Major Opportunities In African Gas-Africa Oil Week Hears
As the energy industry decarbonises its operations, natural gas is becoming an ever more important part of the energy mix – opening up a range of opportunities for the African gas industry.
“Sometimes, oil is even seen as a by-product of gas,” remarked Luca Vignati, upstream director of global energy company Eni, speaking during Africa Oil Week (AOW), taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, from October 3-7.
Vignati gave the example of Eni’s Baleine project in Cote d’Ivoire, which holds an estimated 2.5 billion barrels of oil, and a far larger 93.4 billion cubic metres of gas.
Vignati said another decarbonisation strategy was to structure projects to include major carbon-offset initiatives.
He said Eni was operating Baleine as the first net-zero Scope 1 & 2 emissions development in Africa.
The project includes carbon offsetting certified by the international VERRA standard. Under the project, Eni will distribute 100,000 improved cooked stoves, targeting more than 300,000 people. The aim is to replace traditional wood-based cooking devices, reducing pressure on forest resources.
During another presentation at AOW, McKinsey associate partner Oliver Onyekweli pointed out that Africa was one of the few regions in the world likely to see growing energy demand over the coming decades. However, he said businesses hoping to be part of this coming energy boom, must look to decarbonise their production.
“Decarbonising is becoming like a licence to operate,” said Onyekweli. He said an effective way for African oil producers to decarbonise was through expanding into natural gas, while renewable energy offered an opportunity to open up new revenue streams, and secure energy access for the continent’s people.
Recent natural-gas discoveries leave Africa well positioned to take advantage of the trend towards decarbonisation.
The Brulpadda and Luiperd discoveries off South Africa’s southern Cape coast, for instance, have been hailed as potential “game changers”. Luiperd is estimated to contain 2.1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas and 112 million barrels of condensate, while Brulpadda is estimated to hold 1.3tcf and 80 million barrels of gas and condensate.
With increasing pressure to decarbonise, it is also becoming more difficult to secure finance for African hydrocarbons projects.
“The main constraint to growth in the energy sector in future will not be in the area of human resources or deal flow, but in access to capital,” said Paul McDade, CEO of Afentra, an African energy independent.
Other independent energy businesses agreed that gas projects were easier to finance.
“American and European banks seem to have a greater willingness to finance gas projects,” said Thomas Kolanski of oil-and-gas independent BW Energy. “We’re shifting our focus in that direction. Gas is cleaner, it reduces global carbon footprint and everybody’s always on our side.”
Source: Africa Oil Week
Ghana: Our System Has Improved, Power App Is Now Working—ECG
The Managing Director of Electricity Company, Samuel Dubik Masubir Mahama says the company has improved its network following the technical challenges with its prepaid meter system which made it impossible for customers to purchase credit onto their meters.
According to him, all the meters on their network and the Power App are currently working, which means, customers can now purchase credit on their meters.
He added that all third-party vendors have also come online and urged customers who may have challenges at their regular third-party vendor to go to a different one to purchase their credit.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, Thursday, Mr. Samuel Mahama said except for a few areas in Kumasi which are still improving gradually, all other operational areas are working well.
He said his outfit received help from the cyber security office, national security and external consultants in resolving the anomaly with the company’s prepayment system.
Mr. Samuel Mahama apologised to Ghanaians for their poor service delivery in the last few days.
He said his outfit has put in place measures in place to serve customers better.
“We have put things in place to make us big and better,” he said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Petrosol Commended For Tax Compliance; Pays Gh¢476 Million In Taxes
Petrosol Ghana Ltd, one of the leading privately-owned indigenous Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the Republic of Ghana, has been congratulated by the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for its tax compliance.
In a letter signed by Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, the Commissioner-General of the GRA and addressed to the Managing Director of Petrosol, he indicated that the Revenue Assurance, Compliance and Enforcement (RACE) committee of the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC), conducted a reconciliation exercise to confirm petroleum taxes paid by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) over the period, January 2015 to July 2020.
After the exercise, Dr. Owusu-Ansah indicated in his letter that the GRA could certify that Petrosol is not indebted to the GRA in respect of petroleum taxes and levies as it has dutifully paid all the taxes and levies amounting to about GHS476 million.
