A fourth gas leak has been found on the Nord Stream pipelines EU leaders have said were deliberately sabotaged.
The Swedish coastguard said they had found the leak on Nord Stream 2, very close to a larger leak found earlier on Nord Stream 1.
It follows the discovery of three leaks earlier this week in the pipeline that carries gas from Russia to the EU.
The suspected acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea off Sweden and Denmark are believed by defence experts to have been premeditated attacks using underwater explosives.
The EU has promised that any deliberate attack on the continent’s energy infrastructure would be met with the “strongest possible response”.
The EU previously accused Russia of using gas supplies as a weapon against the West over its support for Ukraine.
But its leaders have stopped short of accusing Russia of the suspected attacks on the pipeline.
Some European officials and energy experts said Russia is likely to blame for any sabotage as it directly benefits from higher energy prices and economic anxiety across Europe caused by supply disruption.
However, others cautioned against pointing fingers until investigators are able to determine what happened.
Russia dismissed suggestions it had attacked its own pipelines as “predictable and stupid”.
Norway – which is not in the EU -has said it would deploy its military to protect oil and gas installations.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline – which consists of two parallel branches – has not transported any gas since late August when Russia closed it down, saying it needed maintenance.
It stretches 745 mile under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany. Its twin pipeline, Nord Stream 2, was halted after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Scientists fear methane erupting from the burst pipelines into the Baltic Sea could be one of the worst natural gas leaks ever and pose significant climate risks.
Both contained natural gas which mostly consists of methane – a greenhouse gas that is the biggest cause of climate heating after carbon dioxide.
The extent of the leaks is still unclear but rough estimates by scientists, based on the volume of gas reportedly in one of the pipelines, vary between 100,000 and 350,000 tonnes of methane.
“The climate risks from the methane leak are quite large. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 30 times stronger than CO2 over 100 years and more than 80 times stronger over 20 years.”
It remains unclear how long the damage will make the pipelines unoperational.
Source: Evening Standard
Ghana’s demand for petroleum products has increased significantly from an average of 7 to 41 percent in 2021, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has said.
The unprecedented surge in consumption is as result of various technological based schemes and interventions being implemented by the downstream regulator to curb illicit fuel activities over the past few months.
Speaking at the official opening of the 5th Edition of the Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhipCon), in Accra on Wednesday, 28 September 2022, Dr. Abdul-Hamid says the sector currently has annual sales value of GHC 32.94 billion representing a contribution of 7.2 percent to Ghana’s Domestic Gross Product (GDP).
“Africa’s petroleum downstream sector is entering a new era. As the world looks to accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels, the pressures on our industries are mounting,” he said.
“We are all exposed to the global energy transition, as our countries depend on oil and gas revenues. Ghana’s petroleum downstream industry which has an annual sales value of about GHS32.94 billion according to 2021 estimates contributes 7.2% of the country’s GDP.”
“This represents a 41% increase in demand for fossil fuels as compared to 2020. This is an unprecedented surge in consumption of fossil fuels when the annual average over the years had been between 5% and 7%,” The NPA Chief Executive added.
He emphasized that Ghana is committed to reducing the emissions from consumption of energy products.
“We at the National Petroleum Authority are committed to reducing the emissions from the energy products we consume in Ghana, and this culminated to the reduction of sulphur content in transport and industrial fuels from a maximum of 5000ppm to a maximum of 50ppm.”
“As previously mentioned, Ghana is one of the few African countries that consume low Sulphur fuels, with a roadmap for local refineries to comply,” he said.
Dr. Mustapha Hamid further charged participants at this year’s conference to deliberate on the key issues with a focus to devise strategies for deployment.
Speaking on behalf of the Energy Minister, a Deputy Minister of Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo, says Ghana remains committed to an energy transition agenda and the development of the petroleum industry.
