The Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) sector in Kenya has shown a strong rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic as it continues to create stable jobs, a study has shown.
It is also delivering clean and affordable energy to the 25 per cent of the population living without access to electricity, a majority of whom are in remote rural areas.
A decentralised energy system allows for more optimal use of renewable energy as well as combined heat and power, reduces fossil fuel use and increases eco-efficiency.
Examples of decentralised energy systems include combined heat and power (CPH), waste plants, burning biomass, solar energy, and geothermal.
CHP is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies using a range of technologies and fuels.
DREs can serve a whole community, a building or a village.
According to the Power Jobs Census 2022:The Energy Access Workforce Kenya report, the country’s DRE sector which includes pico-solar appliances, solar home systems (SHS), and commercial and industrial standalone systems, created over 48,000 jobs in 2021 .
This is projected to reach 58,000 in 2023.
The country lost almost 3,000 DRE jobs in 2020 and 2021, mostly as a result of declining solar home systems sales during the global pandemic, and accompanying economic downturn and supply chain disruptions.
SHS sales are expected to bounce back by 2023, creating more employment opportunities.
The study by Power for All, the global campaign to end energy poverty, in collaboration with various partners in Kenya, examined the labor market for the DRE industry in five countries -Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.
It was supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, Good Energies Foundation, and the European Programme GET.invest and surveyed more than 350 companies across the five countries.
Of the five countries studied, Kenya ranked second to Nigeria in terms of post-pandemic recovery and DRE job growth.
The sector is expected to bounce back to its pre-pandemic employment numbers by the end of 2022, with total jobs projected to reach 53,000.
Kenya currently ranks fifth in electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa, with 75 percent of its population having access to electricity in 2021—up from 36 percent in 2014, thanks to the growth of both grid-powered and solar-powered homes.
However, as in most African countries, there is a significant difference in electricity access between rural and urban populations.
While more than 94 per cent of people living in urban areas have electricity access, only 63 per cent of those living in rural areas do.
This is a result of the high costs of extending the national grid to remote rural areas.
In 2007 to address this issue, the Kenyan government created the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) with the aim of accelerating universal access to electricity.
This is through grid extension and the deployment of DRE technologies.
“The report findings demonstrate the viability of the DRE sector to help accelerate the country’s universal energy access agenda while addressing the high levels of unemployment, especially in rural areas,” Power for All’s campaigns and partnership manager, Anand Pathanjali, said.
Kenya is the most developed DRE market in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for more than a quarter of the total annual sales of solar home systems products in the region.
As the sector matures, large-scale commercial, industrial and mini-grid systems are expected to become increasingly important and major job creators.
“However, this growth is likely to be stymied due to the country’s ban on mini-grid development within a 15 kilometer radius of the national grid,” the study notes.
Of the five countries surveyed, Kenya leads in the integration of women into the DRE workforce with 41 per cent of the employees being female.
This was a significant increase from the Powering Jobs Census 2019 data, in which the participation rate for women was 23 per cent.
On the other hand, the sector is behind the national average of 49 per cent, calling for increased efforts to bring more women into the sector and in more meaningful positions.
According to the survey, there was also a sizeable gender pay gap in the Kenyan DRE sector with women in the sector earning, on average, 78 per cent less than their male counterparts.
The study also identified the skills DRE company leaders want their staff to possess and calls for collaboration between various stakeholders—education institutions, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), government and DRE companies.
This is to support re-skilling and up-skilling to fully realise the sector’s potential to deliver modern energy (SDG 7), as well as good work and decent jobs (SDG 8).
“While Kenya has already made significant strides in attracting private investment for renewable energy projects, the government must continue supporting the development of DRE technologies to meet increasing electricity demand,” Pathanjali said in a statement yesterday.
Relevant policies should aim for an integrated energy sector that leverages the benefits of both on-grid and off-grid technologies.
The Powering Jobs Census 2022 coordinated and led by Power for All is part of the #PoweringJobs campaign.
Across the world, centralised energy systems based on fossil fuels have been supported by large capital projects through state investments and loans (although many have private equity in the meantime).
This has led to higher energy prices, to a certain misalignment with the SDG (sustainable development goals).
It is also exposing countries to Energy Return on Investment (which is declining) risks supporting complex societies.
Source: The Star
The Head of QatarEnergy, Saad al-Kaabi, said on Monday all oil and gas trade should be depoliticized, calling for policies to move away from sanctions and anti-free market agreements.
The comments by Kaabi, who is also Qatar’s minister of state for energy, come ahead of a Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) meeting in Egypt and echo the views of many industry players who fear a G7 price cap on Russian oil could paralyse the trade worldwide.
“The State of Qatar and QatarEnergy urge all governments and multilateral institutions to craft policies which depoliticize the exchange of fuel commodities in the form of sanctions or anti-free market agreements,” Kaabi said in a statement.
QatarEnergy is one of the world’s top liqueified natural gas (LNG) exporters.
The Group of Seven countries agreed last month to cap Russian oil sales at an enforced low price by Dec. 5. The European Commission also last week proposed its latest set of emergency measures to tackle high energy prices, but steered clear of an immediate cap on gas prices as EU countries remain split over the idea.
More than 15 EU countries, including Italy, Poland, Greece and Belgium, have called for an EU gas price cap, but disagree on its design. Germany and the Netherlands warn capping gas prices could leave countries struggling to attract fuel from global markets during a winter with scarce Russian supply.
Kaabi also said governments should condemn, “the sabotage and military attacks on energy infrastructure or power grids.”
Russia stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine this month with missiles and drones targeting major cities and energy infrastructure.
Ukraine’s energy minister has said at least half of Ukraine’s thermal generation capacity was hit.
Source: Reuters
Ghana has extended electricity access to almost 90 per cent of her population, energynewsafrica.com can report.
As of December 2016, the country’s electricity access was hovering around 79.3 per cent.
It, however, declined to 79 per cent in 2017.
Interestingly, from 2018 to date, the number of people who have access to electricity has increased.
Speaking at the just ended African Energy Week 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa, Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh revealed that current data shows that people with access to electricity in Ghana has reached 88.50 per cent.
“Ghana stands as a beacon for the continent with an energy access of 88.50% and is ready to lead the West African region to become the energy hub for providing reliable and sustainable energy to stimulate socio-economic growth,” he said.
With the current figure, it means the Akufo-Addo administration has increased electricity access by 9.3 per cent over the last five years.
President Akufo-Addo has pledged his commitment to ensure that Ghana achieves universal access to electricity by the time he leaves office.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has signed an agreement to extend a loan facility of US$60 million to Ghana’s power transmission company, GRIDCo.
The purpose of the facility is to finance the installation and upgrading of transmission lines in Ghana.
The signing ceremony of the agreement took place on 18th October 2022, at the head office of the bank in Lome, Togo.
The President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr George Agyekum Donkor signed on behalf of the bank while the CEO of GRIDco, Ing Ebenezer Kofi Essienyi signed on behalf of his outfit.
Dr. Donkor said as ECOWAS member states work towards post-COVID-19 economic recovery, it would be necessary to also expand regional electricity connectivity to accommodate growth.
In this regard, he stressed the need for the expansion of electricity infrastructure in the sub-region as a key sector that must be given the necessary attention.
Mr Donkor disclosed that the bank’s total commitment to Ghana stood at US$250 million as of 12th October 2022.
He reiterated the bank’s commitment to continue to finance infrastructure projects across all sectors of the economies of ECOWAS states to accelerate recovery and development for the region.
The President of EBID observed that the project was in line with the bank’s strategic objectives and aligned perfectly with Ghana’s agenda for ‘Jobs II’.
For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of GRIDCo, Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere said that the projects to be undertaken with EBID’s facility were part of a broader plan of GRIDCo to upgrade and install infrastructure to continue to improve efficiency and increase the transmission of power within Ghana and other West African counties such as Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote D’Ivoire.
While appreciating the confidence reposed in GRIDCo by EBID, he stated that the completion of the project would lead to the strengthening and expansion of the transmission network, reducing technical losses and enhancing businesses and livelihoods in Ghana and the ECOWAS subregion.
Ambassador Blay-Ahimere commended the President of EBID and his team for their dedication and professionalism that saw the expeditious completion of the credit process and the consummation of the transaction.
Present at the ceremony were Ghana’s ambassador to Togo, Kofi Dementia, Executives from C-Energy Ghana, and the Managing Director of Calbank PLC., Philip Owiredu.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Taiwan is stocking up on natural gas and coal in anticipation of more military action from Beijing, Reuters has reported, citing a Taipei government official.
