The WAGP project, with a total construction cost of $560 million, will enable customers in Ghana, Benin, and Togo to access Nigeria's immense resources of gas as fuel for power generation and industrial development. Kofi Asante Okai, external affairs manager of the project, said that since Tema, a port city east of Accra, was the hub of the marine industry in Ghana, its industrial estates would have the highest point of demand for the gas, adding that the harbour city's demand over the next two decades was going to be doubled. Outlining the benefits of the WAGP project, Mr Okai continued by saying it would be a source of cost-effective, secure, clean and reliable energy for west Africa. Furthermore, he said, it would provide a foundation to facilitate regional economic growth and development, and contribute to overall program of Gas Flare Reduction in Nigeria. Nigeria's gas reserves, estimated at about 185 tcf, are twice as large as its oil reserves, with a potential for production to last 120 years, compared to 30 years for crude oil, which currently accounts for 90% of foreign exchange earnings and over 80% of the country's GDP. The 678-km pipeline, to be laid mostly offshore, is expected to be 18-20in diameter, and will be laid in 26 to 70m of water at an approximate distance of 15-20km from the shore of all four countries. The project has three components, the first of which is the commissioning of the gas pipeline. The second component of the project will focus on the development of non-power gas markets in Benin, Ghana, and Togo, and the funding of other technical assistance needs, while the third will focus on providing support to the newly-created West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) Authority, the shareholder of which include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell, and ChevronTexaco.