Dec 21, 2011 at 4:22pm

A policy think-tank, the Danquah Institute, has expressed worry in government’s delay in developing the nation’s gas infrastructure which it said is costing Ghana over one billion dollars.

According to the institute, this is resulting from the nation’s inability to utilise the associated natural gas generally from the Jubilee Oil fields.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, the Executive Director of the Institute, Asare Otchere-Darko, stated that the government ought to resolve what the institute described as political indecision that is preventing it from developing the gas infrastructure and to save the country the huge sums of money it is currently losing.

“240 million cubic feet per day of gas could result in some 438 million dollars annually from the main gas for power generation and over 200 million annually from the associated liquid such as LPG,” he said.

“Industry experts estimate that every day that Ghana is unable to utilise the associated natural gas from Jubilee for power, it translates into 1.2 million dollars a day in lost revenue.

“For this year the avoidable delays in the development of the gas infrastructure will cost the country a minimum of 638 million dollars. Already, some 412.6 million dollars in corporate taxes appears to have been lost to the state from Jubilee,” Otchere-Darko said.

Mr. Otchere-Darko also questioned the legal standing of the Sipa Yankey-led Ghana National Gas Company, which he said is making the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) redundant.


By: Citifmonline.com