The Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, says that Ghana is committed to collaborat­ing with all the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) stakeholders to create the right environment and opportunities for the expansion and smooth running of the pipe­line to secure full energy supply.The WAGP Project aims at im­proving the competitiveness of the energy sectors in Ghana, Benin, and Togo by promoting the use of cheaper and environmentally cleaner gas from Nigeria.Mr Jinapor said this at the open­ing of the WAGP Project Commit­tee of Ministers meeting hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Green in Accra yesterday.According to him, the collab­oration between Ghana and the stakeholder was important as the West African Gas Pipeline was important as the pipeline had been ben pivotal in the supply of gas to thermal in the West African sub-region.Mr Jinapor also said that the collaboration was important as countries in the West Africa sub-re­gion spend US$ 1.2 billion for the importation of liquid fuel.He further urged the African continent to judiciously explore the amount of natural gas it was blessed with to help promote its industrialisation drive."As the world grapples with the energy trilemma, namely sustain­ability, affordability, and security, natural gas presents a middle ground for an equitable and just energy transition for Africa.

What we believe is that natural gas op­portunity plays a significant role in the foreseeable future," Mr Jinapor said.He also commended Nigeria for her efforts in putting together and exploring projects to increase gas supply to Africa as a whole.Mr Jinapor assured of Ghana's support and collaboration with Nigeria for the development of a natural gas for the two countries for the betterment of the African continent.Also, Mr Jinapor said that the government would continue to improve Ghana's energy sector and increase payments to all stakehold­ers along the WAGP to ensure that the country had reliable supply of gas.In addition, he said the Presi­dent John Dramani Mahama and his cabinet had approved for the construction of a second gas pro­cessing plant to enhance the energy sector of the country.For her part, the Managing Director of the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo), Mrs Michelle Burkett, made an appeal for a coordinated effort to secure a sustainable gas supply, strengthen financial stability through collabo­rative solutions, and the passage of the WAGP fiscal regime.According to her, WAPCo would be able to work effectively and efficiently when the appeal she made were met."We at WAPCo are ready to take up that challenge with a compelling new vision of the economic opportunities that will emerge for all stakeholders.

But we need support as a company, and as expected, we look to you in this committee," Mrs Burkett said.The Director General of the West African Gas Pipeline Author­ity (WAGPA), Mrs Chafari Kanya Hanawa said that the WAGP Project had achieved significant progress since its commencement in 2011.Among the progress, Mrs Hanawa said were the creation of a regional market for the exporta­tion of Nigeria's gas which helped buyer countries to make significant cost savings.She affirmed the commitment of the WAGPA in achieving its goal of regulating and facilitating the safe and efficient operation of the WAGP. BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY