A Ghanaian oil and gas firm, Woodfields Energy Resources Limited has stated it was not indebted to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to a tune of $5,000,000 and has refused to make payments.
A statement issued by the head of the legal department of Woodfields Energy Resources on Wednesday said, “Woodfields has honoured all its payment obligations for processing fees to TOR and is not indebted to TOR for any processing fee charges”.
“Woodfields has observed through our stock accounting records certain shortfalls in our product volumes held in tanks at TOR to the tune of about USD5.7M,’’ the company said.
The company said, “Per standard practice for processing agreements, we have engaged TOR in a material balance (product reconciliation) to ascertain the shortfall”.
The statement said Woodfields notified TOR in December 2020 of its desire to suspend any payments until after the material balance reconciliation which was presently underway.
“However, to demonstrate good faith and in recognition of the reconciliation exercise taking longer than anticipated, we have made payments in excess of $1,000,000.00 to TOR since the commencement of the exercise in January 2021,” the statement stated.
The statement explained that, “Woodfields and its affiliates have had consistent engagement with TOR over the last three decades within which period it has initiated mutually beneficial ventures, enabling the refinery to increase and improve its facilities.”
The company said in August 2019 it started a processing arrangement with TOR that granted it the right to process a total of eleven million barrels of light crude oil, which is still in operation as of March this year.
“It must be mentioned that this is the first time in the recent history of the refinery that it has managed to operate a Light Crude Oil (LCO) processing agreement in a sustained manner over such a long period,” the statement said.
“This achievement spearheaded by Woodfields which took the sole risk of securing funds and worked closely with TOR, both commercially and technically for the successful outcome,” the statement explained.
The statement called on the general public, well-meaning members of society and industry players to completely disregard any publication that seek to paint a wrong picture as to the nature and style of the company and its operations in the country.
The statement said: “Woodfields is a credible business with a strong belief in ethics and fairness”.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s power transmission company, GRIDCo, has dispelled media reports suggesting that there is going to be load shedding in the country in the coming days.
According to the power transmitter, it has no intention of embarking on a nationwide load shedding programme contrary to report of load shedding which has heightened fear among Ghanaians.
In a statement issued by the company on Wednesday, GRIDCo noted that there are three key projects currently ongoing to enhance power supply reliability in the Greater Accra Region.
These projects are: Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) funded Pokuase substation, Kasoa Bulk Supply Point installations and French Development Agency (AFD) funded Tema-Accra transmission line reinforcement project.
The company noted that contractors for these projects are aiming at full-scale completion between the months of June and July this year.
“At some point during the process, the contractors will need to interconnect to the current transmission system. For this to happen, intermittent power outages will be required at different periods to safely connect the new installations.
“Consequently, these outages are not nationwide and will affect only parts of Accra and Winneba,” the company explained.
Ongoing Pokuase Bulk Supply Point
The company said it is working with ECG, MiDA and other stakeholders to ensure minimum impact on customers in the affected areas.
“GRIDCo is assuring all Ghanaians that there is a concerted effort by all stakeholders, led by the Energy Ministry, to ensure consistent, accessible and reliable power supply at all times,” the company assured.
When energynewsafrica.com team visited the ongoing Pokuase BSP and Kasoa BSP the project sites in December 2020, the projects had reached advanced stages.
The Pokuase BSP was about 87 percent complete while that of Kasoa was about 40 percent complete.
As at today energynewsafrica.com understands that the Pokuase BSP is about 96% complete.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Libya may be able to maintain its current level of oil production of around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the year as the oil sector is finally receiving enough funding for field maintenance and development, Libya’s Oil Minister Mohamed Oun told Bloomberg in an interview.
Oun was sworn in as the first oil minister of the country since 2014 as the new Libyan unity government took office earlier this month.
The new cabinet is the first unity government of the war-torn country since 2014, and could potentially pave the way to more stability in oil production in the African OPEC member, which is exempted from the OPEC+ cuts.
The government has now approved a budget of US$1.6 billion to the National Oil Corporation (NOC), the largest recipient of Libya’s development budget, according to Bloomberg.
“There is a reasonable allotment of funds for oil-sector activities,” Oun told Bloomberg, noting that the funds could be enough for the needs of the oil sector for the rest of this year.
Apart from frequent blockades of oil ports amid the fighting, Libya’s oil production has suffered in recent years from a chronic lack of funds to NOC for oilfield development and infrastructure maintenance.
