According to him, ENI will temporarily shut off its gas supply valves to facilitate rehabilitation works aimed at boosting gas production capacity to 270 million standard cubic feet (MMscf) per day.
The move, Jinapor explained, is necessary to stabilize the country’s energy sector despite the short-term inconvenience it may cause to power supply.
“This Sunday, ENI will turn off their valves temporarily to increase gas production to about 270 MMscf. It means that we are stabilizing the energy sector,” he said.
He added that the planned maintenance, which will last for a few hours within the day, could result in brief interruptions in electricity supply.
“…because the plant will be turned off for a short period within the day for maintenance works, we are likely to experience some interruption of power. It is for a good purpose.”
Jinapor made the announcement at the ground-breaking ceremony for the reconstruction of the 161kV Anwomaso to Kumasi Transmission Line, a project co-funded by the European Union and the Government of France.
The transmission line upgrade is expected to address persistent low voltage issues in Kumasi and the Dunkwa mining areas, while enhancing overall efficiency within the national grid.
The minister further disclosed that, based on technical advice, the government has decided against operating the affected plants on liquid fuels during the brief shutdown.
“Based on the advice from engineers, I have directed that we do not attempt to run those plants on liquid fuel for that short period, it involves changing nozzles; it involves a lot of work, and so if we are going off for about four to six hours, you don’t risk transitioning to liquid fuel only to revert to gas.”
Jinapor assured the public that every effort is being made to minimize the impact of the shutdown on electricity consumers.
In a related development, the minister also announced that ENI has made an additional commercial oil discovery. Meanwhile, Tullow Oil is expected to inject more investment into the upstream petroleum sector to further bolster Ghana’s energy prospects.
