Ghana: Atuabo Gas Processing Plant Resumes Full Operation After Technical Hitch
The Ghana National Gas Limited Company (GNGC) says its Atuabo Gas Processing Plant has resumed full operation after fixing a technical challenge which made it difficult to push the gas to WAPCo for onward transportation to power generators in Tema.
Part of the West African nation, particularly areas in Tema, experienced power outages and it was unclear what the cause was.
Last Friday, July 7, 2023, Ghana’s power transmission company, GRIDCo, in a statement, attributed the power outage to a shortfall in gas supply from the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant and WAPCo.
However, WAPCo, in a statement on Saturday, refuted the claims by GRIDCo and ECG, suggesting that they did not have any technical issues as claimed by GRIDCo and ECG.
Interestingly, Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), in a statement issued by Head of Corporate Communications, Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah admitted that there was a technical challenge at their end.
“The unfortunate situation was caused by an upset of our on-site power generation system, causing a temporary shutdown of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant on Friday, 7th July 2023 from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm.
“This resulted in about 30% reduction in the gas we deliver to our downstream power and non-power customers,” he explained.
He added that the engineers and third-party contractors worked assiduously around the clock to restore normal operations in five hours.
During the five-hour outage, Ghana Gas made alternative arrangements for emergency mobile power generation units to enable natural gas to be transported to various power generation companies to mitigate the unexpected situation, it said.
“We would like to reassure the general public that the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant was restarted at 5:30 pm on Friday, 7th July 2023 and has since been in full and uninterrupted operation.
“Ghana National Gas Limited Company’s policy of continuous improvement of our processes, enables us to strengthen our business as the strategic partner of the various power generation companies, serving the people of Ghana.
“We deeply regret any inconvenience suffered by our cherished consumers,” he concluded.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: Local Meter Manufacturers Intensify Campaign To Halt Importation Of Foreign Meters With World Bank Loan
Nigerian Meter Manufacturers and Assemblers have intensified their demand for Federal Government to step in and cause the suspension of the bid by TCN PMU for the supply of 1,250,000 smart meters for eleven (11) Discos in the West African nation.
The World Bank is financing the procurement of the meters with a loan of US$155 million and the bid is expected to close Tuesday, July 11, 2023.
The bid has five lots and interested companies are raising Bid security of US$340,000 for lot 1, US$396,000 for lot 2, US$407,000 for lot 3, US$450,000 for lot 4 and US$385,000 for lot 5.
According to the manufacturers, the current structure of the bid would make it difficult for majority of the local companies to participate in the process.
In their view, the structure of the bid will favour only foreign companies who have the capacity to borrow from their foreign banks.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com Ademola Agoro, Acting President of the Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria said there are about 40 plus local meters with the capacity to produce about 5 million meters.
He said the local manufacturers have invested a lot in building their capacity to be able to produce meters to meet demand and wondered why the bid has been structured in a way that only favours foreign companies.
He told this portal that the local manufacturers are not saying that the bid should not be competitive but that it should be restructured to make it easier for local meter manufacturers to be able to raise the bid security.
He said instead of the current 5 lot which is why they are raising concerns, TCN PMU should expand the lot from 5 to 20, stating that this will reduce the money for bid security and, consequently allow more local meter manufacturers to participate.
He added that the bid should be restructured in such a way that any foreign company that wins can partner with a local firm for the execution of the contract.
According to him, if the bid process is allowed to continue in its current state it will mess all the gains local meter manufacturers have made.
“If this is allowed to go, it will mess up the gains. Many local meter manufacturing companies will close down and there will be loss of jobs,” he stated categorically.
He said the Association has the option of going to court to stop it but said they have shelved that option for now due to the fact that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had been in office for few days and therefore do not want to disturb his peace.
The Association had earlier submitted a letter to Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) requesting their intervention to suspend the bid process.
Meanwhile, Adetayo Adegbemle, Executive Director for PowerUp Nigeria, an advocacy group in Nigeria who started raising alarm about the bid process queried whether the huge amount of money in Bid security is intended to push local meter manufacturers out of business.
“It must be stated that we have had this kind of World Bank Loan with similar conditions before (2012). However, none of the Imported Meters procured under that scheme are presently still in the system.