This has led to volatile production volumes from Libya, which is exempted from the OPEC+ cuts due to its fragile security situation. A more stable level of production, however, could mess with the OPEC+ plans to manage oil supply this year.
When the alliance announced the massive cuts in April 2020, Libya was pumping less than 100,000 bpd, and its oil export terminals were blocked by the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) of General Khalifa Haftar. The blockade ended in September, and Libya has managed to quickly restore its production to the pre-blockade levels, surprising many analysts.
Days before Libya’s unity government was sworn in, NOC’s chairman Mustafa Sanalla told Bloomberg Television that the country planned to raise its oil production to 1.45 million bpd by the end of this year.
Source: Oilprice.com
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it would maintain its current ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) until the conclusion of ongoing engagement with organised labour and other stakeholders.
The Corporation, as reported by The Vanguard, had disclosed that it was bearing the burden of subsidising the pump price of petrol to the tune of N120 billion monthly.
It warned that it might not be able to do so for much longer, leading to speculation of pump price increase in April.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari had explained that the NNPC absorbs the cost differential which is recorded in its financial books, adding that while the actual cost of importation and handling charges amounts to N234 per litre, the government is selling at N162 per litre.
But the Corporation, in a statement issued by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr Kennie Obateru, clarifying the position of Mallam Kyari, explained that NNPC had no intention to pre-empt ongoing engagement with labour by unilaterally increasing the ex-depot price of petrol.
Mr Obateru noted that as a proactive organisation, NNPC has made arrangements for robust stock of petroleum products in all its strategic depots across the country to keep the nation well supplied at all times.
He advised petroleum products marketers not to engage in arbitrary price increase or hoarding of petrol so as not to disrupt the market.
He also urged motorists not to engage in panic buying, stressing that NNPC was committed to ensuring energy security for the country as the supplier of last resort.
He assured marketers and all other relevant stakeholders in the downstream sector of sustainable collaboration for the public interest.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The Federal Government of Nigeria has decried the continuous destruction of power installations in the North-Eastern part of the West African nation.
There has been rampant vandalism of power installations in the West African nation with the latest being the bombing of two towers along the Mamaturu-Maiduguri 330kV transmission line by the Boko Haram insurgency group last Saturday.
The group carried a similar attack on the transmission company of Nigeria line supplying power to Maiduguri and its environs about two months ago.
Commenting on the recent development, Minister for Power, Sale Mamman who said he was saddened by the continued vandalism of power installations stressed that protection of public utilities like power installations is the best guarantee of ensuring steady and uninterrupted electricity supply to their areas.
He, therefore, called on Nigerians to assume ownership of such vital national assets by guarding them.
“The people should raise alarm and report to security officials whenever they see people tampering with power equipment,” he said.
The Minister said this while receiving the Paramount Ruler of Ipetu-ijesa Kingdom of Osun Sate, Oba Adeleke Agunbiade-Oke who was on a thank you visit to the Ministry of Power.
Mamman also stated that it was the desire of the FG, under President Muhammadu Buhari, to supply electricity to every community in Nigeria, but that effort was being constrained by the sabotage and willful damage to electricity installations across the country.
The Minister said he was greatly pained by the recent destruction of the power tower supplying electricity to Maiduguri, which was recently restored by the Transmission Company of Nigeria. He added: “This act of desperate and wicked damage of public utilities should not be a justifiable means for any agitation”.
Mamman advised the Ipetu-ijesha Kingdom to provide adequate security protection for the newly restored equipment to guard against future destructions.
Describing power as critical to national development, Sale Mamman said the Ministry of Power would continue to work harder to improve and sustain the current success recorded in the power sector under President Buhari.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s largest independent power producer, Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited, plans to expand into Sierra Leone.
The electricity producer intends to deploy between 20MWp and 50MWp solar power PV capacity in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, within one year and another 160MW Hydropower plant over the next four years.
Sunon Asogli estimates that the total cost for the two projects will be about US$700 million and believes that the solar PV plant will help supplement power shortages in the capital.
The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Energy regarding these projects’ development.
The Sunon Asogli delegation met with Sierra Leonean officials and the President, Julius Maada Bio, who assured them of the government’s support in ensuring the timely delivery of the projects.
