By: Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Africa’s capability has grasped the world’s attention in recent times as conflict in Eastern Europe and rising energy costs have highlighted the globe’s precarious energy position.
Recent discoveries of oil and gas across the continent serve as a reminder that Africa has the potential to be an international energy supplier.
Africa nevertheless also must also be focused on increased production of clean energy as part of the just transition and fight against climate change.
Additionally, investment in future projects must ensure full benefits and upliftment of women and children of our continent writes Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka the former Director of UN Women and South Africa’s first female deputy president.
Having served both the United Nations and the South African Government, I am of the view that Africa must ensure both consistent and diverse energy supply to its people and the world while also tackling some of the most challenging socio-economic issues it faces. The upliftment of women and ensuring equality will contribute positively development and growth of countries. Diversified energy sources used together with rich energy reserves could act as a force multiplier for growth, economic upliftment, poverty reduction and improved health.
Worryingly, UN Women (https://bit.ly/3dG4A6e) statistics indicate that women in Sub-Saharan Africa collectively spend over 40-billion hours a year collecting water. Rural communities that do not have access to efficient energy sources continue to rely on open fires and burn wood and crop waste to survive. Research also shows that when more income is put into the hands of women, education, children nutrition and health also improve. African countries must be careful of the well documented industry behaviour which has continued to exploit the resources and the local people and African governments that have failed to stand up for their country’s developmental needs.
Later this year, heads of state, industry leaders and multinational oil and gas companies will convene for the annual Africa Oil Week (https://bit.ly/3c0pXPe) conference in Cape Town from October 3rd to 7th. This is Africa’s premium energy event and a key opportunity to outline the benefits of localization. It is also a key moment to present the climate change imperatives which must guide the way forward.
An inclusive approach that benefits locals would boost local skills development, lower supply chain costs, encourage responsive & good governance, enhance infrastructure, develop sustainable local content all in enhanced localization approach and strategies.
Conclusion
It is my sincere hope that, as energy leaders come together for AOW (https://Africa-OilWeek.com) in October, the opportunities that can put Africa on a successful and sustainable energy path are considered with the seriousness they deserve and with the spirit of Ubuntu – the understanding that we are interdependent and coexist as a partnership.
We must grapple with the historic curse of resources that has beleaguered many countries who remain unequal and poor despite growth in exports and foreign earnings from energy resources. Climate change constrains must also continue to guide our choices of energy mix, money gained from fossil fuels must also be used to invest in clean energy and for the development of our people. We must combine our strengths, resources, and knowledge to ensure that no woman or child is left behind as we advance together.Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a former Director of UN Women and South Africa’s first female deputy president.
Russia, which controls the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in the southeastern Ukraine, is preparing to disconnect the operating blocks of the plant from the power grid, Ukrainian state nuclear firm Energoatom said on Friday as tensions around the plant have escalated in recent days.
Energoatom believes that Russia was preparing to stage a “large-scale provocation” at Zaporizhzhya, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, the Ukrainian company said in a statement carried by Reuters.
Zaporizhzhya has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the early days of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia shelled the Zaporizhzhya power plant, creating concerns about a nuclear disaster ten times bigger than Chernobyl.
Ukrainian staff is still operating the Zaporizhzhya power plant, but there are Russian occupying forces on the ground.
In recent days, tensions have escalated, and last week Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, called on Ukraine and Russia to halt fighting in the area of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and institute a demilitarized zone around it.
Earlier this week, Russia rejected a proposal by Guterres to demilitarize the area around Zaporizhzhya.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the issue with Zaporizhzhya with Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, warning about “another Chernobyl” disaster, AFP reported.
Upon his return to Turkey, Erdogan said the situation at Zaporizhzhya was “a threat for the world” and that he plans to discuss the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We will discuss this issue with Mr. Putin, and we will ask him specifically for this so that Russia does its part in this regard as an important step for world peace. [Russians] need to take this step. Ukraine has both its own technical staff and its own military forces in Zaporizhzhya. And they are capable of securing safety with their technical staff and soldiers there,” Erdogan said, as carried by Radio Free Europe.
Source:Oilprice.com
The Convener and Executive Director of PowerUp Nigeria, an electric power consumer rights and power sector policy advocacy organisation, has charged Nigerians to stand up against the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) for plunging the country into darkness last Wednesday.
Adetayo Adegbemle, who condemned the action of the Union, argued that the Union’s action “is simply a sabotage of the Nigerian economy.”
He could not fathom why few people continue to hold Africa’s most populous nation to ransom, without consequences.
“This is probably the only country in the world where such impunity is allowed to pass, without punishment,’’ he fumed in a piece he wrote and copied to energynewsafrica.com.
Although there is no data to show how much the nation lost due to the 10hrs nationwide blackout on Wednesday occasioned by the Union’s strike action, Adetayo noted that a newspaper report puts the loss for those circa 10hrs at N2.3 billion.
Adetayo expressed doubt that the country would be able to quantify the loss as a result of the deliberate action by the Union.
“We will never know how much the nation has lost. Again, no retribution for the sabotage and unnecessary flexing”, he argued.
Nigeria was plunged into darkness by the staff Transmission Company of Nigeria under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) after they shut down all substations in protest of unresolved grievances.
The Union kicked against the decision of the TCN Board asking all Principal Managers to be interviewed before promotion to Assistant Managers.
They were also not happy about a circular from the Head of Service allegedly “stigmatizing” former NEPA staff who were trying to work in other areas of the power sector, and were also angry about the non-payment of December 2019 ‘entitlement’ of ex-PHCN staff.
Following their threat of a strike in a statement issued by the General Secretary of NUEE, Joe Ajaero, Mr Adetayo noted that the Managing Director of TCN responded immediately by calling off the promotion interviews.
Interestingly, the Minister for State for Power, Jeddy Agba, also issued a letter asking the Union to give them two weeks for frank discussion and resolution.
Sadly, the Union never heeded the Minister’s appeal and instead, threw the whole country into blackout, crippling businesses and households.
After meeting with Chris Ngige, the Minister for Labour, and some Federal Government, the Union agreed to call off the strike for two weeks to enable the parties to discuss and resolve their grievances.
Mr Adetayo believes the Union just wanted to sabotage the country, saying if not why would they reject the two weeks request by the Minister for State for Power and accepted the same after plunging the country into darkness?
He said, “The action of the union calls into question the Power Sector Reform model that we have opted to implement in Nigeria and the rationality of continuing with a single grid/power market.
“This unnecessary flexing of few people in the name of Union further strengthens the call to break down the grid. We have examples of Canada, Brazil, Mexico, India and the USA to follow.
“The Regulators, only in June, announced a contract-based evacuation of power generated by the generating company, and while we are waiting for the gas suppliers to get us to a regular 5000MW, the Union strikes. What, then, is the essence of the contract? he quizzed.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The recent passing into law of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the establishment of the Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the energy sector in Nigeria, West Africa and the continent at large.
Policy and regulatory clarity are essential to the development of Africa’s energy resources, and the oil sector in particular. The new Act confirms that Africa is taking control of its own resources and setting the agenda for how they will be deployed.
The passing of the act follows decades of work to evolve the sector in line with the needs of the energy business in the industry, the communities impacted, and the Nigerian economy at large. However, the act is complicated, its language ambiguous, and its workings yet to be fully understood.
Global oil industry investors will have an opportunity to inspect the granular detail of the act and how they can get involved at the forthcoming Africa Oil Week, where NUPRC CEO Gbenga Komolafe and other senior Nigerian oil officials will engage with stakeholders on the new dispensation.
The Nigerian oil industry has grown significantly, and the energy landscape has changed enormously – hence the need for a new approach.
Nigeria remains Africa’s leading oil producer, with production of 86.9 metric tons (https://bit.ly/3QFxEca) during 2020. At the same time, oil plays a significant part in Nigeria’s domestic economy, with the oil and gas sector accounting for about 5.8% of the country’s GDP (https://brook.gs/3AqpBdN) and 95% of its foreign-exchange earnings in 2019.
The passage of the Act has come with a renewed assertiveness in the Nigerian oil sector, with underdeveloped assets being reallocated (https://bit.ly/3QxbU2p) and NUPRC CEO Komolafe signalling (https://bit.ly/3SZKc06) a commitment to building synergy and smooth industry operations in the national interest.
“The Commission is very deliberate in identifying and promoting new projects and new field developments to boost the national oil production” says Mr. Komolafe. “We will continue to work with all stakeholders on these strategic areas.”
The new PIA dispensation will allow for the more efficient and sustainable allocation of Nigeria’s oil assets in the best interests of Nigerians and African people at large.
That said, the new environment is deeply complex, and the ambit of the new regulations is vast.
The NUPRC, for instance, is tasked with ensuring compliance to petroleum laws, regulations and guidelines, as well as monitoring operations at drilling sites, wells, production platforms and flow stations, crude oil export terminals, refineries, storage depots, pump stations, retail outlets and pipelines.
It must also supervise all petroleum operations carried out under licences in the country, monitor operations to ensure they are in line with national goals; ensure health, safety and environmental compliance; maintain records on petroleum reserves, production, licences and leases; advise government on technical and policy matters, process licence applications; collect government revenues and maintain and administer the National Data Repository (NDR).
Besides the NUPRC, the Petroleum Act also established the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA).
Together, these authorities are responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of petroleum operations in their respective sectors, and have the power to acquire, hold, and dispose of property.
The Act provides for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company to be run as a quasi-commercial enterprise, with its shares jointly held by the ministries of finance and petroleum.
The Act also establishes the Host Community Development Trust Fund (HCDTF), which is geared to providing social and economic benefits for host communities where petroleum resources are located, and to enhance peaceful coexistence between licensees or lessees and host communities.
The PIA also establishes a hydrocarbons tax, to be levied on income from oil companies’ onshore resources such as crude oil, condensates, and natural gas liquids.
The wide-ranging area of responsibility covered by the PIA, and the use of terms that have yet to be clarified in court, makes for a complicated piece of legislation that bears further explanation.
Energy players will have an opportunity to unpack the regulations and have them explained by the authorities tasked with implementing them at the forthcoming Africa Oil Week event, to be held in Cape Town in October.
“Nigeria is to be congratulated on the progress it has made in codifying the terms for the exploitation of its oil assets,” says Paul Sinclair, AOW Vice-President of Energy and Director of Government Relations.
“However, the global oil industry is clamouring for the chance to gain further clarity on the new laws. We look forward to doing just that, at Africa Oil Week.”
Source: Africa Oil Week
Vivo Energy Ghana, the exclusive marketer, and distributor of Shell branded fuels and lubricants has renovated a three-unit classroom block for the St Peter’s Primary School, at Poasi-New Takoradi, in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, of the Western Region.
In addition to the renovation, the energy company furnished the school block with dual classroom desks, teachers’ desks, bookshelves, white boards, and ceiling fans. Other existing classroom blocks were also repainted to give the school a face-lift.
The company believes the new classroom block will provide a safe shelter and a conducive environment for academic excellence to thrive.
In line with the company’s environmental sustainability programme dubbed ‘Cyclean,’ Vivo Energy Ghana donated waste bins to encourage waste segregation in the school and inculcate the habit of recycling amongst the school children.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the Commercial Manager of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr. Bernard Bosompem who spoke on behalf of the Managing Director, said “the company’s commitment to invest in communities where it operates goes beyond its corporate strategy to playing its role as a responsible corporate entity in complementing the government’s efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Four of ensuring equitable education for all.”
Commenting on the rationale for the renovation, Mr. Bosompem explained that, Vivo Energy Ghana operates a Bitumen plant within New Takoradi, and the gesture is a demonstration of the company’s commitment to the development of its communities and more importantly, the joy and smile it brings to the faces of the pupils, parents and the community as a whole. He also stated that the company takes pride in the impact of the initiative knowing that the facility will be used to educate younger ones who will grow to become responsible citizens of Ghana and beyond.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah in his remarks commended the long-standing relationship between the company and Poasi- New Takoradi community. He recalled how Shell has been in the community for the past 70 years and continues to extend its support to them. “The effort of Vivo Energy Ghana towards the growth of the educational sector is exemplary and appealed to other companies operating in Poasi-New Takoradi community to emulate the initiative by the company.
The Metropolitan Director of Education, Mrs. Selly Nelly Coleman, reiterated the government’s commitment towards the provision of educational infrastructure to facilitate access to quality education. She also called on the management of the school to make good use of the facility.
Madam Felicia Odoom, the Assembly Member for Upper New Takoradi expressed her appreciation to Vivo Energy Ghana for the quick response to support the community.
The Chief of Poasi-New Takoradi, Nana Assifuah Kuma IV, commended Vivo Energy Ghana for contributing to the development of education in the community and assured the company of good maintenance of the school for the benefit of future generations.Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of GOIL, Mr. Kwame Osei Prempeh, has paid a working visit to the Bulk Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited Terminal at Buipe in the Savanna Region.
The visit was to acquaint himself with the operations of the terminal facility.
The depot, which has a total storage capacity 50,000 cubic meters of fuel, currently supplies Gasoil to serve the northern part of the country.
Mr. Osei Prempeh encouraged the terminal team to always ensure safety of their operations.
The Terminal Manager, Chris Osanebi, expressed gratitude to Mr. Osei- Prempeh for the visit.
Mr. Osei Prempeh was accompanied by GOIL’s Head of Fuels Marketing, Mr. Augustine Boateng, Acting Head of Corporate Affairs and PR Manager, Mr. Robert Kyere, as well as the company’s Depot Supply Officer, Mr. Michael Anning.Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Electricity Company of Ghana has restored power supply to the Yilo and Manya Krobo Municipalities in the Eastern Region after three weeks of disconnecting the area from the national grid.
Power supply was restored at about 5pm Friday but few minutes later there was power supply cut after ECG transformer in Somanya reportedly went up in flames as a result of power surge.
According to Tema Regional ECG Public Relations Officer, Sakyiwaa Mensah, ECG’s team quickly responded to the situation and has since fixed the problem.
She added that power supply was restored at about 9pm.
The Yilo and Manya Krobo Municipalities have been without power since July 27 amid a dispute over the installation of prepaid meters.
Residents in the area owe ECG an unpaid electricity bills of about Ghs168 million for a period of five years.
To stop the continuous accumulation of unpaid electricity bills ECG embarked on installation of pre-payment meters but the residents opposed the initiative through a series of protests and touched some of their installations.
This compelled the power distribution company to cut power supply to the area.
Speaking on TV3 on Friday night, the Municipal Chief Executive for Yilo Krobo, Simon Kweku Tetteh said there are few areas which are yet to have their supply restored.
He said ECG had promised to restore power to the affected areas on Saturday.
He commended the ECG, Ministry of Energy, Traditional Authorities and the national security for the role they all played to ensure that power supply was restored to the area.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
TotalEnergies, one of the leading oil marketing companies in the Republic of Ghana, has adjusted its fuel prices upward by 20 pesewas at the pump.
A litre of petrol (super) is now sold at Gh¢11.15 from Gh¢10.95 while diesel is sold at Gh¢13.50 from Gh¢13.30.
Star oil has also adjusted its pump prices with dieseling selling at Gh¢12.98 per litre while petrol is sold at Gh¢10.67 per litre.
As of Thursday, energynewsafrica.com’s checks revealed that only TotalEnergies and Star Oil had adjusted their pump prices.
Leading oil marketing companies, GOIl and Shell, and several others are still selling diesel and petrol at the prices set for the first pricing window which commenced from 1st to 15th August.
Prices of diesel and petrol are reviewed every two weeks in the West African nation.
Although crude oil prices have fallen below $100 per barrel, the Ghanaian currency, the cedis, keeps depreciating against the major international currencies notably the US Dollars, Euros and Pounds.
Some forex trading companies are quoting Ghc9.99 as the exchange rate for a dollar.
Apart from the weak Ghanaian currency, there appear to be shortages of forex in the country, making it difficult for banks to supply oil to importers.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Acting Chief Executive Officer for the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Opoku-Ahweneeh Danquah, has explained that there are inherent challenges in Ghana’s oil and gas sector which require the immediate attention of all stakeholders.
He said, “the challenges to the oil and gas industry should not be dismissed as future threats because they are real and present”.
The CEO made the observation at the launch of Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Chamber report, which was held in Accra.
The chamber, which has dual priorities, focuses on providing its members with a committed platform for promoting, protecting and enhancing their common interest whilst seeking to ensure high standards, best practices and supportive legislation within the upstream industry.Notable attendees at the event were senior officials from Tullow PLC, Kosmos, ENI, and Petroleum Commission.
Mr. Danquah touched on three key areas, which to him constitute the current challenges facing the oil and gas industry in Ghana.
The three areas are incentivizing exploration; expediting the appraisal to the development process and optimising domestic gas utilization in the context of the energy transition.
Expressing his views on “incentivizing exploration in Ghana”, Mr. Danquah said, “Ghana’s industry is facing the realities of reserves depletion and production decline”.
He continued that the nation remains reliant on its three producing fields, the Greater Jubilee, TEN and the Sankofa Gye Nyame, with another asset at the pre-development stage, and expected to begin production within the medium term”.
He, therefore, indicated that Ghana faces a strong imperative to both increase petroleum production and replace and grow reserves to avoid prolonged production decline.
The CEO also stressed the need to continue engaging key stakeholders at a wider level to re-invigorate exploration by way of encouraging deep-water exploration and drilling of unexplored areas through fiscal incentives.
This is especially true in the wake of a slowdown in exploratory drilling since 2012 – only six (6) exploratory wells were drilled between 2013 and 2021, compared to thirty-seven (37) between 2007 and 2012 around the height of Jubilee field discovery and development,” he alluded.
Again, he underscored the need to come up with initiatives to attract the right international oil companies through enticing licensing rounds and direct negotiations under provisions in section 10 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 2016 (Act 919).
In addition, he posited the need to actively engage upstream players and encourage them at every stage of the development and production process, and finally to contribute positively to a responsive regulatory and institutional framework.
Speaking on the subject of “expediting the appraisal to development process”, Mr. Danquah noted that several of the post-Jubilee discoveries can be classified as marginal fields.
He explained that Ghana’s latest commercial discovery to be brought into production was the Sankofa Gye-Nyame fields in 2017.
“This demonstrates a need to speed up and encourage the progression of appraisal stage projects through development and into production” he alluded.
The two key incentives being endorsed in the Ghana context are the tie-in development concept and fiscal incentives for marginal field development.
He eluded that as a best practice, Ghana encourages the tie-in of marginal fields to existing infrastructure to drive down the overall cost of development and production.
As a precedent, he reiterated the development concept behind the Deep Water Tano – Cape Three Points Pecan development which incorporated the tying of idle assets like Beech, Almond, and others into the main Pecan development area.
Another instance was when the Government of Ghana designed two (2) fiscal packages for the West Cape Three Points Block 2 to encourage the development of the existing marginal discoveries and at the same time promote further exploration in the block.
Touching on natural gas as the energy transition fuel in Ghana’s energy mix, Mr. Danquah commented that Ghana’s growing demand for energy will see continued dependence on natural gas.
He claimed that figures from Ghana’s fourth national communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) suggest that US$14.2 billion was deployed between 2011 and 2019 to develop gas infrastructure in Ghana.
Mr. Danquah explained that “GNPC, in essence, does not see the Energy Transition to cleaner forms of energy as binary – all or nothing; however, we consider it as a gradual process and which cannot progress seamlessly without considering the country’s own present resources as well as its energy security blueprint in the context of eradicating energy poverty”.
“To this end, the Corporation is enabling investment in critical gas infrastructure such as the Tema City Gate project to facilitate gas utilisation in an expanding gas demand market (including non-power off-takers) and ensuring a robust gas value chain across other local gas enclaves.”, he concluded.
Lastly, Mr. Danquah clamoured for collaboration, cooperation and informed transparent decision-making among private, public and government institutions involved in Ghana’s upstream oil and gas sector.
He mentioned that it is only when these variables are in place that the upstream sector can be successful and make meaningful impacts to the economy.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigerian workers in the electricity sector have suspended their strike action with immediate effect.
The electricity workers embarked on a strike in protest of unfair labour practices resulting to a blackout in the West African nation.
The workers pledged to ensure restoration of supply without further delay after a conciliation meeting between them and Federal Government.
The Union, according to a statement by the Minister of Labour and Employment, after a quick intervention to stop the industrial action, promised to restore power while it awaits the government to meet its demands.
After the meeting held behind closed doors, the Minister of Labour through a statement made available to journalists by the Ministry’s Head, Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun, said; “The Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has apprehended the strike embarked upon by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) following an emergency meeting between the union, government and other stakeholders, at the instance of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.
“Dr. Ngige set up a tripartite committee to look into the grievances of electricity workers towards addressing them.
“At the end of the meeting, the Secretary General of NUEE, Joe Ajaero, assured the Minister that all necessary steps would be taken to restore the supply of electricity to the country immediately.”
Corroborating with the Labour Minister’s statement, President General of the of Association of Senior Staff of Electricity and Allied Workers, Comrade Chika Ben, said; “I thank you Honorable Minister of Labour and Minister of State for Power for their maturity in handling the issues we brought up.
“The issues could have been tackled earlier on if there were right communication with all parties. We have been given two weeks and we will report back to the full house.
“We assure the nation that crisis as this will be nipped in the bud before it escalates. Yes, Nigerians are going to have light today.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Germany will lower the sales tax on gas to 7% in an effort to cushion the blow of additional charges being placed on consumers to ensure energy companies can afford increasingly expensive supplies, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday.
The reduced tax rate will apply as long as the levy is charged, meaning through March 2024, added Scholz.
Germany had been in talks with the European Commission this week to find another way to reduce the cost burden on consumers after the commission had said Germany’s bid for an exemption on value-added tax was not possible.
The measure comes after levies were announced this week that will tack on hundreds of euros to an average family’s energy bill.
The levies will be imposed from Oct. 1 in a bid to help Uniper – the country’s largest importer of Russian gas and other importers cope with soaring prices.
For an average family of four, the charge will amount to an additional annual cost of around 480 euros, or an increase of about 13% on the Verivox price comparison platform’s calculation of an average gas bill of 3,568 euros based on usage of 20,000 kWh/year.
“The alternative would have been the collapse of the German energy market, and with it large parts of the European energy market,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on the levy.
Germany’s Russia-dependent energy model had failed and would not be returning, he told reporters. “We need to change in a hurry … In doing so, we sometimes have to take bitter medicine,” Habeck said, arguing for targeted relief to help households.
Utility EnBW (EBKG.DE), which is also exposed via its VNG (VNG.UL) gas division and took a 545 million euro profit hit in the first half of 2022 as a result of lower Russian supplies, said it would take advantage of the levy, unlike RWE (RWEG.DE).
Industry will also be subject to the charge, with the German Steel Federation saying it would add around another 500 million euros a year to the sector’s energy bills, on top of 7 billion euros in extra costs already attributed to high energy prices.
“The gas surcharge significantly increases the cost pressure already exerted on the steel industry by the extreme price increases on the energy markets,” its President Hans Juergen Kerkhoff said.
Economists warned that the levy would further accelerate inflation in Europe’s largest economy, which is already running at an elevated 8.5%, with some relief measures such as low-cost public transport tickets set to expire.
“The gas levy is expected to increase inflation, including the value-added tax, by almost one percentage point,” said Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer, adding that the measure adds to mounting signs the German economy could slip into recession this winter.
The Federation of German Industries called for business support measures after Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday promised an additional relief package for households.
Germany is also awaiting a response from Brussels on a VAT exemption for the levy.
Russia has throttled gas flows to Germany, blaming technical problems and the red tape of Western sanctions for a drop in deliveries via the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20% of its capacity. Berlin has called the reductions politically motivated.
($1 = 0.9800 euros)
Source: ReutersSource: Reuters
Ghana’s technical electricity regulator, Energy Commission, has held a day’s workshop to sensitize selected manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers in the West African nation’s energy supply industry on the Local Content and Local Participation (Electricity Supply Industry) Regulations,2017, (L.I. 2354).
The purpose of the LI 2354, which came into force in December 2017, includes amongst others, the maximization of financial capital, expertise, goods, and services locally to develop and promote local capacity in the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) and the manufacture of electrical equipment, electrical appliances, and renewable energy equipment.
The Regulation grants a transition period of five years for entities who were already engaged in the ESI before the coming into force of the Regulations, to meet the minimum provisions of the L.I.
The transition period, which ends in December 2022, was to enable such entities to take progressive steps to comply with the minimum provisions of the Regulations.
It is for this reason that the Energy Commission invited its stakeholders to the workshop to further sensitize them on the provisions of the Regulations and implementation strategies and urge them to take the necessary steps to comply with all provisions of the Regulations.
It brought together all players within the Electricity Supply Industry which include power producers, transmission and distribution utilities, Renewable energy service providers, and manufacturers of electrical equipment, electrical appliances, and renewable energy equipment from both public and private sector
The Local Content and Local Participation Specialist at the Energy Commission, Ing. Maame Yaa Akowuah Tamakloe took the participants through the specific provisions of the L.I. 2354 and highlighted some implementation strategies deployed by the Commission to ensure its successful execution. She highlighted that the Regulation was passed in line with the desire of the government to develop indigenous capacity and local participation in the Electricity sector through the creation of linkages, building local industries, ensuring the employment of Ghanaians, and promoting value addition.
This implies that businesses in the Electricity Supply Industry are required to make provision for Ghanaian citizens or indigenous Ghanaian Companies to have some level of equity ownership in the entity.
Ing. Maame Yaa Akowuah Tamakloe, Local Content and Local Participation Specialist at the Energy Commission making a presentation on the LI2354
Further, entities in the Electricity Supply Industry are to give first consideration to indigenous Ghanaian service providers for their required services such as their legal, insurance, financial, allied, and engineering services.
In addition, players in the industry are required to give first consideration to locally manufactured goods (i.e. electrical equipment, appliance, and renewable energy equipment) for their activities.
The EC team led by the Executive Secretary and together with their Consultant, Dr Juliette Twumasi Anokye provided clarity on some queries raised by participants during the stakeholder meeting.
This includes the unavailability of quality supplies and expertise on the Ghanaian market.
Ing. Tamakloe highlighted some strategies by the Commission to collaborate with relevant institutions to build capacity in-country which includes the commencement of the Indigenous Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (ISME) Capacity Programme, Women Engineers in Energy Trainee (WEET) Programme, and the Renewable Energy Equipment Assembling Bootcamp aimed at offering practical training and other support to Ghanaians and indigenous enterprises in the ESI.
The Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, Ing Oscar Amonoo-Neizer, commended the participants for attending the workshop and urged them to cooperate fully with the Government, the Commission, and the Local Content Committee to ensure that the purpose for which the Regulations were developed are achieved.Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Ministry of National Security has urged residents of Lower Manya and Yilo Krobo municipalities in the Eastern Region to cooperate with security agencies and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) as they work to restore electricity supply to the affected areas.
Since Tuesday, 16th August 2022, some staff of ECG and personnel from the 49 Field Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces have been assessing the integrity of ECG’s infrastructure in the area, following the vandalism of some of the installations by aggrieved residents.
According to the Tema Region ECG Tema, 81 substations out of 147 in both Manya and Yilo Krobo Municipalities have, so far, been assessed.
There have been tensions between the residents and the ECG in recent times over the installation of prepaid metres.
A statement issued by the Ministry of National Security on Wednesday, 17th August 2022, indicated that the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs and other stakeholders at a meeting reached a consensus to foster peace and security and promote socio-economic activities in both municipalities.
The stakeholders agreed on several steps to be taken and among them included conducting integrity tests on all power transmission lines and electricity infrastructure in the area, resumption of the installation of prepaid meters following the restoration of electricity supply to the areas, and the deployment of security personnel to the said areas to ensure law and order during the installation of prepaid meters, and arrest of persons whose conduct threatens to disrupt the exercise.
“It is anticipated that the consensus reached between the said stakeholders would engender peace and security, promote socio-economic activities, and restore normalcy to the Lower Manya and Yilo Krobo Municipalities,” the statement said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
A fuel retail outlet belonging to Ghana’s leading indigenous Oil Marketing Company, GOIL, in Wassa Akropong in the Western Region was on Monday, 15th August 2022 attacked by suspected armed men.
The robbers shot and killed the security man on duty, Prosper Dotse, popularly known as Old Soldier after they had succeeded in disarming him.
The robbery incident also reportedly left more than two people seriously injured.
According to a media report, the suspected robbers invaded the station at about 1 am Monday, took some staff who were resting after work and subjected them to beatings.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Amenfi East, Frederick Korankye, who has been speaking to journalists in the area on the robbery incident, indicated that the armed robbers who carried out the raid appeared not to be experienced.
“From the CCTV footage I have seen, these are local armed robbers. When they arrived at the station, they attacked the security officer who was armed. They took his gun but they could not use it. They had no idea how to even unlock the gun. They had to beat the security officer until he became unconscious. We have secured the CCTV footage and we are working around it to arrest them as soon as possible,” he said.
According to the MCE, the armed robbers, armed with pinch bars and hammers, subjected the workers on duty to severe beatings.
“They moved to the supermarket and attacked the attendant but another security officer who was also armed started firing warning shots at them. They got scared and bolted from the station. We have since invited the family of the deceased whilst the rest are receiving treatment at the hospital,” he added.
According to him, about 300 counter-terrorism police personnel have been deployed to the area to fight crime.
“The cities are no more attractive to the armed robbers so most of them are migrating to our communities, but we are working to ensure the crime rate is reduced, so about 300 counter-terrorism police personnel are being deployed to the area to beef up security.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Western Regional Minister, Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah in his remarks commended the long-standing relationship between the company and Poasi- New Takoradi community. He recalled how Shell has been in the community for the past 70 years and continues to extend its support to them. “The effort of Vivo Energy Ghana towards the growth of the educational sector is exemplary and appealed to other companies operating in Poasi-New Takoradi community to emulate the initiative by the company.
The Metropolitan Director of Education, Mrs. Selly Nelly Coleman, reiterated the government’s commitment towards the provision of educational infrastructure to facilitate access to quality education. She also called on the management of the school to make good use of the facility.
Madam Felicia Odoom, the Assembly Member for Upper New Takoradi expressed her appreciation to Vivo Energy Ghana for the quick response to support the community.
The Chief of Poasi-New Takoradi, Nana Assifuah Kuma IV, commended Vivo Energy Ghana for contributing to the development of education in the community and assured the company of good maintenance of the school for the benefit of future generations.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Mr. Osei Prempeh was accompanied by GOIL’s Head of Fuels Marketing, Mr. Augustine Boateng, Acting Head of Corporate Affairs and PR Manager, Mr. Robert Kyere, as well as the company’s Depot Supply Officer, Mr. Michael Anning.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Notable attendees at the event were senior officials from Tullow PLC, Kosmos, ENI, and Petroleum Commission.
Mr. Danquah touched on three key areas, which to him constitute the current challenges facing the oil and gas industry in Ghana.
The three areas are incentivizing exploration; expediting the appraisal to the development process and optimising domestic gas utilization in the context of the energy transition.