The Commissioner-General, therefore, expressed his satisfaction by urging PETROSOL “to continue to play your roles as corporate citizens. Accept our congratulations on your compliance.”
The Managing Director of Petrosol, Michael Bozumbil expressed his delight about the news, indicating that it would serve as a morale booster for him and his team to continue on the path of ethical practices.
He said notwithstanding the challenges in the industry and the economy as a whole, he and his team have resolved to continue to do what is right to contribute to government revenue and economic development.
He, therefore, expressed his hope that the state and its agencies would also support Petrosol to grow and do more for the state.
Petrosol is a triple-ISO-certified OMC that has won several awards for its commitment to industry best practices and ethical conduct. It operates several fuel stations across the country and also supplies bulk consumers of petroleum products.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: PURC’s Directive Was Unfair, Unfortunate—ECG MD
Ghana’s southern electricity distribution company, ECG, has described as unfair a directive by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Ghana’s economic regulator for electricity and water.
The power distribution company encountered a technical challenge with its prepaid meter system over almost a week, thereby, making it difficult for customers to purchase credit on their meters.
Many who had no alternative means of power were forced to sleep in darkness.
The PURC, which is the regulator, on Tuesday 4th October 2022, directed ECG to compensate all affected customers within one week from 1st to 7th October 2022.
However, addressing a press conference in Accra, the capital of Ghana on Thursday, the Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Dubik Masubir Mahama described the action of PURC as very unfair.
“It is quite unfair for PURC to put out the letter without sitting with us to know exactly what happened,” he fumed.
Despite the ECG’s unhappiness with the procedure by PURC, the MD said the company would compensate customers who could prove that they were impacted by the failure of their prepayment meter system.
He urged customers who were affected to use the appropriate channel by going to the PURC and lodge complaints.
“We will look into our system and whatever the meters tell us, we will do,” Mr Samuel Mahama assured customers.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Africa Oil Week:Towards A Sustainable Development Of Africa’s Upstream Market…A Tullow Oil Perspective(Article)
Global energy leaders have gathered in the heart of Cape Town, South Africa, at the much-anticipated 2022 Africa Oil Week Conference to discuss various topics in the energy sector.
The Africa Oil Week is the largest annual gathering of energy experts and leaders on the African continent, where critical discussions are held leading to major policy and industry reforms. Over the last few years, the Africa Oil Week has seen major policy discussions that has impacted both national and private energy companies in areas such as energy transition, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance, among others.
Thus, starting from last Monday, 3rd to 7th October 2022, energy leaders are looking to reach renewed commitments and formulate a blueprint for the progress of Africa’s energy sector.
Of utmost importance will be the subject of the future of fossil fuels, which is carefully captured in the conference agenda titled: ‘Upstream African Market in 2022 and Beyond: Outlook for E&P on the Continent’. It is expected that this conversation will stimulate debate into the prospects of the upstream industry in light of recent global developments and projected trends.
For Tullow, the focus on Africa is not new. As an independent oil and gas exploration and development company focused on Africa, Tullow has taken the lead in highlighting the potential of Africa in the upstream sector. Tullow’s exploratory feat commenced in Africa with notable success and further development into a robust production company largely based in Africa. Therefore, the outlook of the African upstream sector is one that sits at the heart of its operations and for which its Chief Executive, Rahul Dhir will be looking to share some remarkable thoughts.
Given the global discussions about energy transition, one can only expect that the conversations surrounding the future of the upstream sector will be nothing shy of incorporating the continent’s readiness for the energy transition. In a few weeks the world will gather for COP27 for which so much more will be expected of the energy giants in driving global climate change discussions, especially as it relates to the continent. While many energy majors are pulling out of prospective economies, Tullow has taken the huge step of highlighting the prospects inherent in the continent, and the possibility of pursuing sustainable oil and gas development to support the growth economies within the region. Its bold energy transition plans; which include the reduction of its scope 1 and 2 emissions through improved efficiency on its assets and the pursuit of carbon offsetting measures, demonstrates a company ready to develop and produce oil in a sustainable way. That gives hope to a continent that still needs, to a large extent, dependence on the oil and gas sector for growth.
Of course, the lessons learnt from Tullow’s operations in West Africa, will come in handy in the panel on Spearheading the Way for Development on the Continent. Particularly, Tullow’s success in its Ghana operations, presents much more than the standard blueprint for market penetration and its related nuances, to exceptional success in managing complex stakeholder engagement, challenging and transformational operations and recording industry level achievements as the pioneer commercial oil producer.
But even so, beyond its Ghana operations, Tullow’s interest in E&P in Cote d’Ivoire and Gabon are equally reflective of the agility required to be successful in various markets across the region. What more could be an exemplary performance, than the ability to navigate complex, multi-faceted markets with success? This is definitely why Tullow’s gains in its West Africa operations stands, at the minimum, as a use case for industry learnings.
Current and changing global trends in workforce management points to the need for companies to adopt new ways of working. The workforce of the future is therefore a prominent topic for discussion at this year’s Africa Oil Week. Here, industry experts will be looking at the requisite skillset, infrastructure, culture, and tools needed to retain the dynamic workforce of the future.
The world is fast moving towards agile workplace and lessons from the covid-19 pandemic have showed the feasibility of such transition. Tullow has been a pacesetter when it comes to agile working, having introduced, and executed flexible working long before the covid-19 pandemic. There will certainly be lots of lessons to learn from other companies on the way forward. Tullow Ghana’s Deputy Managing Director, Cynthia Lumor will lead a panel discussion on the topic with a goal to:
- Review the changing trends in the workforce of the future – analysing the evolution of the workplace, its people, the culture, and the philosophies underpinning these evolutions and
- Unearthing the requirements for building resilient organisations and what will constitute distinction in the future of work
Ghana: VRA Sees Turnaround As It Books Gh¢112Million Profit In 2021
Ghana’s largest state power generation company, Volta River Authority (VRA), has recorded a profit of Gh112.76 million ($10,847,512) in 2021, making it the second time the company recorded gains in six years.
In 2020, the power producer recorded a net profit of Gh¢156 million ($15,007,200.00).
Board Chairman of VRA, Kofi Tutu Agyare, who revealed this at VRA stakeholder’s engagement in Accra, attributed the achievements to the company’s Financial Recovery Programme (FRP) and a Sustainability Plan.
He noted that despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other difficulties in the energy sector, these initiatives along with cost-reduction measures, technology and an aggressive export strategy, as well as the effective leadership of the board and the management team coupled with the commitment of staff, have significantly ensured the strong position VRA finds itself in.
The stakeholders commended VRA for the significant turnaround in its operations, noting that efforts of the board, the Chief Executive, management and staff in transforming the company, are rare in the public sector.
“A state institution moving from a negative to positive deserves a standing ovation. VRA, you have done very well! You deserve applause,” Samuel Atta Akyea, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, said as quoted by Business & Financial Times (B&FT).
In a bid to diversify and expand its operations, the Authority increased its energy generation footprints with the coming on-stream of the 13MWp Kaleo Solar PV Power Plant and 6.5MWp Solar PV plant in the Upper West Region.
By 2025, VRA hopes to increase its renewable footprint to 200MW.
Among the renewable projects soon to be rolled out are included a 60MW Bongo Solar Power project in the Upper East Region and a 75MW Wind Power Project at Anloga in the Volta Region.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Africa’s Energy Sector Needs Massive Investments -Says VRA CEO
The Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ing Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, has called on governments in Africa, business leaders and foreign investors who want to take advantage of the opportunities in Africa to invest massively in the continent’s energy sector.
According to him, access to energy remains a major developmental challenge in Africa and, therefore, underscored the need for greater commitment to making the energy sector effective and efficient since power is the heartbeat of every nation’s development.
Data from World Bank shows that over 600 million people in Africa still lack access to energy.
“Improving access to energy sustainably will not only lead to the development of the African continent but will also ensure the increased quality of educational outcomes, improved health, lower, mortality rate and reduce unemployment and potential decrease in rural-urban migration,” Ing Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa stated in a speech read for him by Dr. Stella Agyenim Boateng, his Special Advisor, at the just ended Africa Energy Conference in Accra, Ghana.
