Ghana: WAPCo To Shutdown Its Takoradi Facility For 10-Day Maintenance
The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) has announced that it will shut down its Takoradi Regulating and Metering Station from Thursday, 12th January to Sunday 22nd January 2023 to undertake a 10-day coordinated and planned maintenance of the facility.
A statement issued by the company explained that the shutdown is to allow for the replacement of some critical valves at the facility aimed at securing the safety and integrity of the Takoradi Station.
This means there would be no gas transportation from the Takoradi facility to customers in the Tema power enclave during the period of the shutdown.
However, WAPCO said it would continue to deliver gas from Nigeria to Tema based on volumes agreed between the customer and the shipper.
The shutdown is supported by the Ministry of Energy (MoE) and coordinated with Ghana Grid Company Ltd (GRIDCo), the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and other key stakeholders to minimise the impact of the shutdown on communities that rely on power generated from cleaner and more efficient gas transported through the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).
“WAPCo wishes to apologise to its customers in Tema for the inconvenience that may be caused by the planned shutdown. We will work collaboratively with our contractors to ensure that the shutdown activities are safely executed and within the timeline stated herein. The gas supply would be immediately restored after the completion of the maintenance works and commissioning of the Takoradi facility,” the company said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Energy Minister In Hot Waters Over Genser Energy Deal…But Energy Ministry Denies Accusation And Blames Dr Asante
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has found himself in hot waters as the Senior Staff Association of Ghana National Gas Company is chasing him for allegedly approving a deal for a private energy firm, Genser Energy, to establish a gas processing plant in the Western Region to compete with the state-owned gas company.
The Minister’s alleged decision, according to the Senior Staff Association of Ghana Gas, amounts to stabbing President Akufo-Addo in the back as the President, last year, tasked Ghana Gas, the West African nation’s national gas aggregator, to establish a second gas processing plant to process more gas for electricity generation and domestic consumption.
In June 2021, the CEO of Ghana Gas, Dr Benjamin K.D. Asante announced that the company was going to start the construction of an additional gas processing plant to increase the capacity of their gas processing plant from 150mmscfd to 240mmscfd.
The company has since started the processes for the construction of the second gas processing plant.
However, a statement issued by the Senior Staff Association of Ghana Gas on Monday, 9th January 2023, revealed that the Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has approved a deal for Genser to establish a gas processing plant against President Akufo-Addo’s plan.
The workers expressed unhappiness about how the Minister is handling the issue of the concurrent existence of Genser Energy Ghana Limited’s Gas Conditioning Plant and Ghana Gas’ Gas Processing Plant Train 2.
According to them, Ghana Gas had the backing of former Ministers for its indigenisation agenda and wondered why the Minister is seeking to cripple the company.
The workers argued that Ghana Gas is 100 per cent owned by the state while Genser is known to have about 90 per cent of its shares owned by foreigners.
They stated that the company repatriates over 80 per cent of its revenue to South Africa.
“It baffles the mind of workers of Ghana Gas for any Minister of State to do the bidding of Genser at the expense of a state-owned company,” the workers said in the statement signed by Richmond Alamu, Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Ghana Gas.
“Having analysed the issues and information gathered from the Ministry of Energy, the Senior Staff Association of Ghana Gas is convinced that the sector Minister is bent on pushing this Genser deal despite several calls from sister companies including VRA, GRIDCO and ECG (whose operations have also been taken over in the mining sector in the west by Genser) that this Genser deal will gradually collapse state-owned companies. Again, the workers of Ghana Gas feel betrayed by the Energy Minister because in 2020, during the covid 19 pandemic and months before the elections, the then Minister, through the board and management of Ghana Gas, challenged the workers to work more than 200 per cent of their normal working hours through risky moments to ensure continuous availability of power despite the health risk those moments posed.
They, thereby, consider the sector Minister’s current posturing as a stab in the back given all the efforts being made by Ghana Gas to support the sector,” they said.
Concluding, the workers called on the Presidency to intervene, since the President’s dream of having a second Gas Processing Plant is on the line.
When contacted by the energynewsafrica.com, via telephone, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who is currently out of the country, said, “Discount the story.”
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the communication department of the Ministry has denied claims by the Senior Staff Association of Ghana Gas.
The Ministry stated that the sector Minister has not signed any contract with Genser Energy.
