Vivo Energy Ghana, the marketer and distributor of Shell branded fuels and lubricants has appointed Kader Maiga as its new Managing Director following Ben Hassan Ouattara’s end of tenure.
Mr. Maiga comes on board with over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector, including senior management positions with Shell and Vivo Energy.
He holds a Master’s degree in Economic Science from the University of Wuppertal in Germany.
Mr. Maiga’s career started in Shell as retail manager for Guinea and Mali where he changed the face of retail business with his innovative and leadership approach to selling fuels and lubricants, progressing to become the Country Chairman for Mali.
Following the transition from Shell to Vivo Energy in 2011, Mr. Maiga was appointed Managing Director of Vivo Energy Mali.
He subsequently became the Managing Director for Guinea, before becoming Managing Director Madagascar in 2016 and Managing Director Senegal in 2019.
In each of the countries he has led, he has built very formidable businesses.
Maiga always puts his people ahead of him and is good at motivating his team to get the best out of them. As a transformational leader, he stays close to his stakeholders, creating value and inspiring them to deliver great results.
Commenting on the appointment, Franck Konan-Yahaut, Vivo Energy’s Executive Vice President West Africa said: “I would like to thank Ben Hassan for his time at Vivo Energy Ghana and am delighted that Kader has accepted the position as the new Managing Director. I know that his vast experience will be of great benefit to our business in Ghana as we continue to deliver the best product and services to our customers.”
In his welcome address, Kader Maiga added: “I am excited to join such a dynamic team and look forward to building on the strong performance achieved by my predecessor. I am here to serve and together as a team, let us inspire one another to achieve our shared vision of creating the most respected energy business in Ghana.”
Mr. Maiga is fluent in French, English and German and is married with four children.
Lukoil, Russian oil and gas super major and one of the largest publicly traded oil firms globally is looking for new opportunities in oil and gas projects to expand its investments in Africa, especially West Africa, a top official of the firm has revealed.
Lukoil has presence in 30 countries in the world and in Africa it operates in Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo and Cameroon.
So far Lukoil has invested more than 4billion in Africa.
Speaking to Africa Oil Week delegates at a reception hosted by Lukoil, Senior Vice President of Lukoil in-charge of Upstream International, Denis V. Rogachev said the company is interested in expanding its geography and looking into new opportunities in oil and gas projects in Africa.
Denis V. Rogachev, Senior Vice President Upstream International at Lukoil
He said West Africa will be among key regions for Lukoil to invest outside Russia.
The company, he said, believes this ‘new investments will stimulate economic development as well as create new jobs in the region.’
Talking about its operations in the countries where it has established its presence, Mr. Rogachev said Lukoil follows the sustainable development principles, including a responsible social policy towards its employees and local communities.
With the outbreak of Coronavirus in 2019 in China and later spreading across the world endangering lives with oil prices tumbling Mr. Rogachev said the company managed to protect the health of its employees and clients, ensured uninterrupted operation and maintained financial stability.
Rogachev said the company’s sound financial position on the global market as well as advanced competencies and expertise in implementing megaprojects make Lukoil one of the leading companies ready to invest in oil and gas sector in Africa.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nuclear Power is the most appropriate alternative baseload option for Ghana’s energy security and sustainability, Public Affairs Manager of Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), Ms Bellona-Gerard Vittor-Quao has stated.
Until the thermal power plants, Ghana has mainly relied on hydroelectric power generation stations in Akosombo, Akuse and Bui which currently contribute only 33 per cent to the total power generated in the country.
To augment Ghana’s current energy mix, Nuclear Power Ghana is spearheading Ghana’s effort to construct its first Nuclear Power Plant by 2030.
Ghana has completed its Phase One activities, rectified and signed unto all required Convections.
Ms Vittor-Quao noted that the introduction of ‘Clean’ energy into Ghana’s energy mix, apart from ensuring energy security, would also help mitigate the negative impacts of crude oil price fluctuations and climate change from fossils.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com, Ms Vittor-Quao said unlike thermal and hydropower plants, Nuclear Power Plant takes about eighteen continuous months’ generation process before the plant could be shut down for maintenance, telling the reliability and robustness of nuclear power plant.
“It is also one of the best-regulated and monitored power generation sources available worldwide. Right from the beginning, everything is thought of, planned and mapped out up to the decommissioning of the plant. So, it is not done in a piece-meal manner. It is a carefully-approached plan implemented holistically with great provisions for Safety, Security and Health,” she said.
