Glencore Energy UK Ordered To Pay $310M Fine Over Bribery Offences In Africa
Glencore Energy UK Limited, a subsidiary of Swiss mining and trading giant, has been ordered to pay a total penalty of 276.4 million pounds ($310.6m) by a London court for seven bribery offences in relation to its oil operations in Africa.
The Presiding Judge of the Southwark Crown Court, Peter Fraser ordered the company to pay a fine of £182.9m and also approved £93.5m ($105m) to be confiscated from the company.
The company paid $26m (£23m) through agents and employees to officials of crude oil firms in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast between 2011 and 2016.
Prosecutors said Glencore Energy UK employees and agents used private jets to transfer cash to pay the bribes.
The judge said the offences to which Glencore had pleaded guilty represented “corporate corruption on a widespread scale, deploying very substantial sums of money in bribes.
“The corruption is of extended duration and took place across five separate countries in West Africa but had its origins in the West Africa oil trading desk of the defendant in London. It was endemic amongst traders on that particular desk,” he said.
On Wednesday, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) told the court that Glencore Energy UK Limited paid–or failed to prevent the payment of–millions of dollars in bribes to officials in the five African countries.
“The bribery was a process that went on for several years in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan,” he said.
“Some of the more lurid details that have been heard over the last couple of days in the court were that Glencore paid middlemen to fly cash around Africa in private jets, taking them from country to country to bribe officials.”
Glencore, a Swiss-based multinational said in May, it expected to pay up to $1.5bn in relation to allegations of bribery and market manipulation in the United States, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
Clare Montgomery, representing Glencore, said: “The Company unreservedly regrets the harm caused by these offences and recognises the harm caused, both at national and public levels in the African states concerned, as well as the damage caused to others.”
Judge Fraser said in his sentencing remarks: “Glencore has engaged in corporate reform and today appears to be a very different corporation than it was at the time of these offences.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
South Africa: Safety Will Not Be Compromised If Koeberg Power Plant Lifespan Is Extended-De Ruyter
Eskom’s Group Chief Executive Andre de Ruyter says measures will be taken to ensure that safety is not compromised if the lifespan of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is extended for another 20 years.
De Ruyter, Eskom’s executive team and the new Board appeared before a joint meeting of Public Enterprises and Mineral Resources and Energy departments, to discuss the energy crisis in the country.
The discussions focused on the Koeberg Power Plant.
According to De Ruyter, it makes sense to extend the lifespan of Koeberg whose current operational lifespan will end in July 2024.
De Ruyter says they are working with the national nuclear regulator to apply for an extension.
In September, the power utility denied allegations that it is anti-nuclear power.
This was after concerns were raised to the power utility by the portfolio committees on Mineral Resources and Energy as well as Public Enterprises.
MPs raised concerns about the slow pace of maintenance at Koeberg and the impact on power supply.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Gov’t Must Cushion Ghanaians Against Current Fuel Price Hikes—Minority Group
The Minority Group in Ghana’s Parliament is asking the Akufo-Addo administration to use part of the over GH¢8 billion revenue accrued from petroleum products to cushion petroleum consumers against the current price hikes.
According to the Minority, the government has received over GH¢8 billion from petroleum resources in less than three months, as against its GH¢6 billion projection for the year.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, the Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, John Jinapor urged the government to act in halting the escalation of fuel prices which he bemoans has seen over 300 per cent increase in less than a year.
“In less than three months, the government has received over GH¢8 billion from our petroleum resources. So in three months, the government has received more than it projected for the whole year, so the government is making supernormal profits. Even the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy, which is supposed to subsidise fuel, the government projected that in the first two quarters, it will receive GH¢269 million and as we speak, from the Ministry of Finance’s record, the government has received GH¢800 million. And so this notion that the government is not making any money is a fallacy.
“The government is making so much money from our petroleum resources. I, therefore, call on President Akufo-Addo and the outgoing Minister for Finance that they should do something about this pricing increment. They should sit up and think outside the box and apply these supernormal profits to cushion the ordinary Ghanaians.”
Mr Jinapor indicated that the economic crisis worsens by the day as he received calls every day from some of his constituents seeking diverse assistance to enable them to stay afloat.
“I receive calls every day from members in the Constituency from people who cannot even afford one square meal a day…people who cannot even send their kids to school because of the exorbitant fuel prices which are having a cascading effect on food prices and general cost of living.
