The project began in 1982, when the Economic Community of West African States proposed the development of a natural gas pipeline throughout West Africa. In 1991 a feasibility report conducted by the World Bank on supplying Nigerian gas on West African markets deemed that a project was commercially viable. In September 1995, the governments of four African countries signed a Heads of State Agreement. The feasibility study was carried out in 1999. On 11 August 1999, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by participating countries in Cotonou, Benin. In February 2000, an Inter-Governmental Agreement was signed. The WAGP implementation agreement was signed in 2003. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the project were held at Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, on 3 December 2004. Construction began in 2005. The offshore pipeline was completed in December 2006 and was scheduled to start operating on 23 December 2007 but was delayed after leaks were detected in supply pipelines in Nigeria. The second delivery deadline was scheduled on 13 February 2008, but regular deliveries were delayed again, when one of the contractors of Willbros was shot and killed in Nigeria by armed robbers. Gas deliveries were expected by the end of 2009 after commissioning regulating and metering stations in Takoradi and Tema, Ghana, Lagos Beach, Nigeria, Cotonou, Benin, and Lomé, Togo in May 2008. However, deliveries were postponed again due to an irregular amount of moisture found inside the onshore gas pipeline.
Route
The pipeline consists three sections with a total length of. The long offshore section starts at starts the Itoki terminal in southeastern Nigeria and runs through the waters of Benin, Togo and Ghana parallel to the coastline, approximately to offshore in water depths of between and. The Nigerian onshore section of the pipeline connects the offshore section compressor station at Lagos Beach with the Chevron-owned Escravos–Lagos Pipeline System, operational since 1989. It is possible that later the WAGP will be extended to Côte d'Ivoire and in longer term even to Senegal.
Technical description
The diameter of the onshore section is. The diameter of the offshore pipeline is and the capacity is 5 billion cubic meter of natural gas per year. The pipeline was constructed by Willbros, with Bredero Shaw Ltd applying a concrete coating to the pipeline at its facility in Tema, Ghana. The pre-commissioning services were provided by BJ Process and Pipeline Services. The total pipeline costs around US$974 million, for which the World Bank provided a guarantee of $50 million for Ghana, while the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency provided a $75 million political risk guarantee for WAGPo as a whole.
In Ghana, provided gas was intended for the Takoradi Power Station at Aboadze near Takoradi, operated by Volta River Authority and the Takoradi International Company's. As of 2014, however, most of the gas was being consumed in Lagos.
Controversy
Environmental group Friends of the Earth has criticized the project, after local communities in Nigeria complained it would damage land, destroy livelihoods and pollute fishing areas.
Damage by Pirates
On August 27, 2012, the West African Gas Pipeline was damaged when pirates who had tried to board an oil tanker in an attempt to get away from the pursuing Togolese Navy, severely damaged the pipeline with their anchor. For nearly a year, the supply of gas to Ghana, Togo and Benin ceased, causing major power supply problems to the affected countries.
