les mythes du gazoduc de l'afrique de l'ouest

This report by Friends of the Earth International critiques the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), challenging claims that it promotes regional integration, provides affordable energy to Ghana, or effectively ends gas flaring in Nigeria. The document highlights risks including legal unaccountability due to the project company's registration in Bermuda, economic burdens on Ghana through 'take-or-pay' contracts, and the continued environmental and health impacts of gas flaring in the Niger Delta.

• The West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) is a 681 km project transporting natural gas from Nigeria's Niger Delta to Benin, Togo, and Ghana. It is managed by the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo), a public-private partnership owned by Chevron-Texaco (42%), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (25%), Shell (17%), and Takoradi Power Company Limited (16%).
• The report argues that the project does not promote genuine regional integration and may instead exacerbate conflict. It notes that WAPCo is registered in Bermuda rather than any of the four West African countries, which means the project is "légalement non responsable devant les populations" and the consortium has stated it will not be responsible for indirect impacts, including human rights violations.
• Contrary to claims of providing cheap energy, the report states that the Ghana Energy Commission found the project not economically viable for Ghanaian populations. Ghana is bound by a 20-year fixed-price contract and a 'take-or-pay' arrangement requiring annual payments of approximately $88 million for transport services, regardless of supply success.
• The report disputes the claim that the WAGP will end gas flaring in Nigeria. It asserts that the project lacks a clear plan for flaring reduction and that the World Bank admitted the pipeline would represent only a "petite fraction" of the reduction compared to the 43 million tonnes of gas flared annually. Furthermore, the pipeline will transport a mix of associated and non-associated gas, with an initial expected flow of 60% associated and 40% non-associated gas.
• The report argues that the WAGP should not be eligible for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol. It claims that reducing flaring is a legal obligation under Nigerian law (since 1984) and a human right, meaning any emissions reductions would not be 'additional' but simply a matter of legal compliance.
• The project is estimated to cost approximately 590 million USD, with additional compression costs of 10 million USD over 20 years. The World Bank provided 125 million USD in guarantees in November 2004, including a MIGA guarantee covering 90% of Ghana's 83.4 million USD equity investment against 'breach of contract' risks.

APA

Stoyanova, D., Bassey, N., Anderson, T., & Bruil, J. (2006). les mythes du gazoduc de l'afrique de l'ouest. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/wagp-fr.pdf

Chicago

Stoyanova, Desislava, Nnimmo Bassey, Theo Anderson, and Janneke Bruil. les mythes du gazoduc de l'afrique de l'ouest. Friends of the Earth International, 2006. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/wagp-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stoyanova |first1=Desislava |last2=Bassey |first2=Nnimmo |last3=Anderson |first3=Theo |last4=Bruil |first4=Janneke |title=les mythes du gazoduc de l'afrique de l'ouest |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=January 2006 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/wagp-fr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stoyanova2006les, author = {Stoyanova, Desislava and Bassey, Nnimmo and Anderson, Theo and Bruil, Janneke}, title = {{les mythes du gazoduc de l'afrique de l'ouest}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2006}, month = jan, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/wagp-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }