OPEC on Tuesday stuck to its forecast for relatively strong growth in global oil demand in 2024 and 2025, and further raised its economic growth forecast for this year saying there was more room for improvement.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a monthly report, said world oil demand will rise by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 and by 1.85 million bpd in 2025. Both forecasts were unchanged from last month.
OPEC’s 2024 demand growth forecast is far above that of many other forecasters including the International Energy Agency. OPEC believes oil use will keep rising for the next two decades, while the IEA predicts it will peak by 2030 as the world shifts to cleaner energy.
In the report, OPEC said a “robust dynamic” for economic growth towards the end of 2023 was expected to extend into the first half of 2024 and raised its 2024 economic growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points, following a hike last month.
“While some downside risks persist, a continuation of the expected momentum from the beginning of the year could result in additional upside potential for global economic growth in 2024.” OPEC said in the report.
“The 2024 and 2025 growth trajectories of India, China, as well as the United States, could exceed current expectations.”
The OPEC report also said that OPEC oil production rose by 203,000 bpd in February to 26.57 million bpd led by Nigeria and Libya, despite a new round of voluntary output cuts by the OPEC+ alliance that started in January.
Source: Reuters.com
A Lukoil refinery in western Russia is on fire following a drone attack early on Tuesday local time in what appears to be several coordinated attacks by drones from Ukraine on Russian refinery and fuel facilities.
A crude processing unit at the refinery in Nizhny Novgorod is on fire after a drone attack was carried out on Tuesday morning, Gleb Nikitin, governor of Nizhny Novgorod, wrote on his Telegram channel.
Investigators and fire brigades are working to contain the fire at one of the refinery’s units, Nikitin said, adding that preliminary reports say there have been no injuries.
Another energy facility in western Russia was also attacked by a drone overnight.
A drone attack was launched at a fuel and energy facility in the Oryol region, governor Andrey Klychkov said on Telegram.
One of the fuel tanks caught fire as a result of the attack, a representative of the local authorities told Russian news agency TASS.
Local officials in the capital city Moscow, as well as in the regions of Kursk, Tula, Voronezh, and Belgorod also reported drone attacks, without giving more details.
Ukraine hasn’t commented on the drone attacks.
Ukraine’s security services have been hitting with drones Russian refineries, especially those in southern Russia, in attacks that have intensified since the beginning of the year.
The Ukrainian attacks and the damage they caused to Russian refineries have reduced Russia’s capability to process crude.
In mid-February, Russia’s refinery rates had slumped by 380,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared to December levels as several refineries were under repairs after being hit by Ukrainian drone attacks.
Lower refining capacity in the second quarter, due to refinery maintenance and emergency repairs following the attacks, could be one of the reasons why Russia said it would focus on cuts to oil production instead of exports in its voluntary supply reduction as part of OPEC+ in the second quarter.
Source: Oilprice.com
Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba has announced that the country will utilize Angola’s oil and gas framework as a guideline for industry development, underscoring Namibia’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation with its regional neighbor.
President Mbumba met with Angolan President João Lourenço in Luanda last week, where the two parties agreed to establish a bi-national commission to advance collaboration in oil and gas.
The presidents “underlined the need to strengthen cooperation in the areas of oil and gas, energy, agriculture and water underscoring that Namibia has a lot to learn from Angola in the oil and gas sectors,” a statement from the Namibian Presidency read.
Additionally, a tripartite agreement has been signed between the Namibian Ports Authority and the respective national oil companies of Angola and Namibia – Sonangol and NAMCOR. The agreement lays the foundation to establish an integrated logistics base in Namibia to support oil and gas development and trade.
The base will replicate the Sonangol Integrated Logistics Services (SONILS) base in Luanda, and President Mbumba has invited SONILS to work with Namibian companies on emerging industry opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Namibia and the National Bank of Angola have set the end of 2024 as the deadline for establishing a payment instrument to support bilateral trade. An MoU for the financial instrument was signed in 2023.
According to Manuel Tiago Dias, Governor of the National Bank of Angola, “The technical work was carried out and assessed at the level of the administrations of the Central Banks of both countries.”
Morocco is looking to attract green hydrogen investments by allocating 1 million hectares of public land to projects, the government said on Monday.
The first stage of the hydrogen project development will include providing investors with a total of 300,000 hectares of plots of land ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 hectares, according to the size of the expected projects, Morocco said.
The so-called “Morocco Offer” to boost green hydrogen development is also based on a competitive infrastructure that is planned, deployed, developed, and maintained according to the best international standards and the needs of the green hydrogen industry, as well as incentives and support measures for project holders, the North African country said.
Morocco could “play a major role in the field of energy transition globally,” according to the government.
Thanks to abundant sunlight all year round, Morocco has become a major producer of solar power. It is also looking to boost clean energy supply to Europe, given its proximity to the EU, which has set very ambitious clean energy, emission reduction, and net-zero targets.
Located on Europe’s doorstep and harboring ambitions to generate 52% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, Morocco has emerged as a promising energy partner. Morocco also hosts the world’s largest concentrated solar project, the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex with more than 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity.
The country is now looking to attract investments in green hydrogen, which is produced by splitting water through electrolysis with the use of a renewable energy source.
While heavy industry and governments pin their hopes on hydrogen for faster decarbonization, and power-generating companies and oil and gas majors look to diversify into low-carbon hydrogen production, costs are still high for green hydrogen production and hold back massive deployment of projects, analysts say.
Forecasters, including the International Energy Agency (IEA)—a staunch supporter of all things green – acknowledge that costs need to be slashed significantly if clean hydrogen is to play a major role in the energy transition.
Source: Oilprice.com
South Africa’s power utility company Eskom has intensified electricity restoration to the Eastern Cape storm impacted villages in Butterworth and Centane.
The remaining villages that were heavily affected by the storm last week include Godidi, Cerhu, Nontshinga, Mthwaku, Ncalukeni, Diphini, Gobe, Mgobozi, Jojweni and Manqulo.
Last week, The South African Weather Services warned of severe and intense weather conditions.
Unfortunately, such conditions interrupt electricity supply and affect restoration time. Eskom technicians are attending to the faults and will restore supply as soon as possible.
“We thank the affected customers for their patience. Customers without electricity are urged to treat all electricity appliances as live during this period”, the company said in a statement.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Studies have shown that using natural gas for electricity generation is cleaner with regards to GHG and relatively cheaper compared to using crude oil, Mr Mark Kofi Mensah, External Relations Manager at the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) has said.
He mentioned that this is one of the reasons why Ghana in recent times converted most of its power generation plants which hitherto run on crude oil to gas to utilize natural gas from the Sankofa and Jubilee fields.
Ghana has between 1.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) and 1.7 (tcf) of gas reserves.
Speaking at a media training programme on the theme: ‘Gas To Power What The Media Need To Know To Drive Effective Discourse’, in Accra for selected journalists, Mr Mark Mensah said natural gas is much cleaner and cheaper.
The programme was organised by the Energy News Africa Limited.
He said that the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) system was initially built to transport gas from Nigeria to Ghana, in an east-to- west directional flow.
But when gas was found in Western Ghana, WAPCo in collaboration with the government of Ghana under the auspices of Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), joined the onshore gas pipeline in the west to the WAGP at Aboadze to transport gas from offshore Western Ghana to Tema.
So now, the WAGP in its bi-directional capacity transports gas from both the east and the west for power generation.
Touching on safety in the gas sector, Mr Mensah observed that it was key in their operations and have, therefore, adopted practices to ensure efficiency in their output.
According to him, there are scheduled maintenance done in WAPCo to ensure the integrity of the WAGP and thereby a reliable supply of gas in the supply chain towards electricity generation.
Commenting on the gas pipeline infrastructure, he said that shareholders invested about one billion dollars but said that the company is yet to recoup the original investment for the shareholders.
In a response to how they relate with communities where gas pipeline passes but do not have access to electricity, Mr Mensah explained that the company’s relations with all host communities are solid and cordial enough for that not to be a problem.
He further explained that all stakeholder communities understand that WAPCo does not produce electricity.
He also tasked the media to be circumspect in their reportage since most of the blames attributed to WAPCo could have been avoided if journalists had checked for the right information from the company before reporting.
Through the ECOWAS protocols, the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company was set up in 1988 to channel gas from Nigeria to Benin, Togo and Ghana.
In an interaction with some journalists who took part in the training, they said the programme was timely and useful.
They expressed joy that the training had enlightened their outlook on gas reporting and expressed the hope that such training workshops would be organised regularly to help them sharpen their skills in gas and oil reporting.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Astra Energy, an independent power producer has partnered with the Lesotho National Development Corporation to develop a 100 MW renewable energy project in Lesotho.
Under a public-private partnership model established with Astra Energy’s agent Aztec Management Consultants, the project will double Lesotho’s current installed electrical capacity –currently estimated at 77 MW.
“The project will improve the reliability of the electricity supply, which is essential for a growing economy. Successful completion of the project will also create direct and indirect employment, and have a positive impact on other sectors of the economy that depend heavily on a regular, cost-effective supply of electricity,” said Astra Energy CEO Ron Loudoun.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has appealed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to help tackle the menace of crude oil theft in the country.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Mele Kyari, made the appeal at an interactive session with the EFCC’s helmsman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, which held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, March 11, 2024.