The giant power producer is planning to deploy in Freetown, Sierra Leone, a 20MWp-50MWp solar PV in one year and another 160MW to be known as Benkongor Hydro plant in four years.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com in an interview, the Business Development Manager of the Company, Mr Elikplim Apetorgbor indicated that the expected total investment cost for the two projects is about USD$700 million.
According to him, the 20MWp – 50MWp solar PV plant deployment by the Sunon Asogli Power Gh. Ltd is urgently needed to augment the power supply in the capital, Freetown, and other parts of the country as well as to complement power supply for the future construction works of the 160MW Bengongor Hydro Power plant in four years.
Touching on the deal, he explained that it was reached in a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Energy, representing the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone on one hand, and the Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana) Ltd on the other hand, after a meeting with the experts of the Ministry of Energy and other key stakeholders on 29th March, 2021.
The 7-member delegation later met with the Ministers and officials of the Ministries of Finance, Lands and Internal Affairs after which they paid a courtesy call on H.E. the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, who was elated about the visit and promised his utmost support to ensure the delivery of the projects within the shortest possible time.
Leading the investors from Ghana was H. E Mrs Frances Anderson, Sierra Leone’s High Commissioner to Ghana.
She was assisted by Mr Philip Brima Kabba, the First Secretary to the High Commission.
The Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Ltd team, which comprised Mr Qun Yang, Chairman of Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Ltd ; Mr. Wang Zhengjun, Deputy General Manager of the West Africa Development Unit; Mr Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, and Mr. Li Kanglin, Energy Experts and Business Development Managers of West Africa Development Unit (WADU) of Shenzhen Energy Group was led by Togbe Afede XIV, a Development and Investment Expert who is also a Director of Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Ltd.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Total SE is evacuating most of the remaining employees from its liquefied natural gas project in northern Mozambique as insurgents attacked a town nearby, throwing Africa’s biggest private investment into disarray.
The fresh violence that follows attacks at the turn of the year suggests Mozambique’s armed forces are struggling to regain control of the region surrounding the $20 billion project.
Total, which bought a 26.5% stake in the LNG development for $3.9 billion in 2019, has said it wants security to be restored in the area before resuming onshore work with the aim of starting gas shipments in 2024.
Total has decided to reduce the workforce on the Afungi site to a minimum, the company based near Paris said in a statement Saturday. The resumption of work that was contemplated at the start of the week will also be suspended, it said.
The energy giant said it “trusts” the government, whose security forces are “currently working” to take back the control of the area. There were no casualties among employees at the project, Total said.
The pullout comes as militants attacked a security convoy attempting to rescue more than 180 people who’d been under siege in a hotel near the project site, according to three people familiar with the matter.
More than a dozen vehicles were ambushed late Friday during an operation to evacuate people from the Amarula Palma Hotel, and only seven vehicles managed to escape, two of the people said. While about 100 fled to the beach, many are feared dead, according to one person. The militants, who’ve previously aligned with the Islamic State, were still active in the town of Palma on Saturday morning, they said.
The latest attack began on March 24, the same day Total announced it would resume onshore works at its project, after fighting in late December prompted the company to evacuate staff.
The ongoing raid in Palma, less than 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Total’s camp and where a number of subcontractor companies are based, could be a watershed moment in the insurgency that threatens to dampen further foreign investment in the region.
The rebellion that started in 2017 has left more than 2,600 people dead and caused about 700,000 more to flee their homes.
Human Rights Watch said there were bodies on the streets in Palma, with residents fleeing after the assailants fired indiscriminately.
Omar Saranga, the Ministry of Defense spokesman, declined to comment by phone, saying the government would issue a statement.
Source: worldoil.com
By: Fhedzi Modau
With its massive gas reserves and billions of dollars of investment flowing in to monetize them, Mozambique has a unique opportunity to deploy a flexible power strategy that will bring major benefits across both its domestic and regional electricity markets.
Countries across Southern Africa have established ambitious targets to increase access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy by 2030. Renewables, especially solar photovoltaic (PV), are expected to account for three quarters of the increase (IEA – Africa Energy Outlook 2019). However, the intermittent nature of renewables places great strain upon existing power grids. Both national and regional grids will require significant flexible power generation to counter-balance renewables and ensure reliable power supply to drive economic growth in the region. Mozambique is strategically positioned to provide it.
Today, Mozambique has one of the lowest electrification rates in the world. The development of its immense offshore natural gas reserves will not only enable the country to meet its 2030 goal of providing universal electricity access, it will also provide an important energy resource to export across the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP), positioning the country as a regional powerhouse.
