in its execution.
Shareholders in the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo), include Chevron, Shell, NNPC, Volta River Authority, BenGaz and Soto Gaz.
The WAGP started from Itoki area of Ogun State, Nigeria and goes through Agido near Badagry in Lagos, passing through 33 Nigerian communities and thereafter goes offshore.