In case of a Chinese attack on the island or a blockade, Reuters wrote, the Taiwan government wanted to boost its resilience since it is almost completely dependent on imports for its energy demand.
“When it does happen, we need to be able to undertake pressure to a certain degree,” Tseng Wen-Sheng, a deputy economy minister, told Reuters.
Taiwan depends on imports for some 98 percent of its energy consumption, with coal and natural gas accounting for 81.5 percent of electricity generation on the island.
Nuclear provides another 9.6 percent and wind and solar contribute another 6 percent.
China has been conducting military drills around Taiwan regularly but recently stepped these up, prompting Taiwan to accuse it of a blockade and of simulating a future invasion of the island.
The situation heated up in August when U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Following the visit, China cut several communication channels with the U.S. and called the visit an “egregious provocation”.
This month, the chief of the U.S. Navy warned that China could attack Taiwan by the end of the year and the U.S. must be ready to respond to this attack.
“When we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window,” Admiral Mike Gilday told the Atlantic Council last week, as quoted by the FT.
“I don’t mean at all to be alarmist. . it’s just that we can’t wish that away.”
Beijing, meanwhile, has blamed the U.S. for the escalation between China and Taiwan. President Xi Jinping said this weekend that if China is compelled to attack Taiwan, it would be because of “external forces”.
Source: Oilprice.com
By: Edmond Kombat
The shift from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy as the corner stone to the global energy transition has been at the tip of governments’ policy discussions across Africa and the world, with developed countries investing massively in renewable energy as part of efforts by their respective government’s energy security and climate action goals (ESI Africa, 2021).
Gielen D. and Boshell F. (2021), observe that while climate change mitigation remain a powerful driver behind the shift away from fossil fuel-based power generation, another factor influencing the shift is the fact that, renewable power has become the cheapest form of electricity generation and the costs continue to fall thanks to improvements in technology and economies of scale. No wonder the International Energy Agency (IEA), found that the share of renewable energy sources (including hydropower) within the global electricity generation mix has jumped to 28 percent of the power mix in 2021, up from 27 percent in 2019.
Growth in renewables, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), presents many direct and indirect sustainable economic benefits (with less or no negative effects on the environment) through job creation, reduced energy cost, stable energy prices, energy independence, and avoidance of climate impact et cetera. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates the expected increase in human welfare from the deployment of renewables as close to 4 percent, far exceeding the 0.8 percent rate of improvement in gross domestic product (GDP). The Agency suggest, savings from reduced health and environmental externalities, which are not fully reflected in conventional economic accounting systems, far offset the costs of the energy transition.
Africa Missing In The Game
The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that by 2050, Africa will have roughly 2 billion inhabitants, and two in five of the world’s children will be born on the continent.
However, the continent which is home to the world’s youngest population is still energy poor. According to data captured in the IEA Africa Energy Outlook 2022, some 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still don’t have access to electricity, when in global terms only 768 million people lack access to electricity. Again, the data shows that today 970 million Africans lack access to clean cooking. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remain the leading solution to urban population, but recent price spikes are making the commodity unaffordable for 30 million people across the continent, forcing many to revert to traditional use of biomass. This makes the need for clean energy for both consumption and production more crucial; for purposes of socio-economic and human development.
The World Bank (2018), argue that lack of access to energy represents a fundamental barrier to progress, and has impacts on a wide range of development indicators, including health, education, food security, gender equality, livelihoods, and poverty reduction. Renewable energy has therefore been found to play a critical role in closing Africa’s energy gap, which remains a massive obstacle to advancing development continent-wide. IRENA’s paper “Scaling up Renewable Energy Deployment in Africa” shows that Africa has the potential to install 310 Gigawatts (GW) of clean renewable power— or half the continent’s total electricity generation capacity, to meet nearly a quarter of its energy needs by 2030.
In another paper Renewable Energy Market Analysis: Africa and its Regions, IRENA and the AfDB (Africa Development Bank) estimate the continent’s solar PV technical potential at 7,900 GW, additional hydropower potential at 1,753 GW, and wind energy at 461 GW; suggesting that the continent possesses a respectable renewable energy potential.
Ironically, a recent paper titled The Renewable Energy Transition in Africa, jointly prepared by Germany’s KfW Development Bank, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), reports that most inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa face severe energy poverty, with less than half of the population found to have access to electricity in 2018.
