The West African Gas Pipeline Company Ltd. (WAPCo) has begun a four-week cleaning and maintenance operation on its 569-kilometer offshore pipeline, the company announced Friday.

The maintenance, which includes pigging and in-line inspection, began Feb. 5 and is expected to be completed March 2, according to Isaac Doku, WAPCo's general manager of corporate affairs.

"This cleaning and inspection process...is required every five years," Doku said during a news conference. The last inspection was conducted in 2020.

The work will affect some gas transportation services, including reverse flow from Ghana's Western Region to Tema and gas transport from Nigeria to Cotonou, Benin; Lome, Togo; and Tema, Ghana. However, Doku assured that some transportation from Nigeria to Takoradi, Ghana, will continue. 

WAPCo explained that the maintenance work will not affect power generation in the affected countries. 

The company assured of safety for workers and the environment with the introduction of an effluent management system in Takoradi. This is the second phase of the maintenance project, following the completion of the first phase in December 2024, which involved the onshore section in Nigeria. 

WAPCo's throughput capacity of 470 million standard cubic feet per day includes 150 MMSCFD, which is available for transportation. 

With the pipeline being an energy lifeline for some West African countries, Doku engaged the leadership of the affected countries and advised them to get alternative sources of feedstock to their power stations to avoid cases of power blackouts due to pipeline closure.