The SAPP was founded in 1995 to provide a forum for the development of a world class, robust, safe, efficient, and reliable interconnected electrical system in the Southern African region. Today, SAPP relies mostly on conventional power generation, with South Africa providing three quarters of installed capacity primarily from coal fired power plants. In the future, the Southern Africa region is expected to see the integration of large amounts of renewables to the power grid. South Africa’s latest Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (IRP 2019) sees a shift away from coal with planned decommissioning of aging power plants to be replaced by at least 6,000 MW of new solar PV capacity and 14,400 MW of new wind power to be commissioned by 2030. Strengthening the resilience of the existing transmission network whilst integrating the huge growth in renewable energies will be some of the challenges for the SAPP in the coming years.
SAPP Will Need Flexibility To Integrate Renewables
Intermittent renewables namely wind and solar, present challenges to system operators because they disrupt the conventional methods for planning the daily operation of an electric grid. Gusts of wind or momentary cloud cover can produce huge power variations in a matter of minutes which existing grids are unable to cope with. To maintain a balanced system and prevent power outages, grids need to respond to supply and demand fluctuations in seconds or minutes, not hours. Flexible sources of electricity must be available to adjust output at the same rate that wind or solar output fluctuates.
Power generation unit start-up time is a significant metric for flexibility, although comparison of different technologies and designs can be complicated by the way start-up time is measured. In general, conventional baseload power plants can take several hours to start-up and reach full operational capacity. With an increased penetration of renewable energies, baseload power plants based on technologies like coal for example, can no longer operate at full capacity 24/7, which means they generate lower revenues, lower margins and higher maintenance costs.
Combustion engine power plants on the other hand, are comprised of multiple generating units, which can be fired-up instantaneously without sacrificing efficiency. They offer a large range in power supply availability and their ability to ramp up or down in a matter of seconds makes them the perfect ally for the stable operation of power systems with a high penetration of renewable energy technologies.
The use of modular combustion engines to balance the intermittence of renewables allows for conventional power plants to provide a stable baseload. When considering a full fleet of assets, these flexible power plants can not only unlock the full potential of renewable energy assets, but they also offer the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCoE) as well as reduction in CO2 emissions.
Last but not least, gas engine power plants consume far less water than similarly sized generation technologies, namely, gas turbines, coal, or nuclear plants. In a country like Mozambique, which has suffered from both cyclones and droughts, and in the context of global warming, water consumption is clearly a parameter that cannot be ignored when assessing new thermal power generation.
Increasing The Share Of Low-Cost Renewable Energy
Mozambique has huge power generation potential from untapped wind and solar resources. However, unlike its neighbours, the current Integrated Master Plan (published in February 2018) targets just 10% of renewable energy by 2030 and beyond. These renewable energy ambitions are too modest. This could be a missed opportunity for the country, considering that renewables are set to provide the cheapest form of electricity. With the support of flexible power generation, Mozambique could maximize its renewable energy potential by integrating a significantly higher share of low-cost wind and solar power plants, and vastly improve system reliability at the same time.
Mozambique has already taken steps in the right direction. Located close to the border with South Africa, the 175MW Central Termica de Ressano Garcia (CTRG) gas engine power plant continues to supply the country with highly reliable, flexible and competitively priced energy since 2014. Nonetheless, additional flexibility, in the form of gas engine power generation capacity, will be needed to complement the expansion of cheap renewables and accelerate the country’s economic and industrial development. It would also provide Mozambique with a unique competitive advantage, generating important revenues by exporting much sought-after gas-powered flexible electricity to the SAPP.
The government recognizes the amazing opportunity that gas offers to transform Mozambique’s economy and position the country as a regional energy hub. It will only happen with well-informed, well thought-out energy strategy. And the decisions taken today to build the right energy mix will have significant impact on the transition to cleaner energy not just for the country, but for Southern Africa as a whole.
About the Author
Fhedzi Modau is a Business Developer for Wärtsilä Energy Business focusing on South and East Africa. He completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) with the University of Pretoria (UP) – Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Electrical Engineering with the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (UKZN). Fhedzi offers 19+ years of experience in engineering, project management, research, technology, innovation, advisory, deal structuring, project finance, policy and strategy within the energy industry – namely, oil, gas and power – in both public and private sector.
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, on Monday, held a meeting with power sector players to discuss their 2021 maintenance schedules.