The paper found that in 2018, only 20 percent of the electricity generated in Africa came from renewable sources, a very low investment figure compared with the rest of the world. Further the paper notes that even though in 2019 two-thirds of all newly added energy capacity for supplying electricity worldwide was based on renewable sources, only a mere 2 percent of this new generating capacity was in Africa; confirming IRENA’s report that only 2 percent of global investments in renewable energy in the last two decades were made in Africa, with significant regional disparities.
This is a continent that has vast resource potential in wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal energy, with Central and Southern Africa holding abundant mineral resources (IRENA 2022) essential to the production of electric batteries, wind turbines, and other low-carbon technologies. Furthermore, IEA (2022) finds that Africa is home to 60 percent of the best solar resources globally, yet only 1 percent of installed solar PV capacity. Also, the continent possesses vast resources of minerals that are critical for multiple clean energy technologies. The continent accounts for over 40 percent of global reserves of cobalt, manganese and platinum; and other key minerals such as lithium, graphite, and copper; critical for batteries and hydrogen technologies.
In spite of the immense benefits of renewable energy to the continent, coupled with the resource potential of the African continent, IRENA (2022) finds that the factors that would help accelerate green energy deployment in Africa have not yet been realized, because of exiting obstacles.
Africa’s Obstacles
In IRENA’s estimation, Africa will require an annual investment of US$70 billion in renewable energy projects until 2030 to effectively transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. But it must not be lost on us that countries within the African continent are largely low-income economies whose capacities are not yet up to the task of funding this emerging form of energy in large-scale. Aside investment and policy related challenges, several economic, institutional, technical and socio-cultural barriers hinders countries from moving from the high to the low emission pathway (Seetharaman et al. 2019; Adeniran and Onyekwena 2020).
The African Development Bank Group asserts that the private sector is key to mobilizing green energy investment and sustainable development in Africa and that climate change presents a US$3 trillion investment opportunity in Africa by 2030, of which 75 percent of the investment is expected to come from the private sector to complement public sector financing. However, there are few hurdles to surmount if the private sector would inject that level of funding expected of it.
The first hurdle is the willingness of the private sector to maintain its commitments in accelerating climate related investments in particularly an emerging economy like Africa. Fruman (2016), argues that the willingness would require an enhancement of cooperation between governments and the private sector; to help build trust, close knowledge gaps, spur action, generate a sense of combined ownership of agreed-upon actions, and promote collaboration. Moreover, it is widely acknowledged that developing countries like Africa face obstacles from the policy and regulatory point. To make the Africa market accessible to the private sector investor, policy clarity, enhanced regulation, and a transparent implementation strategies that establishes Africa’s energy transition roadmap is indeed necessary. Additionally, IRENA (2022) finds that investors’ willingness to commit capital to the renewable energy sector is driven by the perceived risk/return profile of investments, combined with risk mitigation— given that the sector face multiple barriers such as front-loaded cost structure of renewable energy projects, project proponents’ often limited knowledge and experience, and the lack of reliable investment data, particularly in developing countries.
Aside private sector investors’ willingness to inject capital in climate related technologies, it is well documented that the regional power pools across the African continent are faced with insufficient investment in infrastructure and network grids designed to accommodate conventional energy sources, resulting in high electricity losses and low supply quality, among other issues (Medillina et al. 2019).
Germany’s KfW Development Bank, GIZ & IRENA joint paper The Renewable Energy Transition in Africa, found inadequate grid infrastructures as another barrier to introducing and up-scaling inexpensive variable renewable energy, such as solar and wind. Improving the planning, operation and maintenance of electricity grids is of paramount importance for any form of energy transition and grid stabilization, the report noted. This according to the report, needs to be combined with significant investments in the modernization and expansion of distribution and transmission infrastructure, as well as energy storage and other technology and market solutions that improve system flexibility, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen national and regional power systems, and reduce technical and commercial losses.
Additionally, there are some African governments and industry players’ unwillingness to change as quickly as required, or introduce incentives to support clean renewables, which often slow the progress we need to see in the energy space (Okafor J. 2020). This is so because the global effort to accelerate the clean energy transition risks dwindling export revenue for Africa’s oil and gas.
McKinsey’s 2022 analysis on ‘The future of African oil and gas: Positioning for energy transition’ found that most African countries are highly exposed to the global energy transition, as their economies depend on oil and gas exports for more than 50 percent of their total export revenues.
The resentment from industry players and government in emerging economies such as Africa is that abandoning their oil and gas resources for clean renewable energy would affect badly their macroeconomic and socio-economic progress. As such Africa wants that space to exploit their fossil resources, earn revenue from exports of same, and ultimately deploy the revenue into infrastructure and services that raise living standards today, while transitioning to renewables and a lower-carbon future.
Source: Edmond Kombat, Director of Research & Finance, Institute for Energy Security
Ghana’s utility regulator, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), has directed ECG customers who were affected by the company’s PNS and ECash metering system to visit ECG’s District Offices, their website or PURC Regional offices from Monday, 24th to 28th October to complete a form for investigations and compensation.
A statement issued by the Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah said ECG, under the PURC’s regulatory oversight, shall investigate and analyse the information contained in submitted forms and compensate affected customers accordingly.
Dr. Ackah assured stakeholders that the Commission is committed to protecting the interests of both utilities and consumers.
“Only customers whose electricity supply was interrupted due to the vending failure will be considered for compensation,” Dr. Ishmael Ackah said.
A copy of the form below to guide readers on what is required from customers who were affected by the vending failure recently.
The Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has stressed the need for Africa to consider developing petroleum infrastructure networks across Africa if the continent is to address fuel distribution challenges and also aims to end energy poverty by 2030.
According to him, ending fuel poverty in Africa is not just about establishing either large or modular refineries but rather having an efficient fuel distribution network across the continent that makes it possible to transport fuel from one country to the other.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid made the call during a panel discussion on the 3rd day of the just-ended Africa Energy Week 2022, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from October 18-21, 2022.
The panelists were Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, CEO of NPA, Alex Cole, General Manager/Head Business Development Sahara Group, Anibor Kragha, Executive Secretary, African Refiners & Distributors Association, and Robert Meza, CEO of Trinity Energy.
The panelists sought to find solutions to Africa’s fuel demand and more especially solutions for new regional exporters.
Setting the stage for the discussion, Anibor Kragha, Executive Secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA), told the energy sector players across Africa that the continent’s total refinery capacity is about 3.3 million barrels per day from about 20 countries.
He continued that “ten years ago, the utilisation of the refineries across Africa was about 75 per cent but now it is between 50% and 55%.”
In his view, there was the need to first, bring back the continent’s refinery capacity to 100 per cent before “we look at other factors if the continent should have self-sufficiency of fuel.”
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, CEO of National Petroleum Authority and other officials of NPA at the African Energy Week 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa
Answering a question on what should be done to attract investments for refineries, Mr Humphrey Nwugo, Regional Chief Operating Officer for Southern Africa, Afreximbank, noted that there has been a decline in the capacity of refineries in Africa.
He blamed the situation on a lack of maintenance and investment.
To address the problem, he said the bank and other partners are setting up a US$3 billion infrastructure fund to support the development of petroleum infrastructure networks in Africa.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid told the gathering that Ghana has taken a bold step to address insufficient petroleum infrastructure in the country by establishing the Petroleum Hub Development Authority (PHDA) to establish a petroleum hub in the Western Region.
The project, which is private sector-led, is expected to have three refineries, storage tanks, water treatment plants and other facilities.
The $60 billion project is intended to serve West Africa upon completion.
Citing the West African Gas Pipeline Project which passes through Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria and allows the aforementioned countries to supply gas for power generation, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said it should be possible for countries within the southern belt of Africa to develop a network pipeline infrastructure and for those in the northern part to do same and then tie all of them together for African nations to be able to trade among themselves.
He, thus, called for collaboration between regional blocks within Africa notably ECOWAS, SADC and EAC.
“If we have an integrated pipeline for SADC, EAC, North Africa, then when we have done all that, you will see that it will be easy to tie them together to have a continental-wide petroleum infrastructure of feeding the entire continent,” Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid posited.Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
President of Nigeria H.E. Muhammadu Buhari has says Nigeria remains dedicated to the partnership with Siemens and the German Government to improve electricity generation in the West African country.
Receiving officials of Siemens Energy AG at State House, the President urged them not to relent in ensuring that government’s commitment to Nigerians in delivering the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) is fulfilled.
The President told the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Siemens Energy, Dr. Christian Bruch, the CEO of Siemens Africa, Nadia Haakansson, and the CEO of Siemens Nigeria, Mr. Seun Suleiman, that the outcome of the collaboration will deliver critical business enablers and opportunities to engage young enterprising Nigerians in various endeavours.
