Future of WAPCO in doubt

Reduced gas flows and debt are threatening the commercial viability of the West African Gas Pipeline and the operating company of the same name, its managing director has said.

Speaking at a Committee of Ministers event that saw government representatives of the participating countries – Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo – gather for talks, Walt Perez on Tuesday said that the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO) was “operating under extreme austerity conditions,” adding that the company had been “conserving cash.”

The company’s indebtedness totals some USD 180 million, USD 75 million of which to Nigeria’s N-Gas. Its unpaid invoices in June resulted in the suspension of gas transmissions to Ghana. “Under the current condition, WAPCO is unable to service its debt and is no more undertaking critical maintenance schedules with the much reduced capacity to pursue growth of any kind at this time,” Perez. He added that unless conditions change, the “prospect for growth in the foreseeable future will not materialise.”