Ing Antwi-Darkwa stressed the need for the continent leaders to pay particular attention to the emerging mix of technologies that will be needed to address energy scarcity in the sub-region.
“As a matter of urgency, we must start harnessing both renewable and non-renewable energy sources and other technologies including natural gas,” he said.
The maiden Africa Energy Conference was organised by Business & Financial Times (B&FT) under the theme: ‘Africa’s Energy Future -Achieving An All Round Competitiveness And Sustainability To Support The Continent’s Development Ambitions.’
It brought together experts and industry players to proffer solutions on how governments and the private sector can access financing to bridge the sector’s infrastructure gap, and achieve lower emissions and energy transition targets in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Touching on the above theme, Ing Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa said efforts to promote energy sustainability should result in energy diversification.
“In recent times, energy sustainability has taken on several meanings and dimensions. However, in our VRA context, energy sustainability means to us the diversification of our power generation portfolio to take advantage of available and sustainable sources of energy, especially in the renewable energy space; namely hydro, thermal, solar, nuclear and wind,” he said.
To achieve this, Ing Antwi-Darkwa said VRA, the country’s largest power producer, initiated a programme that ensures a significant improvement of its operations by including serious business acumen in its power generation, delivery process and customer service.
Aside from this, he said the state-owned company has also revolutionised the fundamental structures of its business through digitalisation, creativity and innovation, business sustainability and a work culture pivoted on the mantra of public sector delivery with a private sector mindset.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: Group Demands Revocation Of Licences Of Discos
Two civil society groups in the Republic of Nigeria have asked the Buhari administration to revoke the licenses of Electricity Distribution Companies in the West African nation.
The two CSOs—Human Rights Liberty Access and Peace Defenders Foundation and the Campaign for Democracy, South East zone—said in a statement on Monday, 3rd October 2022 that the inefficiency of the electricity providers showed that the privatisation of that sector by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was a “huge hoax and scam.”
They expressed shock that the All Progressives Congress-led by President Muhammadu Buhari, still allowed the fraudulent scam to continue nearly eight years after they took over the reins of power.
The group lamented that there is nothing electricity distribution companies provide for Nigeria except to exploit and extort Nigerians by charging crazy exorbitant bills and manipulating the prepaid billing systems.
They accused the DISCOs of introducing fast reading meters by replacing the old ones, while they have bluntly refused to meter those people who are still in estimated billings so that they can continue to exploit them.
They lamented that in the face of all these high charges, the services are abysmally and criminally poor as they refuse to supply power to the consumers even when there is an avalanche of power in the grid.
The rights group, however, noted that consumers have continued to bear the brunt of replacing packed-up transformers, and damaged parts and pay for the services rendered by staff or agents of DISCOs under duress and exploitation.
It said, “In the face of all these, the services are still abysmally poor. There is load shading everywhere and sometimes, there would be no light for several days, weeks and months due to minor faults, especially in Figge Onitsha, Onitsha, Iowa and Okpoko in Ogbaru LGA, Awada and Omogba in Idemili LGA, 33 among other areas.
“DISCOs have become conduit pipe and an avenue through which consumers are being exploited by the privileged few who bought over the companies from the Federal Government in the name of privatisation through estimated and crazy bills without providing light.
“For those using prepaid meters, the DISCOs have installed fast-reading meters that make power consumption for the customers very expensive and exploitative. In addition to the inbuilt system, they made the meters enter into what they call tamper code.”
The groups specifically accused the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company of corruptive distribution of power and load shading in some commercial and residential areas in the South East.
It also called for the immediate overhaul of the power system in Nigeria and the removal of feeder managers, managers, distribution managers, sectional heads and others involved in contributing to the poor power supply in the entire South-East.
“We called on the Federal Government to develop other sources of generating power such as solar as well as allow companies, organisations and individuals who can generate their power to do so and distribute without facing unnecessary bottleneck from the system.
“Unfortunately, the current administration has not demonstrated enough political will to improve the power supply in the country.
“They have not done anything to improve power in the country. They cannot even compel the DISCOs to carry out the Federal Government metering programme. And that is why estimated billing system persists as the major source of exploiting consumers,” the groups added.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: NNPC Declares N674bn Profit After Tax For 2021
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has declared a profit after tax of N674 billion(Equivalent of $1,556,940,000) for the financial year 2021.
Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Limited, Engr. Mele Kyari, who made the announcement via the verified Twitter handle of the company on Tuesday, said the development followed the approval of the 2021 audited financial statements by the Board of the oil company.
He added that the NNPC Limited has progressed to a new performance level from N287bn profit in 2020 to N674bn profit after tax in 2021, moving higher by 134.8% year on year profit growth.
Kyari also said the profit was driven squarely by upstream activities including oil and gas and power.
“We have recorded significant improvement in our financial performance over the past three (3) years, turning up the curve, from losses to profits.”
He also noted that the profit could have been more if not for the crude oil theft with the industry losing about 200,000 barrels per day to the menace.
Kyari said Nigeria had the capacity to do 2.4 million barrels per day but due to the issues which resulted in shut down of pipelines, the daily production is just around 1.2m bpd.
“The performance would have been greater if the operations in the year under review were free from incessant vandalism, crude oil and products theft among others.”
The Group Financial position recorded an increase in Total Assets from N15.86trillion in 2020 to N16.27triillion in 2021, while Total Liabilities decreased by 8.3% from N14.68trillion in 2020 to N13,46 trillion in 2021.
Shareholders fund position grew to N2.81trillion represent 144% Year-on-Year.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.comNigeria: NNPC Acquires Oando Stations To Become Largest Fuel Retailer In Africa
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has acquired OVH Energy Marketing, owner and operator of the Oando branded retail service stations.
The acquisition of OVH assets had made the national oil company the largest petroleum products retailer in Africa.
The assets acquired include the reception jetty (ASPM) with 240,000MT monthly capacity, eight LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) plants, three lubes blending plants, three aviation depots and 12 warehouses.
“The acquisition will bring over 380 additional filling stations under NNPC Retail brand in Nigeria and Togo, on our journey to attaining 1,500 stations. We will be the largest petroleum product retail network in Africa,” Chairperson of NNPC Limited, Margery Okadigbo said while speaking on the development in Abuja.
Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC, Mele Kyari said Oando filling stations would be merged with NNPC Retail Limited.
He noted that through the acquisition, NNPC Retail Limited would build on the existing success of OVH and operate model service outlets leveraging OVH’s extensive asset base and commercial capabilities.
“Our acquisition of OVH brings more NNPC branded fuel stations under the NNPC Retail Limited umbrella, providing wider access for our customers, an enriched supply chain and product availability across our different locations,” Kyari stated.
Chief Executive Officer, OVH Marketing, Huub Stokman, said the acquisition by NNPC came at a critical time in the Nigerian energy sector given the overhaul of the petroleum laws with the recent enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
He noted that through the acquisition, NNPC Retail Limited would build on the existing success of OVH and operate model service outlets leveraging OVH’s extensive asset base and commercial capabilities.
“Our acquisition of OVH brings more NNPC branded fuel stations under the NNPC Retail Limited umbrella, providing wider access for our customers, an enriched supply chain and product availability across our different locations,” Kyari stated.
Chief Executive Officer, OVH Marketing, Huub Stokman, said the acquisition by NNPC came at a critical time in the Nigerian energy sector given the overhaul of the petroleum laws with the recent enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com Ghana: NPA Boss Highlights Opportunities Within LPG Market At 3rd West Africa LPG Expo
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has highlighted opportunities that exist in West Africa for investors who want to invest in the LPG subsector of the downstream petroleum industry.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid noted that despite the robust growth experienced by the West Africa LPG market over the decade, there still exists a huge potential for LPG adoption and utilisation.
According to him, opportunities exist in LPG infrastructural development such as jetties, storage, bottling plants and refilling plants as well as marketing and distribution.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid was speaking at the opening of the 3rd West Africa LPG Expo in Accra under the theme: ‘Towards Making LPG The Clean Fuel Of West Africa’.