For industrialization, she said Ghana going Nuclear is a sure bet to accelerate the country’s medium-and long-term industrial activities especially for its integrated aluminum project and the ongoing IDIF initiatives.
On job creation, she revealed that constructing a 1000MW Nuclear Power Plant could create direct employment for between 700 and 1000 during its operations.
She noted that on-site craft labour requirements for a 1000MW unit are about 4,140 and this include masons, millwrights, heavy equipment operators, welders, engineers, carpenters, iron and steelworkers, pipefitters, project managers and construction supervisors.
According to Nuclear Energy Institute 2012, Nuclear Power Plants being labour intensive technology create the largest workforce with an annual income based on both small and large reactor capacities. The Nuclear Power workforce is also among one of the highest-paid jobs established in Nuclear countries.
NPG has progressively worked on sites selection, stakeholders & communities engagements, media training and concluded the installation of seismic equipment.
Ms Vittor-Quao gave the assurance that NPG would collaborate with all relevant institutions to deliver this long-term dream of a Safe and Secure Nuclear Power that will uplift the economic and industrial fortunes of Ghana.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
With COP26 taking place in early-November, global leaders gathered at the final day of the African Energy Week 2021 conference and exhibition to discuss strategies to mitigate climate change and ensure that Africa’s transition to a clean energy future will alleviate energy poverty.
Themed, ‘Africa’s Just Energy Transition: A Roadmap to Ending Energy Poverty by 2030,’ the opening address featured a panel discussion that included members from SustainSolar, GigawattGlobal, Coöperatief U.A., and Mozambique’s Oil and Gas Chamber.
With significant levels of investment required to ensure a just and equitable transition to renewable sources and to make energy poverty history by 2030, the panel discussed strategies that can be implemented to ensure sector revenues are directly reinjected into Africa’s renewable energy economy.
“From an enabling environmental perspective, across different countries, infrastructure is the key challenge,” noted Gracia Munganga, COO for SustainSolar, who added that “There are a certain number of connections that would be most cost-effective in the distribution of energy and power.”
With over 600 million people lacking access to reliable energy in Africa, innovative solutions are needed to accelerate energy access across the continent, with national policies and regulations serving as key drivers for electrification and the transition from oil and gas towards renewables.
“Africans need to look at Africa as a market for Africa,” highlighted Hon. Dr. J. Peter Pham, Former United States Special Envoy for the Sahel Region of Africa, suggested, however, that, “The international community has a moral obligation towards African countries, who must develop and enforce their own self-interest.”
“We have to understand that climate finance is not charity,” stressed Florival Mucave, Executive Chairman for the Mozambique Oil & Gas Chamber, who noted that, “Climate finance is a necessity, and we have to address it in a very clear way that can facilitate the phasing out of these energy sources.”
Universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all will require incentives from regional power networks, as well as developed countries, who will all need to play a role in helping Africa make energy poverty history by 2030.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has announced officially launched the African Green Energy Dialogue Initiative.
Established in collaboration with the Ministry of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of Congo, the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbon of Equatorial Guinea, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of Senegal and the office of the special representative of German Chancellor Merkel in Africa, the Green Energy Dialogue Initiative marks a significant step for the African energy sector, creating new opportunities for enhanced green energy dialogue and paving the way for accelerated investment and development across the green energy space in Africa.
Launched on the final day of African Energy Week (AEW) 2021, the continent’s premier energy event, the Green Energy Dialogue Initiative will be significant for the continent as stakeholders move to exploit Africa’s significant renewable energy resources, open new job opportunities, address energy poverty, and drive not only the continent’s but the world’s energy transition.
Present at the launch were H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Equatorial Guinea; H.E. Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons, Congo; and H.E. Sophie Aissatou Gladima, Minister of Petroleum and Energies, Senegal; Dr Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers Organization; Scott Taylor, former U.S. representative for Virginia’s 2nd congressional district; and Gϋnter Nooke, Personal Representative of the German Chancellor for Africa.
“There have been stimulating conversations over the last three days over four venues. H.E. Minister Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua called for us to have a green energy dialogue and to drive that. We listened carefully to what H.E. advised. What we do is pick great ideas and drive actions. There is nothing more powerful than having an idea that sticks to you,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.
“We want to show that Africa is not just a program but one of the best solutions. When we thought about this initiative, we knew the Chamber should be the one to drive it. Issues on green energy will be discussed over one year via dialogues, and in one year, we will come together and discuss,” stated H.E. Itoua.
The Green Energy Dialogue Initiative begins the conversation on Africa’s oil and gas sector. Additionally, Ayuk announced a collaborative Green Energy Summit – a platform for an inclusive discussion on Africa’s green energy sector – to be held during AEW 2022. By providing stakeholders with a year to engage, network and propose a viable way forward for the sector, the AEC is preparing for a transformative AEW 2022 Green Energy Summit.
“NJ called for the first green Africa summit. There is an African proverb, the chameleon changes to resemble the world, the world doesn’t change to resemble the chameleon. The reality is that the world is moving in the green direction. But the circumstances here on this continent are different to others and there needs to be a solution that is fair and that is just. There are tons of American companies who are ready to come to Africa to help out. The reality is that the priorities of Africa need to be African centric. You need to tell the world you are going to deal with people with energy poverty, you are going to use your resources, and we will be partners with you to have a greener future,” stated Taylor.
“I am extremely happy to be here. Why are we here? We are here for Africa, for our people, for our continent, for the mineral resources we are blessed with, for Cape Town and the way it has contributed to the economy, and clearly, because of the voice. We need to make a decision. What is the priority of Africa? Superpowers like America are pragmatic, they put priorities first. As Africa, we need to address our priorities,” stated H.E. Minister Lima.
“I am here to understand what is really going on in Africa and to understand all the people who have contributed to AEW. There is a need to speak about green energy. Africa should bring green energy and renewable energies not only for Africa but for the entire world,” stated Nooke.
“Africa believes that we have a responsibility to ourselves and our people to give the energy they need to get out of energy poverty. You will be hearing about ‘you need help.’ Our reality has wired us to believe we cannot make progress without help. We cannot continue to rely or depend on help from outside, we have got to begin to think seriously. APPO will be with you. We will come to discuss a green Africa. Not all African countries have oil, some have advantages in the green sector, and we want to ensure everyone benefits from energy. We have to change our mentality and look within,” stated Dr Ibrahim.
The essence of liberalization in electricity market is that competition is introduced where possible, under the assumption that the pressure from competitors will force market parties to become more efficient, which should benefit consumers.
The government of Nigeria envisioned that partial liberalization through privatization of the power sector will bring about the needed improvement to ensure stable electricity supply to power both homes, businesses and industries, but years after privatization, the government continued to provide subsidies and has at many times provided financial interventions to avoid a collapse of the industry because of illiquidity.
Despite all the financial injections into the sector, consumers have continued to experience epileptic supply, infrastructure are still in bad shape and the expected efficiency has been a mirage.
It wasn’t surprising to the industry stakeholders when the government finally made a very bold statement to discontinue subsidy payments in the power industry. This decision alongside the ongoing stakeholders’ engagements on the novation of NBET’S contracts has spurred some reactions in the industry especially at the distribution segment of the value chain.
The recent attempt by AMCON to take over the assets of a particular distribution company is a pointer to what is coming with the government’s decision to end subsidy payments, and the transition of some Discos’ vesting contracts into bilateral contracts.
Nigeria is at a critical stage where we need to treat electricity as a commodity to ensure commercial viability of the industry. The debate whether electricity was a social good or a market commodity has been on for several years. The answer lies in the middle, but it has become obvious that countries which deem it as a social good lack investments and suffer power supply quality.
The root of the problem may lie in the fact that society, too often, views electricity as a right that does not need to be paid for, setting off a vicious cycle.
While lifeline electricity is to be provided at affordable cost, it has become a globally accepted policy that electricity is not to be treated as a social good.
Liberalization has separated the value chain of electricity, which before was largely integrated. Different actors now control different parts of the electricity system. These actors are private businesses set up for profit making. The gas producers that invested billions of dollars- mostly borrowed funds for gas production need to recoup their investments. It also costs billions of dollars to set up power generating plants and beyond the capital costs, there are variable costs incurred.
The transmission and system operation arm which are still owned by the Federal Government require massive investments for expansion, and capacity to be able to ensure grid reliability. The distribution companies that supply electricity to the end users are in business strictly for profit making and they can only function very well if they operate in a financially sustainable manner.
It is now a policy issue for our country with a substantial proportion of the population that is poor, vulnerable and lacking the capacity to afford electricity to look for a way to ensure energy access to this segment. This is the essence of enumeration, indexing and proper consumer segmentation.
Nigerians must wake up to the reality that subsidy is gone and no protest or organized labour’s threat of court action will reverse the decision of the government to stop providing liquidity for the ailing power sector. What Nigerians need to demand for is an efficient electricity market where we generate at least costs, and make electricity available to the consumers at costs reflective of service delivery and actual consumption, a market where there is sanctity of contracts and regulation is impartial and independent of any political interference.
Electricity being a commodity must be sourced from a diversified portfolio of power generation technologies to provide the different load of electricity at least cost. In a functional power system, there are plants with high run times that provide cheap power for baseload and there are more expensive quick start plants for peak demands.
In Nigeria, nearly 80% of our generation is from gas while 20% is from hydro. Most of the thermal plants are Steam and Simple cycle gas turbine. These do not represent the best generating assets to provide our grid baseload as they are expensive, less efficient, provide low power output for the amount of gas burned, and their maintance costs are high.
All power plants are designed to operate optimally and efficiently at a base load. Operating these plants outside the base load have negative financial and operational implications that affect the overall efficiency of our generating assets. Our plants are not run optimally and many in presently in bad shape as a result of operating these plants below the required operational levels.
Since generation costs vary with different plants, economies of dispatch- a merit order must be ensured so that our cheaper hydro plants are dispatched first. This will reduce the price at the wholesale market and also the tariffs paid by the customers. We have to discontinue a situation where more expensive gas plants have higher load factors than our hydro plants. Due to concerns about climate change we may not be able to attract investments to build coal plants to provide cheap power, we can upgrade some dormant NIPPs from simple cycle gas plants to combined cycle plants for a more efficient diversified generating portfolio.
There is a need to know the marginal cost of all of our generating assets as this will help in contracts negotiations. Ideally, generators are to make their plants available and it is at the behest of an offtaker to buy the fuel needed for generation or provides guarantee for the generator to enter into gas contracts. The power generators must be protected to avoid exposures that may impact on the pricing of electricity at wholesale market. Take or pay gas contracts are not good for the generators given the present constraints that prevent them from being dispatched. This is a policy issue the regulator must look into.
A commodity as complex as electricity must have an organized market design for trading. The most common structures in most markets are power exchange and bilateral contracts. The current trading structure where NBET procures electricity from the generators through long term power purchase agreements PPAs and sells to distribution companies through vesting contracts though discourages price volatility, the counterparty risk inherent in this structure has led to market illiquidity.
One of the errors of NBET was to enter into discretionary PPAs that did not reflect the market realities with assured capacity payments for 13,500MW when the constraints in transmission and distribution networks limit demand to be around 4500MW.
Besides the flawed power purchase agreements-PPAs, NBET’s monopsony also inhibits competitiveness in the wholesale market, and it has been a bane in the success of the eligible customers’ regulation as creditworthy, willing commercial and industrial customers could not participate in the wholesale market to offtake the stranded capacity. This became problematic as the collections from the Discos have been abysmal thereby preventing NBET to meet her monthly obligations to the Gencos. The payment assurance guarantee of 1.3trillion naira provided by the federal government to avoid the collapse of the sector is indicative of the fact that the current trading structure is not sustainable.
Though we are not ready for spot trading of electricity now though it is most efficient in price discovery, the market needs to transit to partial bilateral contracts between the generators and the distribution companies. This will definitely require the recapitalization of the Discos and the need to provide payment securities acceptable by the Gencos. How this will be possible for Discos that are non-bankable is still a major concern.
Eligible customers’ regulation has to be revisited and issues around competition transition charge- CTC, and outstanding debts to Discos owed by industrial customers must be resolved. Allowing the creditworthy industrial customers participate in the wholesale market will bring about more liquidity and reduce stranded generation.
Also the balancing market operated by the system operator must be active to deal with imbalances. In bilateral trade system, the system operator- SO assumes the most technical coordination functions for balancing of the system, including generation scheduling, commitment and dispatch, transmission scheduling and generation outage coordination, transmission congestion management, international transmission coordination, procurement and scheduling of ancillary services, and long-term planning of the system capacity. The regulator has to ensure the System operator’s neutrality, transparency and a degree of independence in the performance of its role in the NESI.
The transmission requirements of bilateral contracts must be supported. Though simulations done in 2018 confirmed that the national grid can transport 8,100 MW from the generating companies to the 759 trading points, there is a need for a more coordinated planning between TCN and the Discos to avoid the usual blame game of load rejection by Discos.
It is worrisome that the active baseload on our distribution networks is barely 3500MW and peak demands have not exceeded 5200MW many years after privatization. This is not a reflection of the actual demand or the need for power, nor does it capture latent and unfulfilled needs of Nigerian consumers. Investments in distribution capacity to ensure reliability is needed so that many commercial and industrial customers who rely on captive generation can be connected back to the grid. To achieve this, about 4.5b dollars will be needed by the distribution companies to upgrade their network capacities to accommodate 10,000MW.
The Discos have been calling for tariff increase, but this may not be the solution given the aggregate technical, commercial and collection loss- ATC&C in the industry which is about 48%. ATC&C loss reduction must be a top priority for all the Discos.
Tariff cost reflectivity remains a very contentious issue as no study has revealed the actual cost of 1kwh of electricity from generation to the end user. It is better this actual cost is established and analyzed with the operating costs of each Discos to know if they are indeed running a profitable business.
Multi Year Tariff Order- MYTO though appears to be efficient methodology for energy price determination, its applicability in Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) is difficult as assumptions and parameters are constantly violated.
The present tariff is at variance with the assumptions in MYTO 2020, and this is a cause for concern as regards tariff cost reflectivity.
There is a need for Discos recapitalization as the market transits to partial bilateral contracts, though their ability to attract long term funds remains a big concern. It will be important that the Discos engage the service of professionals for their electricity procurement so as to avoid the types of flaws in NBET procurement strategies. Adequate study of their load profiles must be carried out and the use of data analytics is important while contracting bilaterally. Discos energy procurement must reflect market realities and different contracts must exist for their baseload, seasonal variations and peak demands.
The Discos must show high degree of responsibility in their billing and treatment of customers’ complaints. The payment apathy and energy theft they are faced with presently are attributable to the improper ways their consumers are treated. The issue of energy theft is concerning and can be solved by installing prepaid meters with distinct service cable connections in places where it will be difficult for tapping.
Sanctity of contracts is a must for an efficient power system and the responsibility lies with the regulator. Regulatory procedures must be transparent and competitively neutral in order to sustain a level playing field for competition. A crucial issue in the regulation of power industry is the independence of the regulator. The basic principle is that regulators have to be independent from the regulated otherwise conflicts of interest are unavoidable, and regulation is bound to deteriorate. Careful design of regulatory institutions is needed to ensure effective independence of the regulator from the regulated entities.
Independence from government and political actors will also be beneficial. It helps to ensure stability of regulatory policies to avoid the use of electricity policies to achieve general policy objectives.
The independence of the regulator needs to be differentiated from lack of accountability. Regulatory agencies, like any other public body must be held accountable for their actions and be subject to adequate efficiency controls. For instance, the introduction of Service Reflective Tariff by the regulator without an independent mechanism of monitoring the hours of electricity supply is not a fair policy as most Discos are taking advantage of the consumers by billing them with amounts not reflective of consumption and service delivery.
Lastly, the illiquidity in the power sector must be addressed with urgency. The government must lead by examples in ensuring all the outstanding MDAs debts are paid and subsequently, mechanism is put in place for reconciliation of bills between the Discos and MDAs. Citizens have to realize that payment apathy and energy theft are illegalities that must stop. There are lots of projects misalignments and involvements of many agencies without coordination in the industry; this will not add one megawatt to the power system no matter how much we spend. Power is a complex industry and continuous training is needed for all the stakeholders in the engineering, economics and regulations of electricity. We need to start seeing electricity as a commodity and treat it accordingly so that our unborn children will not chant ‘Up Nepa’.
Elatuyi Lanre is an Electricity Market Analyst based in NigeriaYou can reach the author via [email protected]
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bui Power Authority, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi has invited investors to partner with the Authority in its quest to maximize renewable energy generation in the country.
Speaking alongside the COP 26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Mr. Dzamesi said Ghana is limitless in solar power generation so BPA’s doors are opened to interested parties in renewable power generation including wind, geothermal and nuclear power.
“Because of this conference and the fact that we want to go more into renewables, we’ve opened up and are telling people to come to us. If you come and you have the money to support, we cooperate and then we’ll be able to build more solar plants,” he said.
According to him, Ghana has planned to do away with thermal plants. “We don’t want to burn coal, gas and fuel but solar and hydroelectric power generation.”
He said BPA had been given the mandate to construct solar plants at all Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO) sub-stations across the country to feed onto the national grid, hence the call for investor partnership.
On financial security of investors, Mr Dzamesi stated that the BPA had kept its integrity by honouring their obligation of the bargain in the first 50MW hydroelectric power which impressed the investor to woo other investors for another 100MW project.
Regarding solar, the BPA is constructing 250MW with 50MW already completed and connected to the national grid while the remaining 200MW is still under construction.
Aside from this in the Bui enclave, 1MW floating solar has also been installed on the Bui reservoir where more power can still be generated from the huge reservoir.
On hydro, Mr Dzamesi said the three biggest rivers in the Western Region of Ghana-Rivers Pra, Ankobra and Tano-have been ceded to the BPA for hydroelectric power generation.
He further disclosed that consultancy processes have begun to generate power using the run-on-the-river technique to get more hydroelectric power from those rivers.
“We have the hydro plants but that does not limit us from getting other hydro plants,” the BPA CEO stated.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Deputy Managing Director of Tullow Ghana Limited, Cynthia Lumor has underscored the need for drastic changes in institutional, organizational and government policies to allow for diversity and inclusion of women in all spheres of life.
Presently, she said factors such as social, cultural, economic and attitudinal issues are limiting society’s ability to reap the full benefit of women’s participation for improved organizational, institutional and national performance.
She said: “Research has demonstrated that when diversity and inclusion are deliberately planned and properly executed, and the ideas and experience of a diverse organization are fully included in idea generation and decision-making, companies benefit from the motivation, creativity and innovation from that result. The contribution of women in those circumstances cannot be overestimated.”
In her view, competent women are fully capable of making significant contributions in any role and should not be unfairly constrained due to conscious or unconscious bias.
Contributing to a panel discussion on ‘Diversity and Inclusion at the Africa Oil Week in Dubai, UAE, Madam Cynthia Lumor said both men and women have a role to play in ensuring diversity and inclusion and called on all players to be deliberate about playing their part.
Speaking to energynesafrica.com, Madam Cynthia Lumor noted that it is time for the oil and gas industry to correct the historically low participation of women in the industry as the industry is still skewed with only about 30 per cent participation of women.
She attributed the low representation of women in the sector to several factors including lower participation in the educational disciplines that form the basis for jobs in the sector, lack of knowledge about jobs, limited networks for access to opportunities, organizational structures that do not readily promote the work-life balance to accommodate women, especially during child-bearing and rearing ages, lack of career development and training and social and cultural norms that promote the belief that certain roles are the preserve of men, among others.
According to her, this needs to change, and in her view, the energy transition presents the world with the best opportunity to write the wrongs of the past.
Emphasizing the need for equal opportunities for both males and females, Madam Cynthia Lumor outlined what must be done to encourage women.
“Things like relevant education, active encouragement, deliberate hiring practices, internships, mentorship, training and development on the job, access to information, equal pay and support, interventions and policies that encourage and make women feel comfortable and respected in the workplace, are very important,’’ she said.
Stressing the benefit of diversity and inclusion, Madam Cynthia Lumor said, “When we are deliberate about diversity and inclusion, we impact the bottom line because we get diversity and free flow of creative and innovative ideas for problem-solving and decision-making, thereby, positively impacting performance.’’
Touching on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Madam Cynthia Lumor noted that there is limited participation of women.
“We know that in education, STEM disciplines, for example, do not typically have a lot of women. If you go to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and assess the male/female ratio of students pursuing engineering courses, I would venture to say the men would outnumber the women,’’ she posited.
She stated that there must be deliberate, effective measures put in place to correct the imbalance.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Africa focused oil and gas firm, Tullow Oil plc, has announced that it has exercised its right of pre-emption related to the sale of Occidental Petroleum’s interests in the Jubilee and TEN fields in the Republic of Ghana to Kosmos Energy.
The company said when the acquisition process is completed, its equity interests will increase to 38.9 per cent in the Jubilee field and to 54.8 per cent in the TEN fields.
The transaction is expected to cost Tullow about US$150 million to be funded through existing resources.
“As per the DWT Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), Tullow has pre-emption rights in respect of the 11.05 per cent participating interest within the offshore DWT Block acquired by Kosmos Energy as a result of its acquisition of Anadarko WCTP Company announced on 13 October 2021.
“Tullow has exercised its right of pre-emption over this participating interest in DWT and assuming all JV Partners also fully exercise their pre-emption rights, this would increase Tullow’s share in the Block by 7.7 per cent (to a total of 54.8 per cent ). This would, in turn, increase Tullow’s equity interests in the Jubilee and TEN fields to 38.9 per cent and 54.8 per cent, respectively,’’ the company said in a statement posted on its website.
The CEO of Tullow, Rahul Dhir commented: “This is a value accretive, the self-funded opportunity for the Group which will increase Tullow’s daily Group production by 10 per cent and generate additional cash flow to help accelerate debt reduction. Increasing our operated stakes in the Jubilee and TEN fields underscores our commitment to investing in and delivering our Ghana Value Maximisation Plan. This opportunity fits well with our strategy to focus on maximizing value from our producing assets. We look forward to constructive conversations with our JV Partners and the Government of Ghana as we finalise the transaction.”
Saudi Arabia’s top energy official said on Wednesday that efforts to combat climate change should not undermine global energy security or shun any particular energy source, and denied the kingdom was hampering international talks on the issue.
The comments from the top producer nation in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries come as the UK hosts of the UN climate summit underway in Scotland push to secure ambitious pledges from world leaders to slash greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from oil, coal and gas.
“It is imperative that we recognise the diversity of climate solutions, and the importance of emissions reduction as stipulated in the Paris Agreement, without any bias towards or against any particular source of energy,” Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud said at the summit.
He added that negotiators should be “conscious of the special circumstances of the Less Developed Countries”, some of which have been resisting calls for aggressive moves away from fossil fuels because of the economic costs.
“We should work together to help these countries mitigate the impact of climate change policies, without compromising their sustainable development,” he said.
Several officials involved in the Glasgow talks told Reuters Saudi Arabia has been obstructing the progress of negotiations toward a strong deal, including by using procedural delay tactics.
“What you’ve been hearing is a false allegation, and a cheat and a lie,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
When asked by Reuters whether he agrees fossil fuels are main driver of climate change Prince Abdulaziz said: “No, I think there will be a good way forward. We should use all resources as long as we congregate around mitigating.”
Coal-fired power generation should continue to be part of South Africa’s energy mix, its Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday, noting that he would go to court if necessary to keep a plan for new coal power plants alive.
“I know that we’re going to end up in court for it,” Mantashe said at the Africa Energy Week conference in Cape Town on Tuesday, he said.
Debates have heated up in South Africa—a major producer, exporter, and consumer of coal—about whether the dirtiest fossil fuel should remain a pillar of its energy supply, especially in light of the climate push for countries to move away from coal.
Mantashe, a former coal unionist, says that South Africa’s Integrated Resources Plan includes plans for the construction of 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity and should be kept.
Currently, coal is by far the major energy source for South Africa, comprising around 80 percent of the country’s energy mix.
The country is also the world’s fifth-largest coal exporter.
Earlier this year, representatives of the United States, the European Union, the UK, France, and Germany met with some of South Africa’s top government officials—but not with minister Mantashe—to discuss a potential climate agreement and ways to help fund the African country’s transition away from coal.
Earlier this month, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that France, Germany, the UK, the U.S., and the EU would support a just transition and a move away from coal by mobilizing an initial $8.5 billion over the next three to five years through a range of instruments, including grants and concessional finance.
South Africa, however, did not sign the COP26 coal pledge of 40 countries to phase out coal, South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy told Daily Maverick this week.
“What will happen is that the country will end up with stranded assets. And we know that in any transition there are winners and losers. The losers are seldom owners, it’s normally the workers and the communities,” Creecy said.
Source:Oilprice.com
Ghanaians should be prepared to use alternative means of energy to keep their homes lit as the country’s power transmission company hits of load shedding in the coming days.
In a statement issued by GRIDCo, Wednesday, November 10, 2021, it said at about 15:40 on Tuesday, a communication mast collapsed on its 330kV Aboadze-Kumasi Transmission Line.
This, the company said resulted in the collapse of two of its towers adjacent the mast.
According to GRIDCo, the incident has affected the national power system and may result in some load management.
The fallen communication mast
The company assured that it is working around the clock to replace the fallen towers within the shortest possible time.
“GRIDCo is committed to maintaining a stable network for reliable and efficient power delivery.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the statement concluded.
Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) says the rise in illicit fuel trade along with some entry and exit points of the country notably the Afloa border, has become a major concern and a threat to the revenue mobilization efforts of the government.
