By Akanimo Sampson
In partnership with the West African Oil Pipeline Benin Company (Wepco-Benin), the Beninese Ministry of Mines has officially flagged off construction works for the 684 km Benin side of the Niger-Benin pipeline project, in the town of Sèmè- Kpodji.The West African Gas Pipeline Company limited (WAPCo) is a limited liability company that owns and operates the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).
The company has its headquarters in Accra, Ghana, with an office in Badagry, Nigeria, and field offices in Cotonou – Benin, Lome – Togo, Tema and Takoradi, both in Ghana.
WAPCo is a joint venture between public and private sector companies from Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana.
WAPCo is an international company transporting Natural Gas in Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana in a safe, responsible and reliable manner to create value for our diverse stakeholders. We place the highest priority on the health and safety of people and protection of our assets and the environment.It operates an Open Access system for the use of our pipeline to multiple shippers. We promote the WAGP system as a key natural gas transmission infrastructure for all natural gas sources including Liquefied Natural Gas(LNG).
WAPCo is owned by Chevron West African Gas Pipeline Ltd (36.9%); Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (24.9%); Shell Overseas Holdings Limited (17.9%); and Takoradi Power Company Limited (16.3%), Societe Togolaise de Gaz (2%) and Societe BenGaz S.A. (2%).
The West African Gas Pipeline Authority based in Abuja is the regulatory body for WAPCo.
However, the construction of this section of the pipeline project will be completed in 2023 and will include a terminal station at Sèmè-Kpodji in the Ouémé Department, two pumping stations at Gogounou and Tchatchou in the Alibori and Borgou Departments respectively, as well as an export terminal on the high seas.
This project, which will allow the West African country to become an actor in the oil sector without producing a drop of oil, the infrastructure will cross the departments of Ouémé, Plateau, Collines, Borgou, Alibori, and 17 municipalities including Sèmè-Kpodji.
The effective implementation of this project in Benin will improve the tax revenues of the country with annual transit costs of around 25 million euros.
Developed by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the Niger-Benin pipeline project entails the construction of a total of 1,980km cross-border crude oil pipeline that will connect the Agadem Rift Basin (ARB) region in Niger to Port Seme Terminal in Benin.The project also comprises the construction of a total of nine intermediate stations. Upon completion, the entire pipeline, which is being constructed along with the second phase development of the Agadem oilfield, will be capable of delivering up to 90,000bpd of crude oil to the Port Seme export terminal located on the Atlantic Coast in Benin.The pipeline project, along with the two-phased Agadem oilfield development, will have a total output of more than 5.5 million tons (Mt).