In attendance were Chief Executives of VRA and GRIDCo, CEO of Ghana Gas, MD of ECG, Deputy CEOs of Bui Power Authority (BPA), CEO of CENPOWER, Officials of Sunon Asogli Power Ghana, AKSA and other Independent Power Producers in the West African nation.
In a Facebook post, the Minister explained that knowing these schedules would help in providing adequate and timely information to the public should these planned mandatory maintenances affect power supply.
“The public will, in due course, be updated on which plants will be in maintenance, when they are scheduled to be maintained and any effects as a result of these essential works,” his post said.
Ghanaians have been experiencing pockets of power outages largely due to some challenges at the transmission value chain of the power sector.
The transmission company, GRIDCo, is currently undertaking repair works to strengthen its transmission network.
“There is no doubt that Independent Power Producers (IPPs) play a critical role in ensuring that we have a constant supply of power nationwide,” the Minister had said earlier.
In conclusion, the Minister posted: “In a bid to maintain transparency to the people of Ghana, I summoned a meeting of the IPPs in my office yesterday to request the maintenance schedules for their power plants.”
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s new Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has given indication of his support for the country’s upstream regulator, Petroleum Commission to ensure that foreigners who do business in the country deal fairly with Ghanaians.
“As Minister for Energy, I am in a good position to protect the interests of government, and for that matter, Ghanaians and I assured PC of my support to them to ensure that entities that come to do business in Ghana deal with us fairly,” the Energy Minister said during a meeting with the Petroleum Commission on Monday.
The West African nation produces 200,000bpd from three oil producing oil fields notably Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa Gye Nyame. However, current data shows that oil production has declined to about 156,000bpd.
The Petroleum Commission’s team was led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Egbert Faibille Jnr.
In a Facebook post, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh noted that the Commission provided him and his team an update on their activities and also discussed some of their pertinent challenges.
According to the Minister, he used the occasion to task the Commission to increase the level of Ghanaian participation in the oil and gas industry.
“I charged the Commission to increase the level of local content in our oil and gas industry and was pleased to learn that that various projects such as sponsoring welders to attain world-class certification is ongoing. I am confident of the strong leadership at PC and looking forward to bolder actions from them,” he said.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
By Ishmael Ackah, Katie Auth, Todd Moss, John Kwakye
Ghana’s electricity sector faces an urgent crisis of immense financial strain that calls for a new, more transparent approach for contracting power in the future.
Public information on current contracts is highly limited, which has contributed to overcapacity, weakened sector planning, mounting debt, and rising concerns over public accountability.
In order to reduce costs, pay down debt, improve electricity supply, and build a competitive market, much more information should be disclosed to the public about Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
This case study, written in collaboration with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA Ghana), identified 32 PPAs currently in force for the provision of electricity generation.
We have summarized the implications of these contracts, and compiled all available public information into a downloadable Annex. The purpose of the case study is to illuminate the problem of non-disclosure in Ghana and encourage future contracts to be far more transparent.
Read our full case study A-Case-Study-of-Ghanas-Power-Purchase-Agreements
Power supply to Maiduguri, one of the densely populated areas in Nigeria, West Africa, has been cut off of power supply, leaving over 800,000 without electricity.
This follows the bombing of two towers along the Mamaturu-Maiduguri 330kV transmission line by the Boko Haram insurgency group on Saturday.
The group carried a similar attack on the transmission company of Nigeria line supplying power to Maiduguri and its environs about two months ago.
The TCN made concerted effort and restored power to the area, on 24th March, 2021, only for the group to carry out another attack on the transmission towers.
In a statement issued by Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, General Manager for Public Affairs at TCN, which confirmed the incident, said the incident occurred at about 5.56am on Saturday.
“The incident which occurred at about 5.56am, again cut power supply to Maiduguri and its environs.
This time, the insurgent’s chain bombed two other towers; T152 and T153 along the same line route of the other incident.
“TCN would continue to do all that it can to ensure power supply is restored to the affected areas,” the statement said.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
European oil majors Shell, Eni, and OMV are looking to sell their oil and gas assets in North African country Tunisia, sources in the industry told Reuters on Friday.
Tunisia has been struggling to provide a stable regulatory environment for foreign firms over the past ten years since the Arab Spring of 2011.
At the same time, Europe’s oil firms are now more aggressively looking to divest non-core assets to cut debt and open more investment opportunities in low-carbon energy sources as they plan to drastically cut emissions and become net-zero energy businesses in three decades.