The Ministry accused the CEO of Ghana Gas of misleading the company’s Senior Staff Association.
This portal has attempted to reach the CEO of Ghana Gas for his comments but it has not been successful.
The Ministry’s response, according to sources, has angered staff of Ghana Gas who are privy to the deal.
Some civil society groups have also expressed worry about the issue.
It would be recalled that last year, the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) and IMANI Africa raised concerns about how the Minister approved a request by GNPC to sell gas to Genser Energy cheaply.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, according to the Ranking Member, John Abdulai Jinapor, had concluded an investigation into that transaction but the report is yet to be put before the Chamber.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Fuel Adulteration, Other Illegal Activities Reduced To 1.6%—Says NPA CEO
Ghana is on the path of completely stamping out illegal activities in the downstream petroleum industry, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has said.
A few years ago, the West African nation’s petroleum downstream was saddled with illegal activities including fuel adulteration, fuel smuggling, tax evasion and third-party trading among others.
A section of industry players, especially those who were compliant were worried over the sad development and called on the regulator to act to stem the bad practices.
Luckily, the situation has changed as a result of a commitment by the regulator to deal with the situation.
Speaking to a section of Ghanaian journalists recently to update them on the activities of NPA in 2022, the CEO of NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid revealed that the effort of the Authority has helped to reduce illegal activities in the petroleum downstream sector.
He said since 2015, the NPA had worked tirelessly, thus, leading to a drastic reduction in fuel adulteration and fuel smuggling.
“We have been able to drastically reduce the incident of fuel smuggling, adulteration etc. Since 2015, adulteration figures have reduced from 32% to 1.6%.
“We are confident that we will be more vigilant and be able to stamp out the issue of fuel adulteration,” Dr Abdul-Hamid said.
The NPA’s CEO also updated the press on the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) programme.
He said the programme was to commence fully in 2022 but due to some challenges, the Authority had rescheduled the full implementation to this year.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said GOIL had assured his outfit of their LPG Bottling plant, which is under construction and would commence operations in the first quarter of this year.
He said the CRM programme would commence fully once the LPG bottling plant starts operating.
Ghana, through the NPA, introduced the Cylinder Recirculation Model Programme to address rampant gas explosions following the Atomic Junction Gas explosion incident in October 2017.
Under the policy, all the current LPG retail outlets would be converted to LPG distribution centres where consumers could go with empty cylinders to exchange for ones that are already filled from the bottling plant.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
“We are confident that we will be more vigilant and be able to stamp out the issue of fuel adulteration,” Dr Abdul-Hamid said.
The NPA’s CEO also updated the press on the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) programme.
He said the programme was to commence fully in 2022 but due to some challenges, the Authority had rescheduled the full implementation to this year.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said GOIL had assured his outfit of their LPG Bottling plant, which is under construction and would commence operations in the first quarter of this year.
He said the CRM programme would commence fully once the LPG bottling plant starts operating.
Ghana, through the NPA, introduced the Cylinder Recirculation Model Programme to address rampant gas explosions following the Atomic Junction Gas explosion incident in October 2017.
Under the policy, all the current LPG retail outlets would be converted to LPG distribution centres where consumers could go with empty cylinders to exchange for ones that are already filled from the bottling plant.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Tears Flow As Boy Electrocuted In Prestea Area
Residents of Beppoh in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality in the Western Region in the Republic of Ghana were on Saturday thrown into a state of mourning when a 10-year-old boy was electrocuted.
The deceased, a primary 4 pupil, was said to be playing with his friends when he came into contact with a live electrical wire on the ground.
According to a story filed by Otec News, a local radio station, the Assembly Member for the Beppoh Electoral Area, Thomas Kofi Enyam, who confirmed the sad incident, said the boy got electrocuted after inserting the live wire into his mouth.
He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Beppoh CHPS compound.
According to the Assembly Member, the live wire was a connection between two stores, which fell off some days ago and was left unattended to.
The case has been reported to the police but no arrest has been made yet.
The deceased has since been deposited at the Bawdie morgue pending autopsy
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Zambia: Zesco Staggers Load Shedding Outage Period
Zambia’s power utility company, Zesco Limited, has restructured its load shedding exercise by staggering each outage to a minimum of six-hour period.
The company said it will stagger the current 12 hours’ load shedding exercise into six-hour intervals with a 6-hour break.