The event attracted exhibitors from over twenty-seven countries in the world.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid observed that LPG is a cleaner burning fuel that provides smoke-free indoor cooking and helps to reduce outdoor and urban air pollution.
“LPG produces 50% less CO2 than coal, 20% less CO2 than heating oil and 10-12% less CO2 than petrol,” he said.
Touching on the consumption of LPG in West Africa, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid stated that demand for LPG in West Africa has almost tripled over the past decade, increasing from 813,500 tonnes in 2012 to over 2.3 million tonnes in 2021.
“The share of LPG demand in West Africa also increased from 7% in 2012 to 16% in 2021, further highlighting the massive progress made in the clean cooking agenda in the sub-region,” he said.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid was hopeful that participants at the Expo would deliberate and come out with workable solutions for the massive uptake in LPG, which is noted for its significant social, environmental, and economic benefits to the people and the economy.
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Ghana: PURC Orders ECG To Pay Huge Compensation To Affected Customers
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has directed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to compensate all customers who have been affected by the failure of its prepayment system.
According to the Commission, the failure of ECG’s prepayment system constituted a breach of ECG’s statutory obligations specifically sections 11 and 12(1) and (2) of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission PURC Act 1997, (Act 583) and Regulations 41 and 45 of the PURC (Consumer Service) Regulations, 2022 (LI 2413).
In a letter by the Executive Secretary Of PURC, Dr. Ismael Ackah, directed to the Managing Director of ECG, he imposed penalties on ECG for various categories of consumers who were affected by the system failure.
The Commission directed ECG to pay Gh¢15 for all lifeline customers who were affected, Gh¢120 for residential customers, Gh¢240 for non-residential customers, Gh¢480 for commercial customers and Gh¢1,200 for industrial customers.
Apart from compensating the customers, the Commission also directed ECG to extend their working hours to 8 pm in all the affected areas.
In addition, it directed ECG to employ extra staff to augment their staff to attend to affected customers.
Energynewsfrica.com foresees ECG paying huge sums of money as compensation considering the widespread nature of the technical breaches.
Responding to a question posed by energynewsafrica.com at a press conference on Monday, the Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Dubik Masubir Mahama said his outfit could not immediately provide information on how much revenue it had lost as a result of the issue.
Many customers of ECG particularly prepaid meter customers could not purchase credit on their card for more than four days, forcing them to sleep in darkness.
The power distribution company, in an update, attributed the situation to a technical failure.
Regulatory Order to ECG_221004_180752Regulatory Order to ECG_221004_180752
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Regulatory Order to ECG_221004_180752Regulatory Order to ECG_221004_180752
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com West Africa’s LPG Consumption Hit 2.3 Million Tonnes In 2021
The consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), a commodity mainly for domestic use, has grown significantly in West Africa over the last ten years.
Demand for the commodity has almost tripled in the past decade, increasing from 813,500 metric tonnes in 2012 to over 2.3 million tonnes in 2021.
This represents a 16 per cent growth rate in 2021 from a growth rate of 6 per cent in 2012.
In Ghana, the LPG consumption rate stands at 36.9 per cent.
This was revealed by Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, CEO of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), at the opening of the 3rd West Africa LPG Expo in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
The event attracted exhibitors from over twenty-seven countries in the world.
Touching on the specific growth rate of LPG demand in West Africa, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said Nigeria accounts for the highest share of over 40 per cent, Cote d’Ivoire 22 per cent, Ghana 15 per cent, while Liberia accounts for the least with 0.05 per cent of the total LPG demand in the sub-region.
He added that though West Africa accounts for the second highest LPG demand in Africa, there is still a vast untapped LPG market in West Africa.
Stressing the potential for the West African LPG market, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid referred to CITAC Africa’s report which projected LPG demand to grow over 50 per cent to about 3.5 million tonnes by 2030.
This, he said, is expected to be driven largely by strong population and economic growth.
In addition, there is the potential to increase LPG consumption per capita as livelihoods improve with economic growth.
Touching on countries which have taken steps to increase LPG consumption, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid mentioned Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana as aggressively promoting the use of LPG as clean cooking fuel.