“Ghana remains committed to both an energy transition agenda and the development of its petroleum industry, including downstream sector, we believe that the way forward is to strike an important and fair balance between the two without compromising our determination to maximize the benefits we need for our industrialization,” he said.
“I am convinced beyond measures that the conference will provide significant outcomes to guide us on the way forward, and I look forward to further engagements in this direction,” he added.
He further charged players in the West Africa Sub region to improve refinery capacity to produce high-quality fuels to reduce Green House Gas emissions.
The 3-day conference is on the theme “Energy Transition in the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the Way Forward”.
The conference is being organized by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in collaboration with the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy and the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD).
It has attracted major players including CEOs, experts and decision makers in the petroleum sector across the West Africa Sub Region.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ukraine has accused Russia of causing leaks in two major gas pipelines to Europe in what it described as a “terrorist attack”.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said the damage to Nord Stream 1 and 2 was “an act of aggression” towards the EU.
He added that Russia wanted to cause pre-winter panic and urged the EU to increase military support for Ukraine.
Seismologists reported underwater blasts before the leaks emerged.
“There is no doubt that these were explosions,” said Bjorn Lund of Sweden’s National Seismology Centre, as quoted by local media.
The operators of Nord Stream 2 warned of a loss of pressure in the pipeline on Monday afternoon. That led to a warning from Danish authorities that ships should avoid the area near the island of Bornholm.
The operator of Nord Stream 1 said the undersea lines had simultaneously sustained “unprecedented” damage in one day.
Denmark’s Defence Command has released footage of the leaks which shows bubbles at the surface of the Baltic Sea near the island.
The largest patch of sea disturbance is 1km (0.6 miles) in diameter, it says.
The gas pipelines have sustained “unprecedented” damage
“Gas leak from NS-1 [Nord Stream 1] is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU. Russia wants to destabilise the economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic,” Ukraine’s Mr. Podolyak tweeted in English.
He also called on European partners, particularly Germany, to increase military support for Ukraine.
“The best response and security investment are tanks for Ukraine. Especially German ones,” he said.
Other European leaders have raised the idea that the damage to the pipelines was deliberately inflicted.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki blamed it on sabotage and said it was probably linked to the war in Ukraine.
Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said it was too early to come to conclusions, but that it was hard to imagine the multiple leaks could be a coincidence.
At the same time, unconfirmed reports in German media said authorities were not ruling out an attack on the undersea gas network.
A Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said he was “extremely concerned” about the incident and the possibility of a deliberate attack could not be ruled out.
The EU has previously accused Russia of using a reduction in gas supplies as an economic weapon, in response to European sanctions imposed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, Moscow denies this, saying the sanctions have made it impossible to maintain the gas infrastructure properly.
Source: Reuters
The European Union has promised a “robust” response to any intentional disruption of its energy infrastructure after saying it suspected sabotage was behind gas leaks discovered this week on subsea Russian pipelines to Europe.
As gas spewed out under the Baltic Sea for a third day after first being detected, it remained far from clear who might be responsible for any sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines that Russia and European partners spent billions of dollars building.
Russia, which slashed gas deliveries to Europe after the West imposed sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, has also said sabotage was a possibility.
“Any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response,” the EU foreign policy Chief Joseph Borrell said.
Echoing the views of Germany, Denmark and Sweden, he said sabotage was likely, although the EU has not named a potential perpetrator or suggested a motive.
Washington, which has led efforts to punish Moscow over the war, believes it’s too soon to conclude there was sabotage, a senior U.S. military official said.
“The jury is still out,” the official told reporters. “Many of our partners, I think, have determined or believe it is sabotage. I’m just — I’m not at the point where I can tell you one way or the other.” Asked whether any U.S. involvement in the ruptures could be ruled out, the U.S. military official said: “We were absolutely not involved.”
The U.N. Security Council will convene on Friday at the request of Russia to discuss damage to the pipelines, the French U.N. mission, which holds the presidency of the 15-member council for September, said.