The Chief Executive of NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid says his outfit has been alerted on the happenings at the country’s eastern border.
The NPA, he stated, had not licensed any importer to bring fuel through the Aflao border and, therefore, urged the border officers to stop the importation of petroleum products by road.
Dr Abdul-Hamid said combating fuel smuggling is still a menace that denies the government of the right revenue.
He made these comments when he led the management of the Authority to tour the Aflao border to familiarize himself with illegal activities on the border.
“The NPA is an agency responsible for monitoring downstream petroleum industry and that combating fuel activities are central to what the Authority does,” he explained, noting that Ghana is the only country in the sub-region that consumes the highest quality of fuel.
Against this background, he said it was important to maintain such a feat and called for these activities to be tackled to the barest minimum.
Commenting on the development, Chairman of the Aflao Border Security Committee, Majeed Amandi, said unapproved entry points and routes on the Ghana-Togo borders were fueling criminal activities including fuel smuggling.
Mr Amandi, who doubles as the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority-Aflao Collection, indicated that the service was fighting the menace together with other security agencies as well as the NPA in a bid to intensify patrols and enhance efforts to combat the long-standing problem.
The Assistant Commissioner noted that during patrol operations, they observed that illegal actors operated at midnight to avoid detection.
He described them as daring because they always found their way into the country’s borders and offloaded unwholesome petroleum products into the Ghanaian market.
He said this is also a result of the unavailability of special boats for patrols on the seas at night.
He said border security agencies needed working tools to combat the illicit trade.
The Volta Regional Manager of the NPA, Mr Rasheed Dauda said he appreciated the collaboration with the security agencies at Aflao and pledged to work closely with them to arrest the criminals.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
She attributed the low representation of women in the sector to several factors including lower participation in the educational disciplines that form the basis for jobs in the sector, lack of knowledge about jobs, limited networks for access to opportunities, organizational structures that do not readily promote the work-life balance to accommodate women, especially during child-bearing and rearing ages, lack of career development and training and social and cultural norms that promote the belief that certain roles are the preserve of men, among others.
According to her, this needs to change, and in her view, the energy transition presents the world with the best opportunity to write the wrongs of the past.
Emphasizing the need for equal opportunities for both males and females, Madam Cynthia Lumor outlined what must be done to encourage women.
“Things like relevant education, active encouragement, deliberate hiring practices, internships, mentorship, training and development on the job, access to information, equal pay and support, interventions and policies that encourage and make women feel comfortable and respected in the workplace, are very important,’’ she said.
Stressing the benefit of diversity and inclusion, Madam Cynthia Lumor said, “When we are deliberate about diversity and inclusion, we impact the bottom line because we get diversity and free flow of creative and innovative ideas for problem-solving and decision-making, thereby, positively impacting performance.’’
Touching on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Madam Cynthia Lumor noted that there is limited participation of women.
“We know that in education, STEM disciplines, for example, do not typically have a lot of women. If you go to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and assess the male/female ratio of students pursuing engineering courses, I would venture to say the men would outnumber the women,’’ she posited.
She stated that there must be deliberate, effective measures put in place to correct the imbalance.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
“The NPA is an agency responsible for monitoring downstream petroleum industry and that combating fuel activities are central to what the Authority does,” he explained, noting that Ghana is the only country in the sub-region that consumes the highest quality of fuel.
Against this background, he said it was important to maintain such a feat and called for these activities to be tackled to the barest minimum.
Commenting on the development, Chairman of the Aflao Border Security Committee, Majeed Amandi, said unapproved entry points and routes on the Ghana-Togo borders were fueling criminal activities including fuel smuggling.
Mr Amandi, who doubles as the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority-Aflao Collection, indicated that the service was fighting the menace together with other security agencies as well as the NPA in a bid to intensify patrols and enhance efforts to combat the long-standing problem.
The Assistant Commissioner noted that during patrol operations, they observed that illegal actors operated at midnight to avoid detection.
He described them as daring because they always found their way into the country’s borders and offloaded unwholesome petroleum products into the Ghanaian market.
He said this is also a result of the unavailability of special boats for patrols on the seas at night.
He said border security agencies needed working tools to combat the illicit trade.
The Volta Regional Manager of the NPA, Mr Rasheed Dauda said he appreciated the collaboration with the security agencies at Aflao and pledged to work closely with them to arrest the criminals.