Ghana National Petroleum (GNPC) has signed heads of terms with Quantum Power, the pan-African energy infrastructure investment platform, for the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage, regasification and delivery facilities at Tema, Ghana, wrote Business Wire.

The $550m Tema LNG project is designed to have capacity to receive, store, re-gasify, and deliver about 3.4m tons of LNG per year, equivalent to 500mcf/d of gas, Energy Business Review reported. Additionally, the project comprises a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) moored off-shore Tema and an associated sub-sea and onshore pipeline to deliver the LNG to GNPC customers. The terminal, which will be located 12 km off Tema’s shore, will allow for cost-efficient refueling and regasification without affecting maritime and port traffic.

The project will be implemented on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis for a 20-year term, and the ownership will be later transferred to GNPC. GNPC CEO, Alexander Mould, said: “As the national gas sector aggregator, GNPC is leading Ghana’s efforts to develop the gas-to-power value chain supporting the government’s vision of energy security for accelerated economic growth.”

The Tema LNG project has been under development for three years, involving some of the world’s most experienced engineering teams collaborating on an innovative design to address the specific maritime challenges in the Gulf of Guinea, while assuring optimal year-round operability.