Russia’s embassy in Washington said Moscow had asked for the meeting as it “insists on the need for a comprehensive and objective examination of the circumstances of the unprecedented attacks on Russian pipelines”.
The embassy, in an early Thursday statement on its Telegram channel, also accused the United States of attempts to “squeeze out” Russia from the energy market through “non-market methods and sanctions.”
The Nord Stream pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between capitals in Europe and Moscow that has damaged major Western economies and sent gas prices soaring.
Denmark’s defence minister said after a meeting with NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg there was reason to be concerned about the security situation in the region.
“Russia has a significant military presence in the Baltic Sea region and we expect them to continue their sabre-rattling,” Morten Bodskov said in a statement.
Norway’s prime minister said on Wednesday that its military will be deployed near oil and gas installations, while Denmark is raising its level of preparedness.
“The military will be more visible at Norwegian oil and gas installations,” Norway’s Jonas Gahr Stoere said during a news briefing.
In the Baltic Sea, gas was still bubbling from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the Swedish Coast Guard said in an email.
The Danish Energy Agency said more than half the gas in the damaged pipelines had left the pipes and the remaining volume was expected to be gone by Sunday.
Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak reaching surface of the Baltic Sea in the area shows disturbance of well over one kilometre diameter near Bornholm, Denmark, September 27, 2022.
Jens Schumann, managing director of gas pipeline grid company Gasunie Deutschland, said he was “relatively optimistic” that the damage could be repaired.
“There are good teams in place to handle pipeline accidents, there are emergency pipe inventories and experts for onshore and offshore,” Schuman said.
But German security agencies fear that Nord Stream 1 will become unusable if large volumes of salt water flow into the pipes and cause corrosion, German newspaper Tagesspiegel reported, citing government sources.
The Danish armed forces said the largest gas leak caused a surface disturbance of more than 1 kilometre (0.6 mile) in diameter, as agencies issued warnings to shipping.
Sweden’s Prosecution Authority said it will review material from a police investigation and decide on further action, after Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Tuesday that two blasts had been detected.
Although this did not represent an attack on Sweden, Stockholm was in close contact with partners such as NATO and neighbours such as Denmark and Germany, Andersson said.
Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden said they had registered two powerful blasts on Monday in the vicinity of the leaks and the explosions were in the water, not under the seabed.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered Washington’s support in a call with his Danish counterpart on Wednesday, a senior U.S. defense official said. The State Department said it was sharing information on the blasts with its allies.
European leaders and Moscow say they cannot rule out sabotage. Map of Nord Stream pipelines and locations of reported leaks
Operator Nord Stream has called the damage “unprecedented”, while Russian-controlled Gazprom (GAZP.MM), which has a monopoly on gas exports by pipeline, declined to comment.
While neither pipeline was delivering gas to Europe at the time, the incidents scupper any remaining expectations that Europe could receive fuel via Nord Stream 1 before winter.
“A development that could have a more immediate impact on gas supplies to Europe was a warning from Gazprom that Russia could impose sanctions on Ukraine’s Naftogaz due to ongoing arbitration,” analysts at ING Research said.
Naftogaz’s CEO said on Wednesday the Ukrainian energy firm will continue with arbitration proceedings against Gazprom over Russian natural gas which transits the country.
Gazprom said earlier in the week that while rejecting all Naftogaz’s claims in arbitration, it may introduce sanctions against the company in case it presses ahead with the case.
European gas prices rose following news of the leaks. The benchmark October Dutch price was up by 11% at 204.50 euros/megawatt hour on Wednesday. Although prices are still below this year’s peaks, they remain more than 200% higher than in early September 2021.
Russia reduced gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1 before suspending flows altogether in August, blaming Western sanctions for causing technical difficulties. European politicians say that was a pretext to stop supplying gas.