Speaking passionately about the efforts by NNPC Ltd to eradicate corruption from its system and stem crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, Kyari contended that going by the volume of oil stolen daily and the brazenness with which the perpetrators operate, crude oil theft was the most humongous and virulent economic crime in Nigeria that must attract the attention of the EFCC.
“As we continue to do our best to deepen transparency and stamp out corruption from the system, there is one big challenge that you will need to help us with, Mr. Chairman. That challenge is crude theft. It fits into everything you have said—the people, the asset, the opportunity, and the absence of deterrence.”
“We have deactivated 6,409 illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region. Today, we have disconnected up to 4,846 illegal pipes connected to our pipelines, that is out of 5,543 such illegal connection points. That means there are a vast number of such connections that we have not removed.
“These things don’t just happen from the blues. They happen in communities and locations we all know. As we remove one illegal connection, another one comes up. It is sad, Mr. Chairman.”
“This kind of thing does not happen anywhere else in the world. When we say illegal connections, they are not invisible things, they are big pipes that require some level of expertise to be installed. Some of them are of the same size as the trunk line itself. No one would produce crude oil knowing fully well that it is not going to get to the terminal. That is why nobody is putting money into the business. So, you can’t grow production.”
“I believe, personally, that the very purpose of your commission is to curtail economic crimes, and there is no bigger economic crime of this scale anywhere else than what is happening in this area,” the GCEO lamented.
On corruption within the system, Kyari explained that by law, NNPC Ltd. is required to maintain high ethical standards and has put in place structures and measures to curb discretionary actions which fuel corruption, stressing that most processes in the company have been fully automated to discourage arbitrary actions.
He disclosed that many issues of corruption reported to the public were either not true or recycled from the past.
In his presentation, the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, expressed satisfaction with NNPC Ltd.’s commitment to issues of ethics and code of conduct.
He, however, challenged management to ensure that the codes of ethics and regulations are complemented with monitoring and enforcement to enhance deterrence.
The interactive session was at the instance of the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s power distribution company responsible for electricity supply in the southern sector, ECG, has served notice to Ghanaians to expect power outages across its operational areas between 7 pm and 11 pm daily.
ECG explained that, so far, 630 distribution transformers within communities across its operational areas have been identified to be full due to increased power demand.
“This situation may result in blown fuses and broken conductors causing outages, especially during the peak load period (7 pm—11 pm).
“However, we wish to assure our customers that transformer upgrading and new projects are ongoing to relieve these transformers to ensure a more reliable power supply,” ECG said in a statement issued on Monday, March 11, 2024.
The power distributor advised customers within the under-listed communities/localities to report any localised outage or voltage fluctuations to the ECG Call Center at 0302-611611 (also available on WhatsApp) or reach them on their social media handles via ECGghOfficial (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for prompt rectification.
The statement did not indicate when these outages were going to end.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
A South African farmer in the Free State region of Steunmekaar and Petrusburg has been slapped with a hefty sentence, which include a payment to Eskom for losses suffered worth R1.58 million in addition to a five-year jail sentence.
The Bloemfontein Regional Court sentenced Jan Albert van der Merwe (46) on Friday, 8 March.
Van der Merwe faced 17 charges against him, including contravention of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act relating to damage to essential infrastructure and theft in meter tampering.
Van der Merwe’s conviction and sentencing followed the outcomes of the investigations by Eskom and the Bloemfontein Hawks’ Crime Investigation team.
The power supplier reported the matter to the Hawks upon finding wrongdoing by the farmer.
Lt Col. Zweli Mohobeleli, provincial spokesperson of the Hawks, said Van der Merwe was ordered to immediately pay R50 000 to the power supplier and pay calculated losses worth R1.58 million by 10 March.
He said the five-year sentence was suspended for the same period under the condition that Van der Merwe is not found guilty of a similar crime.
Mohobeleli said an Eskom audit revealed the entity suffered losses worth R1.9 million due to tampering with electricity meters on several premises and illegal connections.
“The convicted electricity thief was found to have tampered with an electricity box to his farm between 2017 and 2019. This he did to evade or reduce his electricity bill,” said Mohobeleli.
Eskom investigators immediately started probing the matter, discovering tampered meters and illegal connections made by Van der Merwe.
Through his legal representative, Elna de Jager, Van der Merwe entered a plea with the state. The basis plea by Van der Merwe was that the Covid-19 pandemic made it impossible to sustain his family and 150 employees, in addition to the devastating death of his father in 2011.
He initially accepted his wrongdoing and paid an amount of R800 000 for his misdeeds. In terms of section 103 (1)(h), the Firearms Control Act, Van der Merwe was not found unfit to possess a firearm.