Expressing his views on “incentivizing exploration in Ghana”, Mr. Danquah said, “Ghana’s industry is facing the realities of reserves depletion and production decline”.
He continued that the nation remains reliant on its three producing fields, the Greater Jubilee, TEN and the Sankofa Gye Nyame, with another asset at the pre-development stage, and expected to begin production within the medium term”.
He, therefore, indicated that Ghana faces a strong imperative to both increase petroleum production and replace and grow reserves to avoid prolonged production decline.
The CEO also stressed the need to continue engaging key stakeholders at a wider level to re-invigorate exploration by way of encouraging deep-water exploration and drilling of unexplored areas through fiscal incentives.
This is especially true in the wake of a slowdown in exploratory drilling since 2012 – only six (6) exploratory wells were drilled between 2013 and 2021, compared to thirty-seven (37) between 2007 and 2012 around the height of Jubilee field discovery and development,” he alluded.
Again, he underscored the need to come up with initiatives to attract the right international oil companies through enticing licensing rounds and direct negotiations under provisions in section 10 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 2016 (Act 919).
In addition, he posited the need to actively engage upstream players and encourage them at every stage of the development and production process, and finally to contribute positively to a responsive regulatory and institutional framework.
Speaking on the subject of “expediting the appraisal to development process”, Mr. Danquah noted that several of the post-Jubilee discoveries can be classified as marginal fields.
He explained that Ghana’s latest commercial discovery to be brought into production was the Sankofa Gye-Nyame fields in 2017.
“This demonstrates a need to speed up and encourage the progression of appraisal stage projects through development and into production” he alluded.
The two key incentives being endorsed in the Ghana context are the tie-in development concept and fiscal incentives for marginal field development.
He eluded that as a best practice, Ghana encourages the tie-in of marginal fields to existing infrastructure to drive down the overall cost of development and production.
As a precedent, he reiterated the development concept behind the Deep Water Tano – Cape Three Points Pecan development which incorporated the tying of idle assets like Beech, Almond, and others into the main Pecan development area.
Another instance was when the Government of Ghana designed two (2) fiscal packages for the West Cape Three Points Block 2 to encourage the development of the existing marginal discoveries and at the same time promote further exploration in the block.
Touching on natural gas as the energy transition fuel in Ghana’s energy mix, Mr. Danquah commented that Ghana’s growing demand for energy will see continued dependence on natural gas.
He claimed that figures from Ghana’s fourth national communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) suggest that US$14.2 billion was deployed between 2011 and 2019 to develop gas infrastructure in Ghana.
Mr. Danquah explained that “GNPC, in essence, does not see the Energy Transition to cleaner forms of energy as binary – all or nothing; however, we consider it as a gradual process and which cannot progress seamlessly without considering the country’s own present resources as well as its energy security blueprint in the context of eradicating energy poverty”.
“To this end, the Corporation is enabling investment in critical gas infrastructure such as the Tema City Gate project to facilitate gas utilisation in an expanding gas demand market (including non-power off-takers) and ensuring a robust gas value chain across other local gas enclaves.”, he concluded.
Lastly, Mr. Danquah clamoured for collaboration, cooperation and informed transparent decision-making among private, public and government institutions involved in Ghana’s upstream oil and gas sector.
He mentioned that it is only when these variables are in place that the upstream sector can be successful and make meaningful impacts to the economy.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
The Regulation grants a transition period of five years for entities who were already engaged in the ESI before the coming into force of the Regulations, to meet the minimum provisions of the L.I.
The transition period, which ends in December 2022, was to enable such entities to take progressive steps to comply with the minimum provisions of the Regulations.
It is for this reason that the Energy Commission invited its stakeholders to the workshop to further sensitize them on the provisions of the Regulations and implementation strategies and urge them to take the necessary steps to comply with all provisions of the Regulations.
It brought together all players within the Electricity Supply Industry which include power producers, transmission and distribution utilities, Renewable energy service providers, and manufacturers of electrical equipment, electrical appliances, and renewable energy equipment from both public and private sector
The Local Content and Local Participation Specialist at the Energy Commission, Ing. Maame Yaa Akowuah Tamakloe took the participants through the specific provisions of the L.I. 2354 and highlighted some implementation strategies deployed by the Commission to ensure its successful execution. She highlighted that the Regulation was passed in line with the desire of the government to develop indigenous capacity and local participation in the Electricity sector through the creation of linkages, building local industries, ensuring the employment of Ghanaians, and promoting value addition.
This implies that businesses in the Electricity Supply Industry are required to make provision for Ghanaian citizens or indigenous Ghanaian Companies to have some level of equity ownership in the entity.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