The President also welcomed the training of 200 Nigerian engineers on network development studies under the initiative, saying that this represents ”a very important upskilling and knowledge transfer process.”
The President added that he looks forward to the 5,000 engineers that would have been trained by the end of the programme.
Recounting his promise to Nigerians earlier in this administration to improve electricity supply by resolving capacity deficit across the sector’s value chain, the President lauded the German Government, through the former Chancellor, Angela Merkel, for graciously supporting the country, leading to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Siemens.
He also thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the German Government’s continued support for the PPI.
”A plan to deliver capacity improvements of 2,000 Megawatts in the transmission-distribution interface is now firmly the focus of PPI Phase I.
”In April 2022, the Honourable Minister of Power briefed me on the outcome of his visit to Germany where he held meetings with Siemens executives.
”That visit was fruitful in emphasizing the need to expedite delivery of the pilot PPI project, elements of which have started arriving in the country.
”The Honourable Minister also mentioned that you, Dr. Bruch, will pay a visit to Nigeria, and we are glad that you are with us today.
”The PPI remains a priority project for our Administration and Nigerians believe in the value that the Siemens’ brand can deliver.
”On our part, nothing is spared to ensure we improve the lives and livelihoods of our citizens,” he said.
President Buhari expressed delight at some notable progress on the implementation arrangements of the PPI, adding that the first batch of two power transformers already delivered by Siemens would be commissioned in November 2022.
”I have been reliably assured that 10 Power Transformers and 10 Mobile Substations would have been completely delivered and installed by May 2023.
”This is in spite of production challenges and constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has severely impacted global production and supply chain.”
The Nigerian leader thanked the Government of Germany for approving Euler Hermes to provide cover for the financing of the PPI pilot project, noting that this will serve as a template for the subsequent phases.
Acknowledging that the overall frameworks for technical and commercial arrangements are being concluded, the President said:
”However, what I would like to see is that we attain completion of the entire transaction process by December 2022. This will entrench the mandate of the PPI in full committal terms.”
The Minister of Power, Engr Abubakar Aliyu, thanked the President for ”the remarkable vision of PPI, adding that Nigerians will be thankful to him for a long time after leaving office, “because the power sector will be revitalized.”
He said Siemens was one of the world’s best in power, ”and will surely deliver.”
Dr Christian Bruch, after sympathizing with Nigerians affected by the current devastating flood, said his team was fully committed to the PPI, ”and we will push forward in the weeks and months ahead, as we need to move the process faster.”
He also promised to continue with trainings and improvement of capacities, adding that though general elections were ahead in Nigeria, ”the power initiative will continue, as we are fully committed, and will accelerate the process.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
OPEC member and Minister for Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima said cartels have always been looking forward to having a stable market to guarantee stable oil prices because its members also have economies that they manage.
As a result, he has called on world leaders to pursue peace and not act in ways that would trigger war.
According to him, wars bring disruptions in the world economies and cause a lot of havoc, citing the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
He made the call during an OPEC-Africa round table dialogue at the ongoing Africa Energy Week 2022 n Cape Town, South Africa.
The dialogue focused on the developments in the oil and gas sector, especially the energy transition and the impact of OPEC’s decision to cut supply by two million barrels of oil in November.
“There are two major events happening in the world today: the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the China-U.S. economic war. Africa is for peace, in the same way that OPEC is for peace. Even though some people say it is political the only thing the organisation and the members are doing is to have a stable market and this is something I did not understand until I joined OPEC. It is not about price. It is about a stable market. All of us have economies,” he stated.
“If you’re the Minister for Finance, you want to make sure that oil or the products from January to December have a little change in pricing. Why? Because you can plan better. But when you have a year in which the price can go up and down, you will have issues. So peace is very important,’’ he stated.
The ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia has disrupted world economies and caused food and fuel prices to rise, resulting in groaning across the world.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
African oil and gas companies have been urged to adopt new strategies including listing on both the local and international stock exchanges, to raise funds to finance their projects amidst the push for an energy transition which is starving in oil and gas projects.
The Acting CEO of Ghana’s national oil company (GNPC), Mr. Opoku Ahweneeh- Danquah gave the advice when he addressed a gathering of oil and gas industry players and investors on the second day of the ongoing 2022 African Energy Week in Cape Town, South Africa.