Brig. Sophie Hange, acting provincial head of the Hawks, has applauded the investigators for a thorough job that resulted in this outcome.
Source: News24
Tullow Oil plc will inject IS$160 million in capital spending in its Ghana operations in 2024, the company said in its 2023 full-year report.
The company intend to also spend US$60 million on non-operated portfolio, US$10 million in Kenya and US$20 million in exploration.
In all, Tullow hopes to spend US$250 million in capital expenditure for the year 2024.
The African focus independent firm has planned decommissioning spending of US$50 million for the UK and Mauritania and a US$20 million provision for Ghana and Gabon.
Tullow expects to generate more than US$600 million in free cash flow in 2024 and 2025.
Tullow also reiterated its guidance for US$200-300 million of free cash flow this year at the US$80 a barrel level for crude, largely driven by the timing of revenue receipts for 18 to 19 cargoes lifted in Ghana during the year.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria-based Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, through its Mainstream Academy, in collaboration with the North-East Development Commission (NEDC), has trained fifty people in an intensive Technical Development Programme.
The training empowered the participants with the required skills set to fill the manpower gaps in the power sector.
In a statement issued by Mainstream Energy Solutions, it explained that forty-six of the trainees had National Diploma- ND in Electrical Engineering while four had National Certificate of Education in Electrical Technology.
To prepare the beneficiaries with work experiences, the release noted that thirty of them were posted to various business units of Yola Electricity Distribution Company.
It also stated that the purpose for training the beneficiaries was to use them to help to rehabilitate the YEDC which is geared towards improving the quality of electricity in the four states of the North-East in the Adamawa, Borno, Taraba and Yobe service areas.
The company further expressed hope that partnerships between Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited and the North-East Development Commission would address the human capital development challenges of the area, as well as helping to fix the problems in the area of skills gap in the power sector.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Deputy Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mrs Linda Asante, on Friday, March 8, 2024, joined Petrosol Women Network to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.
She was the Special Guest at Petrosol’s Women in Leadership Conference held in Accra on the theme: ‘Investing in Women; Energising for the Future’.
In her remarks, Mrs. Asante commended Ghanaian women for their hard work and inestimable contribution to the social, cultural, political and economic development of the country.
She also applauded individuals and organisations that are making significant investments in women’s empowerment and the fight for gender equality.
While encouraging women to show more dynamism and forthrightness in all sectors of their national life particularly in male-dominated sectors such as the oil and gas industry, Mrs Linda Asante called on all stakeholders to take collective action and demonstrate shared ownership in a quest to drive gender parity.
Mrs Ivy Apea Owusu, CEO, Cirrus Oil Services Ltd (left), Mrs. Linda Asante (2nd left) and Dr Stella Agyenim-Boateng, Vice Chairperson of the Public Services Commission in a group photograph with the CEO of Petrosol Ghana Limited Michael Bozumbil after the event.
International Women’s Day is a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness in the fight against discrimination and gender stereotyping, and take positive action to promote inclusion and gender parity.
Some distinguished personalities who attended the 2024 Women in Leadership Conference by the Petrosol Women Network included Dr Stella Agyenim-Boateng, Vice Chairperson of the Public Services Commission; Israel Laryea, ace broadcaster; Mrs Ivy Apea Owusu, CEO, Cirrus Oil Services Ltd; Dr Gillian Hammah, Founder, Fairbanks Consulting; and Fatoumata Doro, Managing Director, Tex Styles Ghana Ltd.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is urging the security agencies and host communities to collaborate in apprehending people involved in vandalising their electrical infrastructure.
The appeal follows the vandalism of the Shiroro-Katampe 330kV transmission on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
A statement issued by Ndidi Mbah, General Manager for Public Affairs at TCN, said at approximately 9am on Sunday, the Shiroro-Katampe transmission tripped.
She added that after an unsuccessful attempt to restore operation, efforts were made to identify the fault location only to discover that Towers 244 and 245 had been vandalised and the conductors stolen.
Ndidi Mbah said that was the fifth time between February and March this year that vandalism had occurred on the transmission line.
“This incident adds to a series of vandalism incidents recorded by TCN in February 2024, including the destruction of Tower 70 along the Gwagwalade-Katampe transmission line on February 26, 2024. Other incidents include the vandalism of towers 377 and 378 along the Gombe-Damaturu 330kV transmission line on February 23, 2024, and the attack on towers 145 to 149 and 201 to 218 along the Owerri-Ahoda 132kV transmission line on February 15, 2024. Additionally, on February 1, 2024, Tower number 388 along the Jos-Bauchi 132kV single circuit transmission line collapsed due to vandalism.
“These acts of sabotage are unacceptable, and TCN urges relevant security agencies and host communities to collaborate in apprehending the perpetrators,” she entreated.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
