Clyde & Co has advised West African Gas Limited (WAGL), a joint venture owned by subsidiaries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Sahara Energy Resource Ltd, in its development of a liquefied natural gas import project at the port of Tema on the coast of Ghana.

This project is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. In the short term it will play a key role in alleviating Ghana’s ongoing energy crisis, but longer term it will enable Ghana to become an energy hub in the region. The project has a scheduled start-up date of Q2 2016.

The deal will see LNG cargoes shipped to Tema and then transferred to a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) to be moored at Tema port where the LNG will be regasified and then transported through pipelines to several power plants, which have recently been built or are under construction.

Clyde & Co Partner Dean Norton, commented: "We are delighted to have worked with WAGL on this landmark project that will see Ghana becoming sub-Saharan Africa's first LNG importer."

"There is an urgent and growing requirement for many African countries to develop their power sectors and this project structure provides a real solution in a short timeframe."

"As a firm we are pleased to have been able to offer the full range of expertise required for both the offshore and onshore elements of the project and look forward to working on similar projects in the future."

Clyde & Co advised WAGL in relation to contracts spanning the whole project. Shipping and Energy Partner Dean Norton, assisted by Associate Julie Walton, advised in relation to the sale and purchase agreement for the supply of LNG to the project and in relation to a time charter with Golar LNG Limited to provide the FSRU.

Projects and Construction Partners John Morris and Clare Hatcher, assisted by Associates Brett Hartley, Paul Freeman and Russell Banfi, advised in relation to onshore elements of the project, including the gas supply contract entered into with the Government of Ghana and the EPC contracts for the construction of gas pipelines and related onshore project infrastructure.

Clyde & Co's marine practice is the largest worldwide with over 100 lawyers, the firm's Infrastructure group consists of 150 lawyers with global and local expertise of both mature and emerging markets and the oil & gas team are a combination of specialist transactional and contentious lawyers who devote their practices to the oil & gas industry.

The combined expertise of these sector groups enables the firm to advise on large scale, high-profile offshore projects. All three groups operate across the firm's global network, which stretches across 45 offices and six continents.