He said Ghana, for example, has rolled out several policies and programmes aimed at improving LPG uptake since 1989.
He said the interventions focused on infrastructural development, improvement in supply and distribution, LPG pricing structure, national standard, safe operational guidelines, rural LPG promotion, and indigenisation of the LPG market.
He said despite these interventions, challenges such as slow uptake in particularly low-income areas, affordability, accessibility, non-adherence to safety requirements by some operators, and old and unsafe cylinders, among others still exist.
To remedy the situation, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said the Government of Ghana, in October 2017, launched the National LPG Promotion Policy to ensure that at least 50 per cent of Ghanaians have access to LPG for domestic, commercial and industrial use by 2030.
The policy is to be driven by the new marketing and distribution model, the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM).
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Africa Oil Week: We Will Use Our Oil And Gas To Uplift Our People –African Energy Ministers
While there is consensus on the need for low-carbon energy, the new energy mix must also support Africa’s social development and the upliftment of its people.
This was the message from several delegates to the VIP and Ministerial Symposium of this year’s Africa Oil Week conference running from 3 to 7 October, at the CTICC.
The event saw South African mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe, welcoming more than 30 energy ministers from across the continent “Energy poverty in Africa cannot be separated from the need for clean energy,” said Mantashe. “We need an energy mix that will sustain our development.”
Mantashe said there was unanimity on the need to move towards lower carbon emissions.
“That debate is settled,” he said. “The real issue is in the detail of that transition. The African energy transition must be systemic, it must be people-centric, and it must be community focused.”
Other speakers also highlighted the hypocrisy of developed nations expecting Africa to pause its own oil and gas development when developed nations’ success was often founded on the very same development.
“Oil and gas is an asset that we plan to use to lift our people out of poverty in Uganda,” said Uganda minister of energy and mineral development Dr. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu.
“However, some members of the international community are opposing this. It is like they are asking Africa to be poor!”
Nankabirwa said the international community’s call for Africa to avoid developing its own resources was especially galling, considering the continent is responsible for only 3.8% of global carbon emissions.
Mantashe, in his speech, gave the example of South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, where entire communities are reliant on the coal industry. Bringing coal mining to a full stop would mean the immediate collapse of more than 10 mining towns in the region, Mantashe said.
“Investors must make money – we have no problem with that,” said Mantashe. “But they must also add value in the African communities where they operate.”
“We need an Afrocentric energy transition,” said Africa Oil Week ambassador Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, former minister of state petroleum resources and former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
“Africa must look after its own interests. We must be fair to ourselves,”
Highlighting the opportunities of natural gas, Dr Kachikwu said there was no time to lose for Africa, in moving to unlock its energy resources. He encouraged strategies like forming alliances with Arab energy producers, supporting domestic producers, and diversifying into downstream energy businesses.
“We must not pace ourselves according to emotion,” he said. “Our transition must be driven by Afrocentrism – by what is in the best interests of Africa’s people.”
Africa Oil Week is Africa’s leading oil and gas event, bringing together governments, national and international oil companies, independents, investors and service providers.
Also delivering keynote remarks, Amani Abou-Zeid, commissioner for infrastructure and energy of the African Union, said that whether it was equity, access, or social development, Africa needed to ensure that it chose energy sources that were in the continent’s best interests.
“We must ensure that we are the ones setting the African agenda and not blindly following someone else’s agenda,” she continued. “That said, Africa has never been a climate denier. We want to work with the world and for the world.”
AOW is also a networking platform that supports dealmaking and transactions across the African upstream, which will shape the continent’s future.
“We have been working closely with South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and over 30 governments, as well as the African Union, to ensure today’s dialogue pushed a message of unity amongst African leaders for the continent to strive to define its own energy mix compatible with the needs of our people and the broader economic development of the continent, says Paul Sinclair, Vice President of Energy & Director of Government Relations at Africa Oil Week & Green Energy Africa Summit.
Tuesday’s event line-up will feature a plenary keynote address by Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, the President of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation – Africa’s answer to OPEC – as well as Minister Mantashe and illuminating panel discussions featuring African and international energy-sector leaders.