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By Adewale Sanyaolu
The West African Pipelines Company (WAPCo) has announced its readiness to engage with interested partners as it seeks to expand its presence across the region and beyond. The company operates a 654-kilometer pipeline transporting natural gas from Nigeria to Benin, Togo, and Ghana, supplying power plants and industrial consumers.
Speaking to select media in Lagos over the weekend, WAPCo Managing Director, Mr. Abiodun Bodunrin, said the company is pushing towards full utilization of its 470 million standard cubic feet per day capacity as it plans for future system expansion.
He explained WAPCo’s readiness to play a leading role in advancing the economic and industrial aspirations of West African countries, citing the resilience of its assets, strong operational performance, and strategic positioning to support expanding gas markets for producers across the region.
He said WAPCo’s management is aware of the strategic importance of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) to the region’s energy transition, energy access and security, as well as its industrial growth agenda.
He maintained that WAPCo’s strategy is closely aligned with Nigeria’s Decade of Gas (DoG) initiative, which seeks to unlock the country’s vast gas resources to drive industrial development, reduce carbon intensity, and generate sustainable export revenues.
He disclosed that key sections of the WAGP have been technically modified to enable bidirectional gas flow, allowing the system to accommodate supply from either end of the pipeline. This flexibility, he said, significantly enhances regional energy security and positions WAGP as a resilient, future-ready transmission backbone.
According to him, WAPCo currently deploys an integrated operational approach focused on pipeline availability, sustained uptime, and value optimization for shareholders and stakeholders. This approach, he noted, ensures reliable gas delivery while enhancing the commercial attractiveness of the infrastructure.
He added that the company continues to fulfill its regional mandate through consistent stakeholder engagement and advocacy, ensuring steady gas supply for power generation and industrial consumption across member countries.
Bodunrin also declared that gas delivery peaked at 217,000 mmbtu per day in November, the highest in the company’s history.
He stated that WAPCo has achieved 11 years and over 13 million man-hours without injury, adding that the company is poised to offer an even better outlook in 2026.
The Managing Director, who was accompanied to the meeting by General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Dr. Isaac Adjei Doku, and General Manager, Operations, Engineer Abubakar Bello Gwadabe, said that the company’s asset availability reached an all-time high of approximately 99 percent, with total gas delivery averaging 217 mmbtu/day, the highest in WAPCo’s history, representing a 22 percent year-on-year increase.
“Safety remains our foremost priority,” he emphasized. “As of November 2025, WAPCo has achieved 11 years and 13,528,543 workforce hours without any recordable injury for staff and contractors.”
He also highlighted WAPCo’s contributions to regional economic growth and development, benefiting families, communities, businesses, and industries across the region.
The company, he said, has undertaken significant activities, including cleaning and inspecting the offshore section of its pipeline, and has published its first-ever sustainability report, marking significant progress.
For 2026, Bodunrin said that WAPCo plans to grow and improve the use of available pipeline capacity, engage with key partners to leverage growth opportunities, and scale up value delivery.
“We will maximise revenue by utilizing available capacity on the pipeline and improve on delivering value for our shareholders,” he said.
He reiterated that WAPCo is deploying a stronger maintenance team to fix aging assets and optimize costs, while maintaining cost discipline and exploring opportunities to optimise asset integrity costs.