“The changed schedules are intended to provide customers some relief and will take effect on Monday, 9th January 2023 until further notice,” a statement issued by the company said.
Zesco encouraged customers to look out for updated load shedding schedules in the print media and its website for regular updates.
As a safety precaution, Zesco advised customers to treat all supply lines to be live as power may be restored before the schedule time.
The company commenced load shedding exercise last Tuesday 3rd January 2023 owing to the reduced water levels in the Kariba Reservoir for electricity generation at the Kariba North Bank Power Station.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Russian Lukoil To Sell Strategic Italian Refinery To Trafigura-Backed Company
Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil company has agreed to sell its Italian ISAB refinery to a Cypriot company backed by Geneva-based commodities trader Trafigura.
The deal will see Lukoil’s 100% subsidiary, Litasco S.A., sell the ISAB refinery to Cyprus-based G.O.I. Energy Limited, a private equity firm backed by Trafigura, according to a statement on Lukoil’s website.
The deal value was not disclosed.
According to Lukoil, the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of March 2023 upon fulfillment of “certain conditions precedent including receipt of necessary approvals of competent authorities, particularly the Italian Government”.
ISAB encompasses a large petrochemical complex in Italy, which combines refining, gasification and electricity cogeneration plants.
Cyprus-based G.O.I Energy is run by Israeli Green Oil CEO Michael Bobrov, according to Reuters, while Green Oil holds a major stake in Bazan Group, Israel’s largest refiner.
The deal will allow Western-based Trafigura to handle oil supplies for the Italian refinery, should the Italian government agree to the sale.
ISAB is an important strategic asset for Italy, refining approximately one-fifth of Italy’s crude oil, according to Reuters.
As of December 5th, in line with the European Union ban on Russian seaborne crude, the ISAB refinery is no longer permitted to import Russian oil.
In early December, the Italian government said it was considering direct state intervention to keep the refinery running after December 5th, noting that ISAB had been forced to rely fully on Russian oil because banks halted financing and guarantees for other oil purchases, Reuters reported.
Lukoil also owns a network of some 230 branded gas stations in the United States, distributing in 11 states.
At the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, these gas stations garnered much media attention, with vague calls for boycotts. Those call, however, dissipated by the end of March, when it became clear that boycotting them would harm the American franchise owners.
Source: Oilprice.com
South Africa: Former Eskom CEO Poisoned
A former Chief Executive Officer of Eskom, a struggling South African power utility company, André De Ruyter, has allegedly been poisoned.
De Ruyter is said to have drunk coffee suspected to be laced with cyanide.
Cyanide is a rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist in various forms.
It is not yet known who wanted to end De Ruyter’s life, but the report suggests that police in South Africa are investigating the alleged poisoning.
According to a report by theguardian.com, the alleged poisoning of De Ruyter was first reported by the specialist energy publication, EE Business Intelligence, last Saturday.
The report said that De Ruyter drank a cup of coffee suspected to be laced with cyanide.
“De Ruyter became weak, dizzy and confused, shaking uncontrollably and vomiting copiously. He subsequently collapsed, unable to walk,” EEBI said.
“He was rushed to his doctor’s rooms by his security detail, where his condition was diagnosed as cyanide poisoning and treated accordingly. Tests are taken subsequently confirmed massively elevated levels of cyanide in his body.”
André de Ruyter resigned from his post at Eskom on 14th December 2022 after backlash from South Africa’s Minister for Energy and Minerals Resources, Gwede Mantashe, who accused him of sabotaging the government with massive load shedding by Eskom.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
France’s Nuclear Power Output Rises, Easing European Energy Woes
France’s nuclear fleet is coming back online, with Bloomberg estimating that 73% of the country’s 56 reactors were available on Friday. That is significantly more reactors than in recent months, which eases some of the concerns about power supply in France and Europe.
To compare, only 40% of France’s 56 reactors were available in August 2022, when many reactors were under routine or unplanned maintenance, river water levels were low, and temperatures in rivers were too high to be used for reactor cooling.
Low nuclear power availability had been a major issue for the French power system for most of the past year, as more than half of the country’s reactors were offline at one point in the autumn due to repairs or maintenance.
The higher nuclear power availability in France, a major producer of electricity from nuclear energy, eases concerns about power shortages this winter.