He noted that the global risk of tightening financial markets, coupled with the clear and present danger of capital flight out of African fossil fuel projects, is a clear indication to increase the involvement of the African financial sector in securing long-term capital for oil and gas projects.
“African oil and gas companies should increase their accessibility for equity investments through listings on local and international exchanges. Listings and capitalisation of non-African oil and gas companies on major stock exchanges completely dwarf that of African companies. Currently, no Africa NOC is listed on a public stock exchange in Africa or abroad compared to multiple listings of non-African NOCs…this can be partly blamed on the reluctance of African governments to divest some of their ownership of the NOCs,” he said.
“Overall, the ease of doing business in major oil-producing countries is sub-par compared to foreign oil-producing nations. In the World Bank’s 2020 ranking, there are no major African producers in the top hundred. This is a situation that has to improve,” he said
Mr. Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah, however, praised the Nigerian national oil company, the NNPC, for planning to launch an IPO in mid-2023.
He added, “However, we are seeing the light shining bright. I want to give a call up to my Nigerian brothers; for instance, the Nigerian NOC, the NNPC plans to launch an IPO in mid-2023.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Uniting African energy stakeholders with investors and international partners to drive industry growth and development, the African Energy Week (AEW) 2022 Conference and Exhibition featured its second Natural Gas Forum, focusing on local content and capital domiciliation laws and what can be done to keep the value of African energy in Africa.
The session featured a keynote speech by Dr. Ben K.D. Asante, CEO of Ghana National Gas Company, (Ghana Gas), who discussed the country and region’s upstream sector and how African economic development can benefit from energy, the creation of jobs, and the development of associated value-adding industries in both the oil and gas industry.
“We have to make sure that when investors come to Africa, they have access to capital; that they have access to reserve studies and well deliverability data; and that they have access to production profiles for proven, probably, and possible resources,” Dr. Asante, said adding, “Private sector participation and capacity building are essential for developing Ghana’s gas sector, with an institutional framework that is well-defined.”
Meanwhile, the forum featured a panel discussion, moderated by Elizabeth Rogo, CEO at energy consultancy company, Tsavo Oilfield Services, with participation from Dr. Asante; Ezekial Adesina, Executive Secretary, Africa Energy Study Group; Jozsef Marton, Partner, Preng & Associates; Dr. Odette Delbra, CEO, Gabon Oil; and Eric Williams, President and Principal Consultant, Royal Triangle Energy Solutions who discussed the natural gas economy in Africa under the theme, ‘Local content and capacity building within an emerging frontier’.
“Let us think in one way for Africa,” stated Dr. Odette Delbra, CEO of Gabon Oil, adding,” We need to monetize our gas. We have to stop flaring and translate that gas to energy. We need to ensure that all associated gas will be used first to give electricity to our population and then later we can transform that gas internally to create jobs and help with health and education.”
Warranting the need to reduce emissions across the energy sector, the speakers during the forum recognized the need for the continent to maximize its gas resources by building a gas-based economy and facilitating the development of economic diversification to promote socio economic development.
“Our resources are valuable,” indicated Eric Williams, President and Principal Consultant for Royal Triangle Energy Solutions, stating, “I wish for African gas. To monetize gas, you need to build something out of it. If we go back to the fundamentals and refocus our collective intellectual capacity, then I think we can start to address the poverty and underdevelopment issues that persist on the African continent.”
With many companies operating on the continent leading the way towards a sustainably developed hydrocarbon industry, the lucrative potential of associated chemicals and products such as fertilizers, plastics, lubricants, and chemical compounds, offers African gas producers an opportunity to bring jobs, wealth, and energy to their populations.
“Gas is a fuel and a feedstock,” Williams continued, concluding, “If you only use it as a fuel, you are losing the effect of the feedstock. The feedstock has the ability to build petrochemical and other facilities in one’s country. Meanwhile, there are two elements to local content, the backward path, and the forward linkage. The backward linkage is about jobs and services in the local environment, immediately putting developing countries at a disadvantage, leaving them without the capability to match developed countries. The forward linkage is where you build things that will provide beneficiation of the raw material in the country.”
Centered around the role Africa’s resources will play in meeting global energy demand while driving a just and sustainable energy transition, AEW 2022 is fully committed to ensuring the continent realizes its gas growth potential, facilitating the realization of project approvals, energy investment, and industry growth and development.