The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline had yet to enter commercial operations. The plan to use it to supply gas was scrapped by Germany days before Russia began what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine in late February.
Source: Reuters
Ghana has announced plans to transition from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy by 2070.
Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Bawumia revealed this at the 5th Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhipCon) in Accra.
He, therefore, called on stakeholders in the energy sector to accelerate the production and utilisation of oil and gas reserves in Ghana.
“Let me add that Ghana has set a target of 2070 to fully transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. So, even though as a government, we are fully committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2070, we also have to take steps to accelerate the production and utilisation of our oil and gas reserves.
“What this means is that even though we want to contribute to reducing emissions, we are of the view that a balance must be struck and maintained in the context of our social, economic and environmental requirements.
“So, fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, will continue to be part of Ghana’s energy mix in the short term, whilst strategies will be put in place to increase the share of renewable energy in the mix from medium to long term,” Dr. Bawumia said.
On his part, the Chief Executive of NPA, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid reiterated the government’s commitment to reducing the emissions from the consumption of petroleum products.
“We, at the NPA, are committed to supporting the government’s agenda in reducing the emissions from the energy products we consume in Ghana.
“And I’m glad to mention we were the first West African country to reduce sulphur content in transport and industrial fuels from a maximum of 5000ppm to a maximum of 50ppm,” he stated.
This year’s conference is on the theme: ‘Energy Transition in the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the Way Forward.
The conference is being organised by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), in collaboration with the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA), under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy and the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD).
It has attracted major players including CEOs, experts and decision-makers in the petroleum sector across the West Africa Sub Region.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The CEO of the NPA, Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has underscored the need for African nations to double efforts in dealing with the challenges arising out of the energy transition.
“As the world looks to accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels, the pressures on our industries are mounting.
“We are all exposed to the global energy transition, as our countries depend on oil and gas revenues,” Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said while delivering a welcome address at this year’s Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GHIPCON) 2022 in Accra.
This year’s GHIPCON is under the theme: ‘Energy Transition In the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the way forward’.
He continued: “The reality of fulfilling the energy transition commitment is that there will be further pressure on government spending to ensure that our diversification process meets global needs.
“It is, therefore, imperative that we intensify our efforts,” he said
While pointing out the need for Africa to double efforts in terms of strategies to overcome the pressures on government spending, Dr. Abdul-Hamid said: “It is not just about the pace of change. It is also about the scale of change.”
Dr. Abdul-Hamid observed that one of the things that could help accelerate net zero emissions was for the government to develop regulations and incentives which would allow companies to commercialise more rapidly their low and zero-carbon solutions.
He noted the demand for transportation fuels would wane over the longer-term, or rapidly decline—depending on two variables: policy and technology innovation.
In this regard, Dr. Abdul -Hamid charged the participants to use this year’s GhiPCon to deliberate action on the key issues with a focus to devise strategies for deployment.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s power transmission company, GRIDCo, has expressed its readiness to share expertise with other transmission utilities in Africa to boost access to electricity by citizens.
Ambassador Kabril Blay-Amihere, Board Chairman of GRIDCo, said this when the power transmitter received an eight-member delegation from the Ugandan Electricity Transmission Company Limited on Tuesday, 27th September 2022 in Tema.
The delegation, led by its Board Chairman Kwame Ejalu Ejuku, are being hosted by GRIDCo for one week.
GRIDCo operates the West African nation’s national interconnected transmission system (NITS) which is 6,427.23km.
The Board Chairman said after operating as an entity for over 14 years, it has the expertise to assist others.
“We can modestly say that GRIDCo, whose current leadership has been in the transmission business for an average of 20 years and even more, based on their experience from the Volta River Authority, GRIDCo has developed the expertise and capacity to serve as the backbone to power delivery from Ghana and beyond our borders”, he explained.
Ambassador Amihere stressed that as a member of the West African Power Project, GRIDCo is taking all necessary steps to contribute to sustainable power delivery in the entire sub-region and beyond.
According to him, GRIDCo hopes to provide light in every city, town and village in Africa which is what will power the development of Africa.
Kwame Ejalu Ejuku, Board Chairman of Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL), said they were aware of the maturity of GRIDCo’s transmission grid and its success and indicated that they expect to have a long-term relationship with GRIDCo for the benefit of the two companies.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
As part of efforts to learn from success stories of power transmission companies in Africa and elsewhere to improve service delivery, the Ugandan Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) is in Ghana to learn from Ghana’s power transmission company, GRIDCo, and also explore partnerships.
The eight-member UETCL delegation, led by its Board Chairman Kwame Ejalu Ejuku, are being hosted by GRIDCo for one week.
GRIDCo will host technical sessions, and facility tours and consider areas of cooperation.
Welcoming the delegation to the headquarters of GRIDCo in Tema on Tuesday, the CEO of GRIDCo, Ing Ebenezer Kofi Essienyi said GRIDCo has made strides and hopes there is a lot the delegation can learn from its operations.
Ing. Ebenezer Kofi Essienyi, Chief Executive Officer for GRIDCo
“GRIDCo has come a long way and for 14 years, it continues to strive for excellence to deliver on its mandate of a ‘reliable national GRID for development’,” he noted.
Amb. Kabral Blay-Amihere, Chairman of the GRIDCo Board, indicated, “From correspondence between our two companies and informal discussions, this visit will provide the platform for discussions about common challenges of the two entities, exchange of ideas and experiences with the view of collaboration and cooperation as we both fulfill our mandate to deliver sustainable and reliable power.”
Chairman of the Board of UETCL, Kwame Ejalu Ejuku, expressed thanks to GRIDCo for responding to its request to undertake the tour for purposes of benchmarking to have a full sense of the transmission business.
He indicated that they are aware of the maturity of GRIDCo as a transmission entity and its success in the coverage as well as management of its telecom assets through GRIDTel.
“GRIDCo, being one of the best run utilities in the region, offers lessons that UETCL can learn,” he said.
He said they expect that there will be a long-term relationship for the benefit of the two companies and our two countries.
Michael Taremwa (middle), Acting Chief Executive Officer for Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited
GRIDCo operates the West African nation’s national transmission system and has 6,427.23km of transmission network while Ugandan Electricity Transmission Company Limited manages 3,385km of transmission network.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has opened the 5th Ghana International Petroleum Conference currently underway at the plush Kempinski Hotel in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
This year’s GHIPCON, which has brought several oil and gas industry players, Is under the theme: ‘Energy Transition In the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the way forward’.
Below are some pictures from the conference:
Ghana’s technical regulator for electricity, Energy Commission, has graduated 206 electricians in Greater Accra where they were trained and certified as Electrical Wiring Professionals.
This brings to a total of 13,266 people trained nationwide as Electrical Wiring Professionals since the implementation of the Electrical Wiring Regulations, 2011 (L.I.2008).
The graduation ceremony followed a successful examination organised by the Commission for the electrical wiring practitioners.
A total of 1,029 sat for the various categories of the Electrical Wiring Certification Examination in May this year.
Out of the figure, 89.30 per cent of the candidates who sat for the Domestic category passed while 70.16 per cent and 67.44 per cent of those who sat for commercial and industrial categories respectively were successful. 43.55 per cent were successful in the Inspector category.
In total, about eight hundred (800) candidates were successful; representing a pass rate of 78.52 per cent.
Addressing the graduates, the Director in charge of Electricity Regulation and Natural Gas Regulations, Ing Anthony C. Bleboo noted that despite the successes chalked since the implementation of the programme, the continuous practice by uncertified electricians is causing harm to the innocent public.
He said these uncertified electricians offer their services at ostensibly cheaper prices relative to that of their certified counterparts.