“Again, this is a World Bank Loan, which we are definitely repaying. It is therefore imperative that we also use this to deepen our local manufacturers’ capacity,” he added
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Norway Makes Biggest Hydrocarbon Discovery In 10 Years
Norwegian oil and gas operator, DNO ASA, has made a significant gas and condensate discovery on the Carmen prospect in the Norwegian North Sea.
Preliminary evaluation of comprehensive data indicates gross recoverable resources in the range of 120-230 million making Carmen ranks as the largest discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf since 2013.
“Norway is the gift that keeps on giving. Carmen proves there are important discoveries still to be made and Norway’s oldest oil company, DNO, will be part of this next chapter of the country’s oil and gas story,” said DNO’s Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani.
Norway has become the largest supplier of natural gas to Europe after the continent cut ties with Russia following its war in Ukraine.
Norway’s pipeline gas exports to continental Europe have been robust in the current year, with flows averaging 313 million cu m/d.
Last month, Norway’s Aker BP (NYSE:BP) (OTCQX:AKRBF) made a much bigger than expected oil discovery in the Yggdrasil area of the North Sea, the energy company reported on Thursday.
Preliminary estimates indicate a gross recoverable volume of 40 million-90 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), much higher than the company’s earlier projection of between 18 million and 45 million boe.
The discovery will significantly enhance Aker BP’s resource base for the Yggdrasil development, which previously was estimated at 650M gross boe.The oil discovery is located within production licenses 873 and 442: In license 873, with Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) and PGNiG Upstream Norway as partners. The plan for development and operations (PDO) for this project was submitted to Norwegian authorities in December 2022, with production scheduled to start in 2027.
The North Sea is home to substantial known oil and gas reserves.
According to a report produced by the Oil and Gas Authority, known reserves of oil and gas in the North Sea at the end of 2020 amounted to 4.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).
Source: Oilprice.com
UAE Will Not Make Voluntary Oil Production Cuts
The United Arab Emirates has announced that it will not join Saudi Arabia in making voluntary oil production cuts, claiming that the cuts by the Saudis are enough to balance the markets.
This is hardly surprising considering that the UAE has in the past argued that it should be allowed to pump more than its current OPEC quota.
The UAE has plans to ramp up its crude production capacity to five million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027, well above OPEC’s quota of 3 mb/d.
A week ago, for the second month running, Saudi Arabia extended its voluntary 1M bbl/day oil production cut for another month, this time till August.
The reduction will take the country’s production to ~9M bbl/day, the lowest level in several years.
The Kingdom has been single-handedly sacrificing sales volume in a bid to goose weak oil prices, but has so far reaped little reward, thanks to increased supply by non-OPEC producers including the United States.
The Energy Information Administration has reported that U.S. crude oil production is on track to set a record this year, up 9% Y/Y through April.
EIA has forecast total U.S. output will hit 12.61M bbl/day in the current year, above the previous record of 12.32M bbl/day set in 2019 and easily beating last year’s 11.89M bbl/day.
Although OPEC and its allies have announced cuts amounting to ~6% of 2022’s production, Rystad Energy estimates output in countries outside OPEC is making up for about two-thirds of those reductions, frustrating OPEC’s efforts to goose prices.
Improved efficiency and newer technologies have made U.S. oil companies more profitable, even at lower crude prices, with J.P. Morgan estimating that the cost of drilling and fracking in the U.S. shale has dropped by 36% since 2014.
Shale giant ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) is now betting that shale producers can double crude output from their existing wells by employing novel fracking technologies.
“There’s just a lot of oil being left in the ground. Fracking’s been around for a really long time, but the science of fracking is not well understood,” Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said Thursday at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference.
Woods has revealed that Exxon is currently working on two specific areas to improve fracking. First off, the company is trying to frack more precisely along the well so that more oil-soaked rock gets drained.
It’s also looking for ways to keep the fracked cracks open longer so as to boost the flow of oil.
Source:Oilprice.com
Mexico: “Massive” Explosion On Pemex Production Platform Leaves Two Dead, Cuts Output By 700,000 bbl
Petroleos Mexicanos said it lost production capacity for about 700,000 bbl of oil, more than a third of its daily output, after a massive platform explosion on Friday that left at least two people dead.
The company is working to recover production, Pemex Chief Executive Officer Octavio Romero confirmed in a video late Saturday, adding that output has already recovered to 600,000 bbl.
According to report by Bloomberg News, some 450,000 bbl of oil and more than 560 MMcfg, roughly 11% of Pemex’s total natural gas output were lost on Saturday only at the Ku Maloob Zaap production asset as the company shut production as a contingency measure, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
While the one-day loss is significant, it’s likely to be temporary as Pemex resumes some of its operations following the deadly blaze, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
A Pemex representative didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the loss or its current production capacity outside of normal office hours.
Two people died and one remains missing after Pemex reported an explosion at the Nohoch Alfa platform gas processing center in the Cantarell field early Friday.
Romero said late Friday that the platform’s connection module was destroyed, but that firefighting efforts helped stop the blaze from spreading to other modules.
Pemex’s head of exploration and production Angel Cid said the explosion “substantially impacted” production at the platform.
Mexico’s Cotemar, which provides oil field services, confirmed in a statement Saturday that the two workers who died in the blast were its employees and that another one is still missing.
Source:Worldoil.com
Kenya: KETRACO Seeks US$5.5 Billion Funding To Boost Grid Expansion
Kenyan Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) says it requires about US$5.5 billion to expand the country’s national electricity grid network so that Kenyans and other dependents within the East African enclave can have more access to electricity and evacuate more renewable energy.
KETRACO’s transmission master plan projects that Kenya needs an addition 7,500 circuit kilometers and associated substations.
Speaking at the just-ended Africa Energy Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, the Managing Director and CEO of KETRACO Dr. Eng. John M Mativo highlighted the state of the country’s electricity challenges and how to deal with them.
But he stressed that there is a lack of funds to undertake massive expansion and reinforcement of the grid. KETRACO projects a financing gap of about US$3.5 billion
To bridge this gap and achieve its mandate, Eng. John Mativo said the company is looking for Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) in the sector to supplement funds from development partners.
He said his outfit had proposed to present project development documents for its first PPP project to the PPP Committee for approval to allow financial closure in November2023. PPP investors will supplement the fast-tracking of grid expansion in the sector.
Eng. John Mativo stressed that should the private sector come in, it would quicken the pace of socio-economic development in Kenya to the next level and allow the country its plan to have 100% green power by 2030.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: PURC Commences Tariff Education In Tertiary Institutions
Ghana’s economic regulator for electricity and water tariffs, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Wednesday commenced a nationwide tariff education at the tertiary institutions in the West African nation beginning from the University of Ghana, Legon, in Accra, capital of Ghana.
The programme which was held at the West Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, University of Ghana attracted a number of students and some staff of the school.
The objective of the tariff education is to educate the students across the country on the role of the commission in setting electricity and water tariffs for consumers.
The Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr Ishmael Ackah, in his presentation, said it was necessary to engage the students because they are also consumers of electricity and water utilities.
Dr. Ackah explained that one of the mandates of the Commission is setting tariff for both electricity and water utilities service providers, stating that the purpose of setting the tariff is to prevent natural monopoly by the service providers, a situation where the service providers take advantage of changes and increase tariffs.
Dr Ackah mentioned that the Commission undertakes two tariff decisions, namely Major Tariff Review and Quarterly Tariff Review, explaining that the Major Tariff Review is done every three years while the Quarterly Tariff is done every quarter of the year.
Answering a question on why there is the need for tariff review, Dr Ackah said the objective is to enable the utilities service providers to recover their investments.
In arriving at a tariff decision for electricity and water, Dr Ackah said the Commission looks at factors such as the price of natural gas, which is always in US dollars, the exchange rate, the hydro-thermal mix and inflation.
Giving a detailed explanation on the recent 2nd Quarter Tariff Decision, Dr. Ackah noted that the electricity utility service providers were to recoup GH¢1.31492 billion in order to remain financially viable and survive the next quarter.
To recover this, Dr. Ackah indicated that the tariff should have been 27.51 per cent, but only Gh¢877.70 million was recovered in the tariff, leaving a balance of Gh¢437.22 million.
For the water, he said the amount that was to be recovered hovered around Gh¢650,267,161.
In the view of the Commission, the 2nd Quarter Tariff Decision of 18.36 per cent for electricity helped to fully recover 100 per cent of the inflationary effect, 100 per cent of the gas price effect and 50 per cent of the exchange rate effect over the period.
Dr. Ackah also used the opportunity to respond to questions from the students.
He also used the opportunity to announce the PURC Electricity Consumption Estimator which allows consumers to know their electricity consumption in kWh and in Ghana Cedis.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Answering a question on why there is the need for tariff review, Dr Ackah said the objective is to enable the utilities service providers to recover their investments.
In arriving at a tariff decision for electricity and water, Dr Ackah said the Commission looks at factors such as the price of natural gas, which is always in US dollars, the exchange rate, the hydro-thermal mix and inflation.
Giving a detailed explanation on the recent 2nd Quarter Tariff Decision, Dr. Ackah noted that the electricity utility service providers were to recoup GH¢1.31492 billion in order to remain financially viable and survive the next quarter.
To recover this, Dr. Ackah indicated that the tariff should have been 27.51 per cent, but only Gh¢877.70 million was recovered in the tariff, leaving a balance of Gh¢437.22 million.
For the water, he said the amount that was to be recovered hovered around Gh¢650,267,161.
In the view of the Commission, the 2nd Quarter Tariff Decision of 18.36 per cent for electricity helped to fully recover 100 per cent of the inflationary effect, 100 per cent of the gas price effect and 50 per cent of the exchange rate effect over the period.
Dr. Ackah also used the opportunity to respond to questions from the students.
He also used the opportunity to announce the PURC Electricity Consumption Estimator which allows consumers to know their electricity consumption in kWh and in Ghana Cedis.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com Ghana: Gov’t Coughs US$6 Million To WAPCo After Suspending Gas Transportation
The decision by West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) to suspend gas transportation from Aboadze Regulating and Metering Station in the Western Region to Tema Regulating and Metering Station for redistribution to power generators in Tema has compelled GNPC and ECG to cough over US$6 million to settle part of the US$13 million debt owed the company.
WAPCo receives gas from Atuabo Gas Processing Plant operated by Ghana National Gas Company and transport it to Tema to power generators.
“As of today, we have received 50% of the invoices that are due. What they had to pay at the end of June for them to continue to enjoy the services they have paid.
“Currently, there is an outstanding debt that we have got a payment plan.
“We have seen the instruction for payment so we expect that a week today, they will be able to pay. If that happens next week, we will resume full services,” a source at WAPCo told energynewsafrica.com.
Last Saturday, July 1, 2023, WAPCo suspended gas transportation from Aboadze to Tema over a US$13 million debt owed to them for the transportation of natural gas.
According to the source, WAPCo resumed gas transportation later on Saturday after assurance from government to settle the debt.
The source said they activated the protocols in the gas transportation agreement because “the current debt got to a certain level, and we felt we can’t allow it to grow anymore.”
The source said the gas flow is in two parts, namely firm volume and interruptible volume.
The source said upon several warnings which did not yield positive results, the company suspended the interruptible volume on June 1 and went ahead to cut the firm volume on July 1.
“From the 1st of June, because of the debt level, we suspended the interruptible volume because of the debt level, and we were flowing only the firm volume. We had told them that if by the end of June, they have not paid up the current bill or reduced their debt, we will shut down. So, we exercised our right on July 1, 2023,” the source said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Murphy Corp Enters Ivory Coast To Explore Oil
US-based oil and gas firm, Murphy Oil Corporation has officially entered Ivory Coast, West Africa to explore oil and gas energynewsafrica.com can report.
The firm recently signed five new production sharing contracts (PSCs) with PETROCI, the national oil company of Ivory Coast.
The deals demonstrate the growing attractiveness of Ivorian brownfield and Greenfield blocks for international operators.
The new portfolio of Murphy E&P is particularly attractive.
Blocks CI-102, CI-531, CI-103 and CI-709 form a straight column that stretches from the shallow waters offshore Abidjan all the way to Deepwater areas where several wells have been drilled.
CI-103 notably holds the Paon deep-water gas and light oil field discovered by Tullow Oil in 2012 and already appraised.
Just north of Paon, Tullow Oil had also drilled the Calao-1X well in 2013, within current block CI-531.
The independent had found good quality reservoir sandstone, although they were water bearing.
CI-709 finally holds development potential thanks to wells previously drilled by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Petroleum in 2016 and 2017, although commercial quantities are yet to be proven.
These include Pelican-1X that intersected around 21.3m of net oil pay in two separate intervals, Rossignol-1X that encountered well-developed sands and roughly 4.6 m of net oil pay on water, and finally Colibri-1X that also hit hydrocarbon pay.
Ghana: WAPCo Refutes GRIDCo And ECG Claims; Sets The Record Straight
The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) has refuted reports by ECG and GRIDCo which suggested that gas supply shortfall from WAPCo and Atuabo Gas Processing Plant was the cause of power outages in parts of the West African nation.
According to a statement issued by Dr Isaac Adjei Doku, General Manager for Corporate Affairs at WAPCo, the company has not encountered any technical challenge leading to a power outage as claimed by both GRIDCo and ECG.
“WAPCo wishes to set the record straight that we did not have any technical issues and our facilities were and still are fully available to deliver gas,” the statement said.
It added, “WAPCo transports gas based on its agreements with gas shippers. These shippers purchase gas from gas suppliers, transport the gas via WAPCo pipelines and sell the natural gas to Gas Off takers (mainly power companies). When the agreed volume of gas is made available, WAPCo dutifully transports it to the shipper’s customers. The challenge yesterday was that the Ghana National Gas Company’s plant at Atuabo went down and, therefore, there was no gas available for WAPCo to transport.”
It would be recalled that both GRIDCo and ECG in a statement issued on Friday evening attributed the power outage in some parts of the country to a gas supply shortfall from the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant and West African Gas Pipeline.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Managing Africa’s Oil In A green- Energy Future (Article)
As the world approaches peak oil, and Africa’s population booms, options are emerging to mitigate the carbon impact of the continent’s oil industry – meeting its urgent development needs, as well as its climate commitments, writes Iman Hill, Chief Executive Officer at IOGP and Africa Oil Week (AOW) Advisory Board Member.
Despite seeing global oil production coming to a peak, we still need to continue a hard focus on the responsible management of our hydrocarbon resources, as we move towards a zero-carbon world.
Recent data certainly supports this scenario. The latest Ember Global Electricity Review found that wind and solar produced a record 12% of global electricity in 2022. This represents a 19% rise in global wind and solar electricity production, compared to a negligible 1.1% rise in coal-powered electricity.
However, oil remains an important energy source, and a cornerstone of the global energy mix. Fortunately, there are now significant opportunities to develop oil resources more sustainably.
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is leading the decarbonisation charge. With demand for natural gas as a transition fuel growing, major projects like the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7, the Nigeria/Morocco pipeline, NLNG Train 8 and Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline are well positioned.
In Ghana, Tullow Oil is working to become net zero by 2030, in terms of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions, by eliminating routine flaring, boosting gas-handling capacity and ramping up nature-based offset programmes.
Meanwhile, in Cote d’Ivoire, Eni will bring its large Baleine discovery on stream as Africa’s first net-zero (Scope 1 and 2) development. Emission-compensating initiatives are already under way and include reforestation projects and the distribution of tens of thousands of high-efficiency cookstoves.
These projects will have to meet growing continental energy demand. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that Africa’s electricity demand will grow by 4.1% by 2025 – surpassed only by China.
Despite this growth, Africa’s energy needs are still a tiny fraction of global energy demand. The region’s energy consumption made up just 3.4% of global energy consumption in 2019, while we are home to 17% of the world’s population.
Per capita electricity consumption in Africa averages 181kWh compared to 13 000kWh in the US, and 6 500kWh in Europe.
That said, our energy consumption has increased by a factor of eight since 1965. Our energy needs have grown, while we have been working to improve the quality of life for our people.
However, we are far from reaching parity with the countries of the industrialised world. To quote a recent report by the African Development Bank, “While Africa has made steady improvements over recent decades, it remains the global region with the lowest average life expectancy and highest mortality ratios.”
Because Africa is at a different stage of our growth path, our energy needs are also different. Meeting these needs will require developing the full range of our resources. These include proven oil resources, and exciting opportunities for biofuels and natural gas.
It is estimated that Africa contains around 13% of the world’s natural gas reserves. In terms of biofuels, a project has been launched in Zambia, using cassava as a feedstock. It aims to produce 120 million litres of ethanol a year, which will allow it to meet 20% of the country’s petroleum needs. Projects to produce energy from agricultural and municipal waste are also already running in parts of Africa.