According to Reuters’ sources, Shell has hired Rothschild & Co. to assist in the sale of its Tunisian assets, while Eni has retained investment bank Lazard for the sale of its operations in Tunisia.
OMV, which has already sold part of its Tunisian portfolio, is also looking to exit the North African country, the sources told Reuters.
Italy’s Eni, which has been present in Tunisia since 1961, produced 1 million barrels of oil and condensate in the country in 2019, while annual gas production stood at 4 bcf.
Eni has nine concession contacts and an exploration permit, Borj El Khadra, in Tunisia, according to its website.
Shell, which has been present in Tunisia for almost 90 years, sold in 2011 its downstream business but continued upstream exploration. With the 2016 acquisition of BG Group, Shell became the owner of producing offshore gas fields and their supporting facilities, a liquefied petroleum gas extraction plant, pipelines, storage, and export terminals.
Austria-based OMV has already sold part of its business in Tunisia, divesting some of its operations in 2018, but retaining its ownership of the development of the Nawara Concession, involving gas field infrastructure and a pipeline from a central processing plant.
The Tunisian assets of those majors may no longer be considered important given the net-zero pledges, while the political environment in Tunisia may have also played a role in the potential exodus.
The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) in the Republic of Ghana says it expected the government to take steps to address the issue of tax evasion in the country’s downstream petroleum sector instead of introducing new taxes on petroleum products.
A recent report by the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBODs) revealed that Ghana lost GH₵1.9 billion to tax evasion in 2019.
The Chairman of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies, Henry Akwaboah indicated that inasmuch as taxes are important, a lot more focus should be given to sealing the leakages.
“Every country needs taxes to develop the nation, and I am not averse to it. I rather want to support the government in collecting the taxes but the question we need to ask ourselves is, are we able to collect the current taxes in the price build-up such that there are no leakages anywhere and that every player in the industry is being made to collect these taxes on behalf of the government?
“We all know that some players are evading taxes in many ways.”
Commenting on how these tax evasions were impacting on the industry, Mr. Akwaboah said, “That also results in the price differentials you see on the market. So the government needs to zoom in and see if people are paying the taxes or not. We have heard about products coming into the country that do not go through the official channel. Who is looking after these? I would be happy to support any effort to clamp down on all these activities, so we need to look at it. Let’s look at it to see whether taxes really have to be increased if we are efficient at collecting what has been put on the prices today.”
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The Pokuase BSP was about 87 percent complete while that of Kasoa was about 40 percent complete.
As at today energynewsafrica.com understands that the Pokuase BSP is about 96% complete.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com in an interview, the Business Development Manager of the Company, Mr Elikplim Apetorgbor indicated that the expected total investment cost for the two projects is about USD$700 million.
According to him, the 20MWp – 50MWp solar PV plant deployment by the Sunon Asogli Power Gh. Ltd is urgently needed to augment the power supply in the capital, Freetown, and other parts of the country as well as to complement power supply for the future construction works of the 160MW Bengongor Hydro Power plant in four years.
Touching on the deal, he explained that it was reached in a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Energy, representing the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone on one hand, and the Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana) Ltd on the other hand, after a meeting with the experts of the Ministry of Energy and other key stakeholders on 29th March, 2021.
The 7-member delegation later met with the Ministers and officials of the Ministries of Finance, Lands and Internal Affairs after which they paid a courtesy call on H.E. the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, who was elated about the visit and promised his utmost support to ensure the delivery of the projects within the shortest possible time.
Leading the investors from Ghana was H. E Mrs Frances Anderson, Sierra Leone’s High Commissioner to Ghana.
She was assisted by Mr Philip Brima Kabba, the First Secretary to the High Commission.
The Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Ltd team, which comprised Mr Qun Yang, Chairman of Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Ltd ; Mr. Wang Zhengjun, Deputy General Manager of the West Africa Development Unit; Mr Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, and Mr. Li Kanglin, Energy Experts and Business Development Managers of West Africa Development Unit (WADU) of Shenzhen Energy Group was led by Togbe Afede XIV, a Development and Investment Expert who is also a Director of Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Ltd.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
“I charged the Commission to increase the level of local content in our oil and gas industry and was pleased to learn that that various projects such as sponsoring welders to attain world-class certification is ongoing. I am confident of the strong leadership at PC and looking forward to bolder actions from them,” he said.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