France is now more confident about its power supply for the coming weeks compared to a month ago, thanks to reduced consumption and increased nuclear power generation, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told local France info radio earlier this week.
“I am more confident over the coming weeks,” France’s PM told the radio when asked about the country’s energy supply.
Last month, Xavier Piechaczyk, the head of grid operator RTE, said that France could face the risk of power cuts this winter when the electricity supply may not be enough to meet demand.
In November, RTE said that the French electricity grid is at higher risk of strained power supplies in January 2023 than previously estimated due to lower nuclear power generation.
Delays in routine maintenance work at France’s nuclear power stations will lead to a slightly lower nuclear availability this winter than expected back in September, the grid operator said. This raises the risk of a power supply crunch in January, RTE said in its latest winter preparedness analysis in November.
Source: Oilprice.com
Zambia: Zesco Extends Load Shedding Time From Six To 12 Hours
Zambia’s power utility company, Zesco, has extended the ongoing power rationing from the initial six hours to 12 hours owing to the reduced water levels in the Kariba Reservoir.
The company announced a six-hour load shedding beginning last Tuesday 3rd January through to 25th January 2023.
However, the company in an update on Wednesday, 4th January, said it had adjusted the load-shedding hours from six hours to 12 hours daily until further notice.
“The Corporation’s ability to meet power demand remains constrained by the drastic reduction in available water in the Kariba Reservoir for electricity generation at the Kariba North Bank Power Station. At present, the power station’s generating capacity has been reduced from its installed 1080MegaWatts (MW) to below 400MW,” reads the statement in parts.
The firm, furthermore, states that the removal of a 150MW generator at Maamba Collieries Limited Power Plant for routine annual maintenance from 4th January until 20th January 2023 has exacerbated the situation.
“ZESCO deeply regrets the inconvenience that will be caused,” the statement reads.
This is the second time in just a few years that Zambia has had to introduce 12-hour daily load-shedding cycles.
Zimbabwe is in the same boat (actually even worse) as the power company there has had to implement 18 to 20 hour load-shedding in 2019 and again from late last year up till now.
Further south, South Africa has also been implementing load-shedding for several hours a day due to frequent breakdowns at its ageing coal power plants.
The Southern African region is facing a serious electricity crisis and needs to start working on some urgent solutions.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Pakistan Orders Shopping Centres, Markets To Close Early To Conserve Power As Economic Crisis Deepens
Pakistan’s government has ordered shopping centres and markets to close early every day as part of measures to economise energy as the country faces an energy and economic crisis.
A BBC report quoted the country’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif that the measures would save the South Asian nation around 62bn Pakistani rupees ($274.3m; £228.9m).
Pakistan generates most of its power using imported fossil fuels.
The closure of shopping centres and markets earlier than their normal closing hours of the day is expected to reduce their electricity consumption.
In a post shared by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League -N(PML-N) party on Twitter and sighted by energynewsafrica.com, Pakistan intends to ban the production of inefficient electric fans by July this year.
“The federal cabinet has immediately approved the Energy Conservation Plan’s enforcement,” it said.
It said a campaign would be launched in print, electronic and social media to raise awareness of the energy conservation plan.
It further said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed, during the cabinet meeting, to reduce the usage of electricity in all federal departments by 30 per cent.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
ADNOC To Spend $15 Billion On Energy-Transition Projects Over Next Decade
The United Arab Emirates is earmarking $15 billion for energy-transition projects over the rest of the decade as the Middle Eastern oil producer seeks to burnish its green credentials ahead of hosting a key global climate summit.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. will make the investments, the government said in a statement on Jan. 5.
The state-owned company will look at international partnerships and carbon capture as part of its expansion of a cleaner-energy unit established last year.
ADNOC said in November that it would boost investments on all energy over the next five years — including oil — to $150 billion.
It plans several announcements over the next several months on its efforts to become greener. So far, its main focus is on cutting emissions and shifting to cleaner energy use at home while still exporting hydrocarbons and products they’re refined into.
Dubai will host the United Nation’s COP28 climate change conference in November and December, drawing heads of state, scientists and business leaders.
The UAE has said that oil-producing countries and companies must be part of the climate change debate and that there should also be discussions about energy security and affordability.