To continue our development path, Africa will need energy. Unfortunately, besides being financially poor, Africa also faces energy poverty. The African Development Bank has noted that on the continent, 645 million people have no access to electricity, and 700 million have no access to clean cooking energy.
Africa must therefore do what it can to access all of its energy resources in a responsible, sustainable manner, in order to lift our people out of poverty. The continent is already evolving a well-balanced energy mix. The IEA estimates that natural gas produced 42% of Africa’s electricity in 2022, coal 27% and renewables 24% (up by 2%).
As participants in the African energy sector, we are committed to doing our bit to develop our resources responsibly. We support the development of renewable energy, and we applaud the growth of this sector, as we work towards achieving the planet’s goals for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
However, as a small, historically underdeveloped part of the global energy environment, we believe Africa must reserve the right to develop every component of its energy mix, as we scale up to meet the needs of our growing and developing population.
This must mean a large and growing renewables industry, but also due consideration for developing hydrocarbon resources and new discoveries – of which there have been several, most notably in Namibia.
It’s worth remembering that Africa’s energy assets must power the development needs of a rapidly expanding population. We are not an industrialised region like Europe with a stable or even shrinking population. Africa is set to grow to 2.5 billion people by 2050, when our population will make up a quarter of the earths.
We, therefore, reserve the right to map our development path in the way that makes most sense to us, using all of the energy resources at our disposal and building partnerships that will best suit our needs.
What is encouraging is that, even in developing our hydrocarbon resources, we have the opportunity to do so in a way that is kinder to the environment, and which generates the lowest possible carbon emissions possible. We can do this through decarbonising initiatives such as operational greenhouse-gas reduction, offsets, carbon capture and storage, flare curtailment and renewable energy use.
Some of these initiatives are already underway. Nigeria, for instance, has made the largest gas-flaring reduction on earth, cutting flare volumes by 1.3 bcm in 2022, a 20% reduction from 2021. In Namibia, green-hydrogen initiatives are set to play a pivotal role in decarbonising the energy sector. In Ghana, nature-based offset agreements have already been signed.
Natural gas also offers a significant opportunities for African economies to effectively meet their energy needs while reducing their carbon impacts. The BP Energy Outlook predicts increasing demand for natural gas in emerging economies as they grow and industrialise in the midst of the global transition to lower carbon energy sources.
It is now possible to produce oil with a far lower carbon intensity than previously, and generating these “lower-carbon barrels” can still generate the employment and the growth that Africa so urgently requires – in parallel with the renewables development that we are already pursuing.
We are excited about the possibilities this new energy era presents, and how it can help fuel the next phase of Africa’s development. “
Source: Africa Oil Week
Ghana: Gas Supply Shortfall Cause Of Power Outage In Parts Of Ghana-GRIDCo
Part of the Republic of Ghana is currently experiencing power outage due to shortfall in gas supply, the system operator, Ghana Grid Company, GRIDCo, has said..
Ghana’s industrial city, Tema, and its environs and other parts of West African nation had been experiencing power outage for the past few days and it is unclear what the cause is.
However, a statement from GRIDCo Corporate Communications Unit on Friday evening attributed the outages to shortage of gas supply from the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant (GPP) and the West African Gas Pipeline (WAPCo).
This, GRIDCo, said has created a supply gap of 650MW at peak time which will affect consumers in some parts of the country.
GRIDCo said efforts are being made to restore gas supply from Atuabo. As the situation improves power would be restored to affected customers.
The company expressed its regret for the inconvenience to Ghanaians.
Meanwhile, Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG, has also appologised to customers over the situation.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com South Sudan Oil & Power 2024 Summit Launches In Vienna: Country Opens Doors To Investors
South Sudan’s Ministry of Petroleum and organizer of Energy Capital & Power have officially launched the South Sudan Oil & Power (SSOP) 2024 show.
As a member of OPEC+, South Sudan is increasingly positioning itself as a player in the international petroleum sector, and is emerging as a destination for renewed onshore oil and gas investment.
SSOP 2024 takes place in Juba on 25-28 June 2024.