“We hold the view that the government can do something about the fuel price increment. The government must sit up. The government must do something and the government must cushion the ordinary Ghanaians.”
The price of diesel shot up to GH¢23.49 per litre on Tuesday, according to the latest prices advertised by TotalEnergies at the pumps.
Petrol is selling at GH¢17.99 per litre, while Kerosene is selling at GH¢14.70.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Kenya: Power Supply Fully Restored In Areas Hit By Power Outage
Kenya Power has restored power supply to all the areas which were affected by system disturbances on Wednesday morning.
Parts of Nairobi, Coast and Mt Kenya regions experienced power cuts at about 11 am on Wednesday.
In a statement issued, Kenya Power attributed the power outage to system disturbances.
The company assured residents who were affected that it was working in collaboration with other players to restore the power supply as soon as possible.
In a later statement issued on Wednesday at about 8:58 pm Kenyan time, the power distribution company said, “We are glad to report that normal electricity supply has resumed in a ll areas following successful restoration of power generation plants that had earlier been affected by a system disturbance.”
“We thank all our customers for their patience,’’ the company said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com Ghana: Subsidies On Residual Fuel Oil Was Creating Shortage–NPA
Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has said it has become unsustainable to keep the subsidy on Residual Fuel Oil (RFO) because the subsidy on it was affecting its supply.
It, thus, explained the suspension of the subsidy on RFO was to ensure the regular supply of the product to the industry since the high price of fuel and the continuous depreciation of the cedi against the dollar have made it unsustainable to keep the subsidy on RFO.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, the Head of Economic Regulation of NPA, Mr. Abass Ibrahim Tasunti said the revenue the country was generating from the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy had not been enough to pay for the subsidies accruing from RFO and premix fuel.
He stressed that as the prices of fuel and the exchange rate rise, subsidy levels also rise because the full costs of the products are not being passed to the consumer.
”The suppliers of this product (RFO) are refusing to supply because the subsidies are not being paid on time. And because the subsidies are not being paid on time, the companies have refused to supply the product. They sell and they are not recovering the full cost, and they are also not getting the subsidies paid to them,” he said.
The government paid GHc136 million as a subsidy on RFO in 2021 and again paid GHc52 million out of the total subsidy of GHc154 million for the period January to September 2022, leaving a balance of GHC102 million.
Mr. Tasunti said the manufacturing industry had suffered to access RFO to power their machines, leading to the closedown of some factories.
He said the NPA had engaged players in the manufacturing sector on the challenge in the supply of RFO and the resolution was that in the meantime, the subsidy on RFO should be removed so that they could pay the full cost to ensure regular supply of the product and get their factories running.
‘The industry prefers to pay the full cost of RFO so they can continue running their factories than not to have their products at all,” Mr Tasunti said.
He said the alternative product that the manufacturing industry could use was diesel, but the cost of the product was very high now.
When the Price Regulation Policy was introduced in July 2015, the government decided to keep subsidies on RFO and premix fuel.
And to ensure that these subsidies are funded, the Energy Sector Levies Act introduced a levy called the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy to pay for subsidies on RFO and premix.
Mr. Tasunti said the revenue that would be generated from the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy would be focused on only premix fuel for now while the subsidy on RFO would be taken off until things change.
However, the government, through the NPA, has suspended the subsidy on Residual Fuel Oil (RFO)—the fuel used by the manufacturing sector—effective November 1, 2022.
The Authority has, however, maintained the subsidy on premix fuel to continue to cushion the fisher folk.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Egypt’s First Financed Solar Battery PPA Project Secures Financing
A solar energy company spearheading a solar-plus-storage project in Egypt has secured $2.4 million in financing for the project.
KarmSolar secured the $2.4 million from Qatar National Bank ALAHLI, while Ezdaher Financial Advisory assisted with the deal.
KarmSolar’s co-founder and CEO Ahmed Zahran described the project as “Egypt’s first financed solar battery PPA project”, adding: “There is rising interest from established financial institutions to explore and support advanced solar technologies. This new milestone will definitely boost the deployment of battery solutions in Egypt and across the region on a much larger scale.’’
The financing comes as KarmSolar launches a phase 2 expansion of a solar microgrid solution at a poultry farm facility in Giza, operated by Cairo 3A.
The expansion includes the addition of a battery energy storage system and an expansion of the solar plant’s capacity.
Sungrow will provide the battery storage unit and the energy storage system will comprise a 2.576MWp PV inverter and 1MW/3.957MWh of storage.
The solar energy company has a PPA to supply electricity to the poultry farm using a microgrid combining solar PV, storage and diesel generators. The original on-site solar PV station covers 30% of Cairo 3A’s energy needs using renewable energy, reducing its reliance on diesel.
It is not the first solar-plus-storage project in Egypt, however. A project combining 30MW of solar PV with a 7.5MW battery storage system is also being supplied by Sungrow.
A German developer and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor will be delivering the project.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
US Gov’t Announces $13.5 Billion Funding To Cushion Households With High Energy Bills
The United States government has announced plans to make $13.5 billion available to help low-income U.S. households to lower their heating costs this winter.
In a statement issued by the White House, the U.S. Department of Energy will allocate $9 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to support up to 1.6 million households in upgrading their homes to lower energy bills.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide $4.5 billion in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Programme (LIHEAP) funding.
U.S. consumers can expect to pay up to 28 per cent more to heat their homes this winter than last year due to surging fuel costs and colder weather, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected in its winter fuels outlook in October.
The new funding will help Americans with heating costs and unpaid utility bills and repairs of home energy appliances that will help lower their energy costs, the White House said.
About 90 per cent of the roughly 130 million U.S. households rely on natural gas or electricity for heat.
The rest use either heating oil, propane or wood for heat.
EIA forecasts the average household will spend about $931 for gas heat this winter and about $1,359 for electric heat. That is a 28 per cent increase for gas and a 10 per cent increase for electricity versus last year.
Homes using heating oil will spend about $2,354 for heat this winter, up 27 per cent from last year, while propane users will see their costs rise five per cent to $1,668, according to EIA’s outlook.
Despite the big increase in cost, gas will remain the nation’s cheapest source of heat.
Families are already having a hard time paying their electric and gas bills with about one in six U.S. households in arrears, according to estimates from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) in October.
NEADA, which represents the state LIHEAP directors, said U.S. families were about $16.1 billion behind on their utility bills.
“The rise in home energy costs this winter will put millions of lower-income families at risk of falling behind on their energy bills and having no choice but to make difficult decisions between paying for food, medicine and rent,” NEADA Executive Director Mark Wolfe has said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Covid Restrictions Force Chinese EV Maker To Suspend Production
China’s Nio, the EV maker, has suspended manufacturing activities due to Covid restrictions amid the latest flare-up in infections in the country.
“The news that production at Nio’s factories has been temporarily suspended is true and this will have an impact on production and delivery schedules,” a company representative told Reuters.
The latter cited a Chinese tech media outlet as having reported that Nio had been having difficulties with production since mid-October because of Covid lockdowns.
This is the second time this year Nio is suspending production, after it had to shut down its two factories in April, too, amid lockdowns.
Meanwhile, hopes are growing that the lockdowns will soon end, based on unverified reports on social media. China’s foreign ministry spokesman said Tuesday that he was not aware of any plans to relax Bejing’s zero-Covid policy, which dampened optimism but it appears that the hope remains China will at some point drop the strict measures.
“People may have misunderstood when they see the headline that it is about completely opening up, but in our view it is quite unlikely for China to completely abandon Zero Covid,” Zerlina Zeng, senior credit analyst at CreditSights, told Yahoo Finance.
“It is politically sensitive to do away with it because during the party congress, the rhetoric around Zero Covid has been so strong.”
China has the biggest EV manufacturing industry in the world and it is exporting more and more EVs, especially to Europe. Manufacturing halts could hurt this growth market and also interfere with transition plans.
Meanwhile, investor confidence in Nio and the two other U.S.-listed Chinese EV makers, Li Auto and Expeng, is dwindling after years of losses.
Bloomberg reported last week that Nio has shed some 69 percent of its market value since the start of the year, with Li Auto losing 56 percent and Expeng plunging by 86 percent due to uncertainty about their profitability.
Source:Oilprice.com
Ghana: ECG Krobo District Climaxes Breast Cancer Awareness Month With Walk
The Management and staff of the Krobo District of the Electricity Company of Ghana embarked on a health walk on Saturday, 29th October 2022 as part of activities marking this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness month.
The month-long awareness programme was spearheaded by the Power Queens Club of the power distribution company.
