Compressed natural gas : gas distribution option for Sub-Saharan West Africa

Enyi, GC; Welekwe, D; Appah, D

Abstract

Natural gas production in Sub-Saharan West African is projected to grow annually by 5% from 2010 to 2040. The distribution of this gas is vital to economic growth in the sub region. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which is natural gas that has been compressed under high pressure and held in hard containers is proposed as an alternative method of natural gas distribution option for the sub-region to pipeline and LNG options especially for short distances within marine environments. The economic prospects of marine distribution of CNG within the West African region was studied and compared to the present West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) distribution option. A discounted cash flow model was used to compare the economic viability of both projects. The CNG project had higher net present value of $1,914 compared to $695 for the WAGP project. Payback period of 4.7 years and 11 years were respectively obtained for the CNG and WAGP projects.
Based on these economic indicators, it could be concluded that the CNG project surpassed the economic performance of the WAGP project. Results from this work could be applied in the study of CNG marine distribution for similar geographical locations around the world.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jul 27, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 27, 2018
• Deposit Date: Aug 7, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 7, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Engineering Technology
• Print ISSN: 0747-9964
• Publisher: American Society for Engineering Education
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 356-376
• Publisher URL: http://www.joetsite.com/2018/07/page/3/
• Related Public URLs: http://www.joetsite.com/