Speaking at the OPEC 8th International Seminar yesterday in Vienna, Hon. Minister Puot Kang Chol emphasized the importance of South Sudan’s resources as a means to secure growth and energy security, and the need to work with partner nations and organizations to balance priorities and develop sustainably.
During his panel discussion alongside H.E. Suhail Al Mazroui, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of the UAE, and H.E. Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons, Republic of the Congo, Minister Kang Chol invited delegates to experience South Sudan and to invest in its exploration, production, development, midstream and downstream projects.
The South Sudan Oil & Power energy summit brings together all participants in the energy industry in East Africa’s sole major oil producer.
Now in its seventh edition following a successful sixth conference in Juba this June, SSOP has taken its place as the most impactful platform for dealmaking and decision-making in South Sudan at a pivotal moment in the country’s growth.
The Minister stated: “In forging new relationships and improving old ones with our partners, we see that South Sudan’s resources provide great opportunities. We must develop these resources and move ahead with new partnerships always with the best long-term interests of South Sudan at heart. Discussions will take place at South Sudan Oil & Power 2024 that determine our future as a petroleum producer. This will be where sustainable partnerships are built.”
Private sector, investors, regional leadership, high profile national delegations, national oil companies (including the NOC of South Sudan, Nilepet), and South Sudanese government ministries (petroleum, finance, energy and dams, mining and more) will meet on 25-28 June 2024 in Juba.
In 2024 the summit takes on a new format over four days: This includes two days of a high-level conference; plus two additional days of workshops, presentations and site visits; and a gala dinner and other networking functions.
The event takes place at the Radisson Blu hotel and the Pyramid Continental Hotel. Energy Capital & Power looks forward to welcoming energy investors and delegations from across the world to Juba in June 2024.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Ameri Power: I Did Nothing Wrong—Boakye Agyarko
A former Minister for Energy, Mr. Boakye Agyarko, has made a startling revelation about the controversial Ameri Power Plant renegotiation that supposedly ended his job at the Ministry of Energy under the first term of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration.
According to him, an eighteen-member committee with institutional representation from the energy sector agencies was constituted and chaired by Lawyer Philip Addison and Vicky Bright.
He said the committee’s task was to renegotiate with the Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Company (Ameri Group) to make the cost of the contract lesser.
He explained that the committee did a very good job by negotiating the terms of the agreement from 14.25 per kilowatt hour to 11.7195 cents per kilowatt hour.
“Addison and Vicky, once in a while will report to me on what’s happening or if they had issues. They were also reporting to the president (Akufo-Addo). Sometimes, I will go and fill the president in on what was happening,” he said.
Speaking on an Accra-based Asempa FM on Thursday, Mr Boakye Agyarko, who is seeking to lead the New Patriotic Party in the 2024 Presidential elections, said he was not part of the committee that renegotiated the terms of the Ameri Power Plant and, therefore, was shocked why some people claimed that he had increased the cost of the plant to make money.
He revealed that someone close to President Akufo-Addo put pressure on him to act in a way that was against his will and the state, adding that the person went around, hiring people to throw dust in the eyes of Ghanaians to get him out of the ministry.
“Some people were not happy with the outcome of the Addison Committee. Suddenly, this brouhaha started that what I have done was worst than the original contact. How can 11 cents per kilowatt hour be more expensive than the contract price of 14 cents per kilowatt hour?” he quizzed.
He told the host of the programme that there was no way he could have succumbed to the demand of the person’s pressure because, in the end, his signature was going to be on the document.
“The story was that I had put something on it for myself. Committee that, I was not part of the negotiations, how could I put something on for myself?
“Here are the numbers; the original contract was 14.25 cents a kWh. When I became the minister, I called all the key power generators and told them we couldn’t pay their prices. So I suggested we standardised our KW at 4 cents a kWh because Ivory Coast is using the same gas, etc. that we are also using. But they purchase their power at 10 cents a kWh.
“So I requested we put ourselves at 12 cents a kWh, a lot of them agreed. Finally, the Addison Committee in their report gave 11.719cents a kWh.
“Maybe the school that I went to was different. But how do 11 cents become more expensive than 12 cents or 14 cents?, he quizzed.
The Ameri Power Plant was procured during the John Mahama administration at a cost of US $510 million to increase the country’s energy capacity to meet energy demand.
The agreement was signed in February 2025 under Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) after five years.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com