Source: Reuters
Brazil: Petrobras CEO Resigns
The Chief Executive Officer of Petrobras, a Brazilian national oil company, Caio Paes de Andrade, has resigned.
According to a report by Reuters, Andrade’s term of office was expected to expire in April but decided to quit earlier.
His resignation comes shortly after the country’s Mines and Energy Ministry said it would formally appoint Senator Jean-Paul Prates to head the state-run firm after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced it last week.
Andrade was handpicked by former right-wing President, Jair Bolsonaro after three of his predecessors had left, following clashes with Bolsonaro over Petrobras’ fuel pricing policy.
The move paves the way for Prates, a senator from Lula’s left-wing Workers Party, to take the helm before the current management’s tenure ends, though he must still win approval from internal Petrobras committees.
Pirates will need final approval as a board member and subsequently as CEO from the firm’s current board of directors.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: Kaduna Electric Launches Whistle Blower Platforms
Kaduna Electric, one of the power distribution companies in the Republic of Nigeria, has launched whistle-blower platforms where customers can report both staff and customer misdemeanours.
The company, in a statement announcing the initiative, said a dedicated mobile phone number has been provided that customers can call 24/7 to provide vital information that will help arrest nefarious activities of electricity users in their communities.
The statement said that in addition to phone calls, customers can send text messages or write to the company via a dedicated email address to report cases of energy theft, meter bypass and tampering.
The dedicated mobile phone number is 09046207922 through which customers can call or text while the dedicated email address is [email protected].
It added that the platforms could be accessed through the company’s website.
According to the company, customers could report a staff of the company, who is involved in any sort of shady activity such as colluding to defraud the company or extorting money from unsuspecting customers, via the platforms.
The statement further said the whistle-blower platforms are safe and that customers’ privacy and anonymity are fully guaranteed.
He urged the company’s esteemed customers to take advantage of the platform to help improve its electricity supply services in its franchise states.
Customers can also log onto www.kadunaelectric.com to access the whistle-blower link.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Tesla Delivered Record 1.3 Million Electric Vehicles In 2022
Electric car maker Tesla said it delivered a record 1.3 million vehicles last year, 40% more than in 2021.
But the firm, led by billionaire Elon Musk, fell short of Wall Street sales forecasts for the final months of the year.
The company’s shares sank by more than 12% on Tuesday after the update.
In a statement to investors, Tesla said it had to deal with “significant Covid and supply chain related challenges throughout the year”.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday authorities in South Korea said they would fine Tesla $2.2m (£1.8m) for failing to tell its customers about the shorter driving range of its electric vehicles in low temperatures.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission said the company had exaggerated the “driving ranges of its cars on a single charge, their fuel cost-effectiveness compared to gasoline vehicles as well as the performance of its Superchargers”.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
The slide in the share price on Tuesday wiped more than $50bn (£41bn) off Tesla’s market value, which has long been seen as outsized compared with carmakers like Ford and General Motors, who make more vehicles.
Tesla shares tumbled 65% last year – its worst year since going public in 2010 – as investors worried about disruptions to production, concerns over a slowdown in demand and Mr Musk’s focus on newly acquired Twitter.
The multi-billionaire bought the social media platform at the end of October for $44bn (£36.4bn) and has spent much of his time since then trying to turn the business around even as Tesla faces rising challenges.
Like other car makers, Tesla is grappling with the likelihood of slowing demand for vehicles as customers deal with rising borrowing costs and concerns about an economic slowdown.
Tesla also faces competition from traditional motor manufacturing giants such as Ford and General Motors, as well as newer entrants to the market like Rivian and Lucid in the US and China’s BYD and Nio.
Highlighting the logistics issues faced by the world’s most valuable car maker, deliveries in the fourth quarter of the year were also about 34,000 fewer than Tesla produced.
The shortfall is unusual for Tesla, as it had previously managed to deliver about as many vehicles as it produced.
In October chief executive Musk said he was working to resolve the issue, and pushed back on the idea that demand was hurting.
The company is scheduled to announce financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the year as a whole on 25 January.
Tesla said in a separate statement that it plans to host its Investor Day on 1 March and livestream the event from its Gigafactory in Texas.
“Our investors will be able to see our most advanced production line as well as discuss long term expansion plans, generation 3 platform, capital allocation and other subjects with our leadership team,” the company said.
Source: BBC