The Club is an association of all the female staff of the organisation.
The month of October has been set aside as Breast Cancer Awareness month all over the world, and various activities are planned towards creating awareness of the disease.
The encouragement of women and men to get screened remains a top-awareness issue for many organisations.
In ECG, the Power Queens Club spearheaded the month-long awareness creation on breast cancer.
Across the various operational districts of the organisation, several activities were carried out, with opportunities for people to get screened.
The Krobo District of the ECG participated in the month-long awareness programme.
To climax it, the management and staff of the District walked up the Acineci Mountain in Krobo. They did this alongside staff from other operational areas and supporting personnel who are aiding general work in the District.
The Acting Krobo District Manager, Ing Christopher Apawu indicated that they had indeed taken the breast cancer awareness creation seriously and had been encouraging all staff to get screened.
“We also encouraged them to encourage their families and friends to get screened because it has been determined that early detection of breast cancer helps in easier management of it.”
He also added that “medical diagnosis has shown that men are also at risk of the disease, hence, all staff were roped into the various activities and encouraged to partake in the screening processes.”
The Executives of the Power Queens Club in the District played an active role in the month-long activities.
They thanked the management of the District for creating the enabling environment for them to carry on with the awareness programme.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Kenya: Parts Of Nairobi, Mt Kenya And Coast Hit By Power Outage
Parts of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, Coast and Mt Kenya regions are currently without power, energynewsafrica.com can report.
They have been without power since 11 am on Wednesday.
In a statement issued, Kenya Power attributed the power outage to system disturbances.
The company assured residents who have been affected that it is working in collaboration with other players to restore the power supply as soon as possible.
“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused,” the statement said.
Ghana: NPA Suspends Subsidy On Residual Fuel Oil
Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, NPA, has suspended the subsidy on residual fuel.
According to a letter signed by Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, CEO of NPA, and sighted by energynewsafrica.com, the suspension took effect from Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
The decision is in line with a directive from the Energy Ministry as an interim measure to lessen the financial burden on the Price Stabilization and Recovery Account (PSRA).
Residual fuel oil is a liquid or liquefiable petroleum product that is used to generate heat or power.
“The suspension of the policy to subsidise RFO is in line with the directive from the Ministry of Energy as an interim measure to ease the financial burden on the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Account (PSRA).
“The policy directive takes into consideration the growing concern about the sustainability of the Account to meet under-recovery payment obligations for Premix Fuel and RFO,” a letter signed by Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said.
Ghana: Diesel Price Hits Gh¢23.49, Petrol Gh¢17.99 Per Litre
Oil marketing companies in the Republic of Ghana have adjusted their fuel prices at the pumps across the West African nation.
Almost all the OMCs adjusted their petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
GOIL, Shell and TotalEnergies which are the market leaders are selling petrol at Gh¢17.99 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢23.49 per litre.
GOIL, TotalEnergies, Shell, Pacific, Petrosol, Engen, Cash Oil and a few others had adjusted their pump prices.
Alinco oil is selling petrol at Gh¢17.65 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢23.15 per litre.
Pacific is selling petrol at Gh¢17.84 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢23.34 per litre.
Our checks indicate that Goodness is selling petrol at Gh¢17.00 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢23.00
Meanwhile, Duke’s petroleum is selling petrol at Gh¢16.95 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢18.95
Although crude oil prices have remained below $100 per barrel for more than two months, the continuous depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi is largely to be blamed for the rising cost of fuel in the West African nation.
As of Wednesday, Brent crude was trading at $94.67 per barrel while WTI was selling at $88.32 per barrel.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Pacific is selling petrol at Gh¢17.84 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢23.34 per litre.
Our checks indicate that Goodness is selling petrol at Gh¢17.00 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢23.00
Meanwhile, Duke’s petroleum is selling petrol at Gh¢16.95 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢18.95
Although crude oil prices have remained below $100 per barrel for more than two months, the continuous depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi is largely to be blamed for the rising cost of fuel in the West African nation.
As of Wednesday, Brent crude was trading at $94.67 per barrel while WTI was selling at $88.32 per barrel.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com Ghana: Sierra Leone Seeks NPA’s Assistance On Petroleum Downstream Regulation
Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Regulatory Authority (PRA) is seeking the assistance of Ghana’s downstream petroleum regulator, NPA, to improve efficiency in regulating the petroleum downstream in that country.
