Volta basin vital for economic development

The Volta Basin with its transboundary river, has become of increasing importance in supporting development in the six riparian countries in West Africa. The Volta basin, with is the ninth largest African river, is shared by six countries in West Africa namely; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo. Recognising the importance of coordinated management of shared natural resources, the Heads of State established the Volta Basin Authority (VBA) to promote permanent consultation and sustainable development of water and related resources of the Volta basin for equitable distribution of benefits towards poverty alleviation and better socio-economic integration. In response to that, the Volta River Basin Strategic Action Implementation Project has been launched in Accra to improve the capacity of the VBA for trans-boundary water resources management and address its institutional weaknesses. The three-year project is being co-financed by the World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). Dr Charles A. Biney, the Acting Executive Director of VBA, speaking to the Ghana News Agency after the launch, said the legal and institutional arrangements among the riparian countries for managing the water resources of the Volta basin were formally established in January, 2007 with the signing of the Convention on Status of the Volta River and Establishment of the VBA. The Convention came into force in August 2009 with its ratification by four out of the six riparian countries. By 2012, all six countries had ratified the Convention, which was mandated to promote permanent consultation tools among the parties for the development of the basin and to develop joint projects and works. He said they were to promote implementation of integrated water resources management and the equitable distribution of the benefits resulting from their various utilisation, authorise the development of infrastructure and projects planned by the stakeholders and which could have substantial impact on the water resources of the basin. The VBA contributes to poverty alleviation, the sustainable development of the Parties in the Volta basin, and for better socio-economic integration in the sub-region, he said. Dr Biney said the riparian countries were developing countries whose economies were currently growing appreciably, between four and six per cent, which will catapult them into lower-income status in the near future. “The Volta basin will continue to be a key factor in this process of improving livelihoods as it plays an important role in the socio-economic development of these riparian countries,” he added. It stretches from north to south over a distance of 1850 kilometres with a basin covering an area of approximate 400,000 kilometres squares with a population of about 20 million depending on the river for domestic water supply, electricity production, irrigation, fishery, navigation and tourism.

PrProject to manage resources in Volta Basin lunched

Ghana and the five other Volta River Basin (VRB) riparian countries have launched a project to implement a strategic action programme for the effective management of their shared water resources in the basin. It is known as the Volta River Basin Strategic Action Implementation (VRBSAI). The five other countries are Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire. The implementation of the VRBSAI is expected to begin soon and will be completed by 2019. To address some challenges associated with the Volta River Basin, the Volta River Basin Authority (VRBA), the management authority of the basin, developed a five-year strategic plan in 2009, which is to be implemented by the project. Two development partners - the World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility have provided $10 million to the management of the VRBA, to support the effective management of the VRB. The World Bank provided $3million, while the Global Environmental Facility also provided $7million, which will also be used to support the implementation of the strategic action programme. Project launch Launching the project in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, said it was an undeniable fact that the world was in an era where the promotion of regional and global integration was an important trigger and solution for national development. “Against this backdrop, it is heart-warming that the government of Ghana and its riparian neighbours continue to demonstrate genuine concern to manage and develop their shared water resources by partaking in international cooperation and arrangements among and between themselves,” he said. Dr Agyemang-Mensah said that despite the obvious challenges of sharing the river basin, the riparian countries should be delighted that their collective efforts and cooperation had culminated in the VRBA promoting the proper management and development of the water resources. “This cooperation has also helped to ensure equity in sharing the benefits thereof among all riparian countries,” he said. The minister also said even though the management authority for the VRB had been provided with working principles and had established its institutional framework, it could only fulfil its mandate effectively, if it was adequately supported and strengthened technically, financially and building human resource capacity. Make operational soon In his opening remarks at the ceremony, the acting Executive Director of VRBA, Dr Charles Biney, called on all stakeholders in the VRBSAI project to make the project operational as soon as possible. He thanked the government of Ghana for accepting the authority’s request for it to host the launch. Dr Biney also expressed the authority’s gratitude to the World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility for providing financial assistance to the project. In his remarks, the Executive Director of the Water Resources Commission, who doubles as the focal person for the VRBA, Mr Ben Ampomaa, said the authority was growing steadily and currently was better poised to handle the challenges the riparian countries faced in sharing the Volta River Basin

Sankofa-Gye Nyame to deliver first oil next year

Ghana’s third oil and gas field -- Sankofa-Gye Nyame -- is on course to deliver its first oil in August next year and subsequently its first gas in 2018, says Alex Mould, acting CEO of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

The project is expected to deliver an additional 30,000 barrels of oil per day when it comes on stream, adding to production from the Jubilee Field and the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) -- which should be in excess of 120,000 barrels per day.

The field will also produce 180 million standard cubic feet of gas daily, which is sufficient to generate approximately 1,100 megawatts of electricity.

Mr. Mould stated that: “Sankofa is a game-changer in the development of Ghana’s gas industry. GNPC, state institutions and the World Bank have been particularly effective in efforts to finalise the commercial and contractual arrangements for the project.

“We are pleased to have made significant progress in just one year, but there is much more to do. We will continue to collaborate with these institutions, and in addition provide access to use of project equipment, machinery and vehicles to ensure successful delivery of the project.”

He continued that: “As the national gas sector aggregator, GNPC will play an enabling role with the necessary investments. Investments in the construction of gas export pipelines to be integrated with the Ghana Gas pipelines, together with onshore receiving facilities, are necessary to ensure efficient supply of fuel to improve Ghana’s energy capacity. This will help provide electricity to households, schools, hospitals and businesses, and fuel Ghana’s economic development”.

The development of a robust gas sector is part of GNPC’s goal of evolving into an integrated energy company to support the developmental drive of Ghana.

GNPC along with other state institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Petroleum and the Bank of Ghana, have been instrumental in securing the project -- worth US$7.9billion -- which is the largest-ever foreign direct investment into Ghana.

Working with private partners ENI and Vitol, alongside the World Bank, GNPC is confident of delivering the Sankofa-Gye Nyame project on time and on budget.

Significant progress has been made in the first year of the project. The Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel is more than half-way complete, and on Tuesday 26th January 2016 sailed out to the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore for integration of the oil and gas processing modules.

It had undergone conversion and life extension at the HRDD Shipyard in China, to meet the 20-year life of the field, without dry-docking (moving to a shipyard) for maintenance. It is expected to be completed and set sail to Ghana in the first quarter, 2017.

Also, the manufacture of sub-sea production systems and facilities are well underway. Five deep-water wells have been drilled in the field.

A statement from the GNPC said success on projects of this scale and complexity require not only commitment from GNPC, state institutions and project partners, but also huge logistical mobilisation.