Energynewsafrica.com’s editor Michael Creg Afful is in Cape Town, South Africa covering the ongoing Africa Energy Week 2022.
The conference has brought together OPEC President, Secretary-General of OPEC, Energy Ministers, National Oil Companies in Africa, investors and Energy Sector Regulators.
Here are some exclusive pictures captured from the conference.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister for Energy, Republic of GhanaDr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, CEO of National Petroleum Authority, Mr. Charles Owusu, CEO of Petroleum Development Hub Corporation and other officials of NPA at the African Energy Week 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa.Dr. Ben K.D Asante (3rd Left), Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Gas Company with some staff of Ghana Gas at the African Energy Week 2022Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima (2nd Right) Minister for Mines and Hydrocarbons, Equatorial Guinea in a photograph with some delegates Gas at the African Energy Week 2022Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah, Acting CEO of GNPC making a presentation at the Africa Energy WeekLoic Chapuis, Senior Vice President in-charge of Gas and Low Carbon Energy, Technip Energies and Immanuel Mulunga, CEO of NAMCORHon. Puot Kang Chol, Minister for Petroleum, South SudanSource: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Kpedze Senior High School in the Volta Region has beaten five competing schools to emerge as the champions for this year’s Senior High School (SHS) ‘Renewable Energy Challenge’ organised by the Energy Commission.
The champions presented a Solar Dehydrator project at the finals of the 3rd edition of the SHS Renewable Energy Challenge which was held at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The event was highly patronised by players in the energy sector.
The competing schools were Bolgatanga Girls’ SHS, Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ SHS, Nkoranza Tech Institute, Business SHS, Ghana Secondary Technical School and Kpedze SHS.
The SHS Renewable Energy Challenge was sponsored by the Volta River Authority, Bui Power Authority, ECG, PURC, Clean Cooking Alliance and AFD.
Hon. Andrew Egyapa Mercer, Deputy Minister for EnergySource: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
The panelists sought to find solutions to Africa’s fuel demand and more especially solutions for new regional exporters.
Setting the stage for the discussion, Anibor Kragha, Executive Secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA), told the energy sector players across Africa that the continent’s total refinery capacity is about 3.3 million barrels per day from about 20 countries.
He continued that “ten years ago, the utilisation of the refineries across Africa was about 75 per cent but now it is between 50% and 55%.”
In his view, there was the need to first, bring back the continent’s refinery capacity to 100 per cent before “we look at other factors if the continent should have self-sufficiency of fuel.”
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid told the gathering that Ghana has taken a bold step to address insufficient petroleum infrastructure in the country by establishing the Petroleum Hub Development Authority (PHDA) to establish a petroleum hub in the Western Region.
The project, which is private sector-led, is expected to have three refineries, storage tanks, water treatment plants and other facilities.
The $60 billion project is intended to serve West Africa upon completion.
Citing the West African Gas Pipeline Project which passes through Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria and allows the aforementioned countries to supply gas for power generation, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said it should be possible for countries within the southern belt of Africa to develop a network pipeline infrastructure and for those in the northern part to do same and then tie all of them together for African nations to be able to trade among themselves.
He, thus, called for collaboration between regional blocks within Africa notably ECOWAS, SADC and EAC.
“If we have an integrated pipeline for SADC, EAC, North Africa, then when we have done all that, you will see that it will be easy to tie them together to have a continental-wide petroleum infrastructure of feeding the entire continent,” Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid posited.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
The Minister of Power, Engr Abubakar Aliyu, thanked the President for ”the remarkable vision of PPI, adding that Nigerians will be thankful to him for a long time after leaving office, “because the power sector will be revitalized.”
He said Siemens was one of the world’s best in power, ”and will surely deliver.”
Dr Christian Bruch, after sympathizing with Nigerians affected by the current devastating flood, said his team was fully committed to the PPI, ”and we will push forward in the weeks and months ahead, as we need to move the process faster.”
He also promised to continue with trainings and improvement of capacities, adding that though general elections were ahead in Nigeria, ”the power initiative will continue, as we are fully committed, and will accelerate the process.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Dr. Ben K.D Asante (3rd Left), Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Gas Company with some staff of Ghana Gas at the African Energy Week 2022
Hon. Puot Kang Chol, Minister for Petroleum, South Sudan
