WAPCO Targets Actualising 470mmscf of Gas, Says 2025 Most Successful Year So far.
…warns against illegal sand mining
The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO) has emphasized the need to drive its growth so as to ensure it can deliver more gas to it off takers, stating that 2025 was a good year for the company in terms of the volume of gas it delivered to its customers.
The company says the volume of gas supplied to customers increased by 22 percent as it was able to deliver on the average 217 km/mbtu as of November 2025 and is expected to close the year at 218 to 220 mmscf/d, the highest throughput recorded since operations began almost three decades ago.
The year 2025 was the best year for the company as it was able to attain the maximum volume coming from Nigeria and Ghana, say the new managing director of the company, Abiodun Abodunrin.
Abiodun Abodunrin who had media parley with journaists in Lagos, stated that the company is moving into a new phase of growth that will see the regional gas network push toward full utilisation of its 470 million standard cubic feet per day capacity and begin preparing for a future system expansion, even as it raises alarm over the growing threat posed by illegal sand mining along its Nigerian pipeline corridor.
Despite the performance, he said the pipeline is still significantly underutilised, with more than 250 mmscf/d of unused capacity daily. He warned that this gap highlights West Africa’s deepening energy deficit and the region’s continued dependence on Nigeria’s gas to keep electricity flowing from Lagos to Cotonou, Lomé and Accra.
“On our best days, we are only utilising around 40 per cent of the pipeline’s capacity; meanwhile, populations across the region are growing faster than the energy available to them,” he said.
The managing director called for urgent alignment on fiscal and regulatory frameworks among the four participating countries, Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana, noting that this is crucial for attracting the level of private investment required to boost regional gas supply and expand the network.
He disclosed that Benin has already passed its amendment to the fiscal and regulatory framework, while Nigeria has submitted an executive bill to the National Assembly. Togo and Ghana, he added, are still going through their respective parliamentary processes.
“This framework underpins regional gas trade. Without clarity on regulations and fiscal terms, investors will not commit to expansion, and West Africa’s energy growth will remain constrained,” the MD said.
While Nigeria remains the dominant supplier, he pointed out that the pipeline has increasingly become bi-directional, with gas from Ghana’s Takoradi fields now able to flow into the network.
He said the company is focusing on raising supply and ensuring better utilisation of the infrastructure, particularly for power generation companies in the four countries.
“We now have the flexibility to take gas from anywhere in the region and deliver it to anywhere in the region. That’s something that has happened. We want to be an international company that transports natural gas across these four countries in a safe, responsible, and reliable manner to create value for our diverse stakeholders. That includes our shareholders and stakeholders in the four countries where we operate. And I’m sure you all know that energy is fundamental to life,” he said.
He stressed that the company’s growth strategy is not expansion for its own sake but must deliver tangible value to shareholders and the region, adding that full utilisation of the pipeline will be central to meeting West Africa’s rising energy needs.
Abodunrin, however, expressed serious concern about illegal sand mining along the Nigerian section of the pipeline right-of-way.
He noted that this activity occurs only in Nigeria among the four countries of operation and poses grave risks to the high-pressure gas infrastructure.
He warned that these gas pipelines are far more vulnerable than oil pipelines, and a rupture caused by erosion or excavation could lead to catastrophic consequences for communities and the region’s power supply.
The MD said WAPCo completed a major offshore pipeline inspection in January 2025, involving full cleaning and diagnostic testing across all four countries.
The project, he said, was delivered on time and within budget, with preliminary results showing that the system remains in a good condition despite some sections approaching 30 years of service.
Safety, he added, remains the company’s strongest operational pillar, as WAPCo recorded more than 13 million man-hours and 11 years without a lost-time incident and nearly one million safe man-hours in 2025 alone.
The company’s board, including the General Manager, Abubakar Bello Gwadabe, has set ambitious targets to exceed 2025 throughput in 2026 and begin positioning the pipeline for eventual expansion to meet increasing gas availability in both Nigeria and Ghana, as well as surging electricity demand across the region.
WAPCo said achieving these targets would require policy alignment, improved supply, and the elimination of threats such as illegal sand mining, which it insists must be brought under firm regulatory control.