Ing. Anthony Bleboo again raised concern about the non-compliance of owners of commercial facilities to mandatory inspections and texting as stipulated by the regulations.
The regulation requires that owners of buildings that have been wired for ten years and above should engage the services of certified inspectors to inspect and test the electrical wiring to identify defects developed during the period and have them corrected.
The President of Certified Electrical Wiring Professionals, Samuel Nii Tachie commended the Energy Commission for implementing the electrical wiring regulations.
He observed that the training and certification of electricians have helped to minimise the occurrence of fire outbreaks which were a result of poor wiring in homes.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Board Chairman of Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere, has been honoured for his media activism which contributed to free speech, media training and policies that led to the expansion of press freedom in the Republic of Ghana.
Kabral Blay-Amihere, a veteran journalist, was at the forefront of media activism from the 80s until the early 2000s.
He was honoured by the Centre for Media and Culture alongside Ghana’s former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, and 13 others.
GRIDCo’s Board Chairman is also a former Ghanaian Diplomat, former President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC).
He was in the media practice for 25 years.
In a post sighted on GRIDCo’s Facebook page, the transmission company congratulated the GRIDCo Board Chairman for his continued service to Ghana.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria has been hit again with a nationwide blackout as the West African nation’s national grid collapsed on Monday morning.
The national grid is said to have experienced system disturbances at about 10:51 am on Monday, September 26, 2022.
Many Nigerians took to social media to express their frustrations about the rampant collapse of the national grid.
In a statement informing customers about the development, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) said: “EEDC wishes to inform her esteemed customers of a system collapse which occurred at 10:51 am today, 26th September 2022.
“This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network,” the statement signed by Emeka Ezeh said.
It added that “due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide service to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and the Imo States.
“We are on standby awaiting detailed information of the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre (NCC), Osogbo,” it concluded.
The General Manager in-charge of Public Affairs at the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Mrs. Ndidi Mba, is yet to respond to a message sent to her via whatsapp over the current development
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Belgium has announced that its Doel 3 nuclear reactor will be disconnected from the grid and cease operations, even as the country fears blackouts this winter.
It is one of four reactors at the Doel plant near the port of Antwerp,and is the first nuclear reactor to shut down in Belgium’s plan to exit nuclear power completely.
The move comes as thousands of Belgians took to the streets on Wednesday to protest soaring electricity prices and high costs of living.
In a recent Belgian media poll, 64% of Belgians are concerned that they might not be able to pay their energy bills.
It also comes as Belgium stainless steel maker Aperam was forced to stop production as the high energy prices became untenable.
The decision to shut the reactors was made years ago, well before Europe’s energy crisis took hold. In 2011, it was decided to shut Belgian’s oldest reactors by 2015, and the rest by 2025. At that time, nuclear energy accounted for over half of the nation’s power consumption. In addition, under Belgium law, nuclear reactors have to stop producing electricity 40 years after installation, although some reactors in the country have been afforded extensions. While the Federal Interior Minister called for an extension for Doel 3, it was not granted.
The plan for Belgium’s nuclear power exit, hatched in 2011, was supposed to be contingent on finding enough energy from alternative sources to prevent power shortages.
The shutdowns are set to continue after Doel 3. In February, Belgium is planning to shutter Tihange 2—a nuclear reactor that has the unfortunate distinction of being located near the German border where nuclear power is decidedly out of favor, and as such, has found itself the target of activists.
For Belgium, the energy situation is dire. Last week, Bart De Wever, Antwerp mayor and leader of the nationalist New Flemish Alliance party, said that Europe’s crisis could not be pinned on Putin. Instead, the crisis is one “that Europe has brought on itself by phasing out its own primary energy production this century.”
Source:Oilprice.com
The Ugandan Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, has urged the western world to focus on supporting Africa to develop its energy sources including fossil fuels to increase access to affordable power instead of insisting on an energy transition to renewable energy only.