A team, led by its Executive Chairman, Dr. Brima Baluwa Koroma paid a working visit to NPA and met the CEO and some management to share and learn experiences in terms of structures, processes, policies and procedures in regulating the petroleum downstream sector.
Dr. Baluwa Koroma was worried the private sector controlled the petroleum downstream sector in Sierra Leone, adding that “for Sierra Leone, it is very strange that throughout our petroleum value chain, there is no government participation.”
Mr. Koroma said the current government was determined to take a position in the industry and reinstitute a semblance of GOIL in Sierra Leone.
He believed it was dangerous for any government to allow only the private sector to control the petroleum downstream industry which is the driver of every economy in the world.
“So, we are here to understand how the National Petroleum Authority of Ghana does its works and controls the sector so efficiently that has won the admiration of many regulatory agencies and players of the petroleum downstream industry across the continent,” the Executive Chairman lauded.
Addressing the Sierra Leonean team, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Chief Executive of NPA, corroborated the sentiments of the PRA Executive chairman and eulogised the strategic functions GOIL and BOST play in the economy.
Recounting Ghana’s experience on the regulation of the petroleum downstream industry, Dr Abdul-Hamid said what has been helping the people is also the active participation of the government through its entities such as GOIL and BOST, unlike Sierra Leone which depends wholly on private players that normally decide what happens.
He stated that cooperation was the only way the two entities could advance the development of their countries.
The NPA boss pledged Ghana’s willingness to continuously assist Sierra Leone to develop its petroleum downstream industry, adding, “I am prepared to send my best workers to Sierra Leone to assist you to craft out a system that will ensure efficiency in regulating the downstream sector better.”
He commended Dr Baluwa Koroma for his transformational leadership for the past four years, which has seen new important players within the sector.
The Executive Chairman of PRA was accompanied by Christopher Pearce; Director of Finance and Administration, Gabriella Barwe; Deputy Finance, and Jayah K. Muana; Deputy Director of PRA.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Mr. Koroma said the current government was determined to take a position in the industry and reinstitute a semblance of GOIL in Sierra Leone.
He believed it was dangerous for any government to allow only the private sector to control the petroleum downstream industry which is the driver of every economy in the world.
“So, we are here to understand how the National Petroleum Authority of Ghana does its works and controls the sector so efficiently that has won the admiration of many regulatory agencies and players of the petroleum downstream industry across the continent,” the Executive Chairman lauded.
Addressing the Sierra Leonean team, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Chief Executive of NPA, corroborated the sentiments of the PRA Executive chairman and eulogised the strategic functions GOIL and BOST play in the economy.
Recounting Ghana’s experience on the regulation of the petroleum downstream industry, Dr Abdul-Hamid said what has been helping the people is also the active participation of the government through its entities such as GOIL and BOST, unlike Sierra Leone which depends wholly on private players that normally decide what happens.
He stated that cooperation was the only way the two entities could advance the development of their countries.
The NPA boss pledged Ghana’s willingness to continuously assist Sierra Leone to develop its petroleum downstream industry, adding, “I am prepared to send my best workers to Sierra Leone to assist you to craft out a system that will ensure efficiency in regulating the downstream sector better.”
He commended Dr Baluwa Koroma for his transformational leadership for the past four years, which has seen new important players within the sector.
The Executive Chairman of PRA was accompanied by Christopher Pearce; Director of Finance and Administration, Gabriella Barwe; Deputy Finance, and Jayah K. Muana; Deputy Director of PRA.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: VRA Suspends Planned Water Spillage From Akosombo, Kpong Dams
The Volta River Authority, managers of the Akosombo and Kpong hydroelectric Dams, has suspended their planned controlled spillage of water from the two dams.
According to the power generation company, the suspension is due to a reduction in rainfall in the Volta catchment area over the last past week.
Last week, VRA issued a statement notifying the public especially farmers around the dams of spilling water from the dams as a result of heavy inflows.
However, in an update on Monday, VRA said the inflow of water into the Akosombo Reservoir has subsided to normal levels, therefore, there is no threat to the safety of their dams.
“The planned spillage of water from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams will not be carried out as earlier announced,” the company said.
It, however, asked all persons living along the downstream banks of the two dams of the Volta River to remain alert until the rainy season is over.
VRA assured the public that it would continue to monitor the situation, work with stakeholders and issue updates should further developments occur.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com