Over 600 million people in Africa lack access to electricity for instance, and even those who have access to electricity find it difficult to pay because it is expensive.
Africa has an abundance of renewable energy sources like hydro, wind, biomass, biogas and solar.
It also has fossil fuels such as crude oil and natural gas reserves.
Contributing to discussions at the just-ended Houston-Africa Energy Summit, in Houston, Texas, held from 22nd—23rd September 2022, Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu noted that it was about time the West took cognisance of the inequalities in energy on the African continent and supported it to develop all other sources of energy to make them affordable and accessible for all.
The Summit consisted of a closed-door roundtable discussion, as well as panel discussions that provided an opportunity for African leaders to engage with Houston’s leading Energy companies like Chevron, Kosmos Energy, Halliburton, Vaalco Energy, Shell and Exxon Mobil to bring tangible energy investments to Africa.
The Summit, hosted by the Mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, was attended by the President of Niger, H.E. Mohamed Bazoum, and Ministers for Energy of the African countries including Burundi, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu (3rd Right) with other panel members during discussions at the Houston –Africa Energy Summit
The topics discussed at the Summit included: ‘The Future of Global Energy in Africa; Building Africa’s Energy Infrastructure; and Investing in Africa, Financial Pathways’.
The position taken by all the African countries in attendance was that Africa has nothing to transition from, hence, the need to attract investment in the energy sector at all stages i.e. Upstream (Exploration & production), Midstream (Processing and transport) and Downstream (Marketing and distribution to end users).
Making a case for Uganda, Ruth N. Ssentamu said opportunities exist in her country for those who want to invest in energy infrastructure as well as affordable financing for energy projects like dams, refineries and oil pipelines and investment in new oil blocks.
The Minister was accompanied by Eng. Irene Bateebe, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, and Michael Bulwaka, Counselor at the Uganda Embassy, Washington, DC.
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Russia dismissed suggestions it had attacked its own pipelines as “predictable and stupid”.
Norway – which is not in the EU -has said it would deploy its military to protect oil and gas installations.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline – which consists of two parallel branches – has not transported any gas since late August when Russia closed it down, saying it needed maintenance.
It stretches 745 mile under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany. Its twin pipeline, Nord Stream 2, was halted after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Scientists fear methane erupting from the burst pipelines into the Baltic Sea could be one of the worst natural gas leaks ever and pose significant climate risks.
Both contained natural gas which mostly consists of methane – a greenhouse gas that is the biggest cause of climate heating after carbon dioxide.
The extent of the leaks is still unclear but rough estimates by scientists, based on the volume of gas reportedly in one of the pipelines, vary between 100,000 and 350,000 tonnes of methane.
“The climate risks from the methane leak are quite large. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 30 times stronger than CO2 over 100 years and more than 80 times stronger over 20 years.”
It remains unclear how long the damage will make the pipelines unoperational.
Source: Evening Standard 
Russia dismissed suggestions it had attacked its own pipelines as “predictable and stupid”.
Norway – which is not in the EU -has said it would deploy its military to protect oil and gas installations.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline – which consists of two parallel branches – has not transported any gas since late August when Russia closed it down, saying it needed maintenance.
It stretches 745 mile under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany. Its twin pipeline, Nord Stream 2, was halted after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Scientists fear methane erupting from the burst pipelines into the Baltic Sea could be one of the worst natural gas leaks ever and pose significant climate risks.
Both contained natural gas which mostly consists of methane – a greenhouse gas that is the biggest cause of climate heating after carbon dioxide.
The extent of the leaks is still unclear but rough estimates by scientists, based on the volume of gas reportedly in one of the pipelines, vary between 100,000 and 350,000 tonnes of methane.
“The climate risks from the methane leak are quite large. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 30 times stronger than CO2 over 100 years and more than 80 times stronger over 20 years.”
It remains unclear how long the damage will make the pipelines unoperational.
Source: Evening Standard 
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
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