The newly appointed president of TotalEnergies in charge of Exploration and Production and member of the executive committee, Nicolas Terraz, is expected to participate in Africa Oil Week in Dubai.
He will deliver an opening address on Monday, November 8, 2021 on TotalEnergies’ strategic position within the evolving African upstream landscape.
“TotalEnergies remains strongly committed to Africa, and we look forward to sharing and discussing our vision at Africa Oil Week in Dubai,” Terraz said.
Terraz will be accompanied by Henri-Max Ndong Nzue, TotalEnergies’ Senior Vice President for Africa, and Kevin McLachlan, the company’s Senior Vice President of Exploration.
Henri-Max Ndong Nzue
Both will take to the stage to discuss current operating trends, and outline value-creation opportunities through high-impact portfolios and new entry prospects.
This impressive line-up of speakers from TotalEnergies complements its high-profile involvement as one of Africa Oil Week’s leading sponsors.
For many years, TotalEnergies has been a loyal partner of Africa Oil Week, considered as the major event of the oil industry on the African continent.
Terraz joined TotalEnergies in 2001 and was Senior Vice President for Africa from 2019 until August 2021, before being promoted to his current position.
Kevin McLachlan
The appointment of Ndong Nzue, who replaces Terraz as Senior Vice President for Africa, is significant, particularly in the African context. Until recently, Ndong Nzue was previously Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Americas at Total Marketing and Services, and also held the position of Managing Director of Total Gabon.
Source: https:// energynewsafrica.com
A former president of the Advertising Association of Ghana, Mr Reginald Daniel Laryea, has been appointed the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of GOIL Company Limited, Ghana’s leading Oil Marketing Company (OMC).
His appointment was approved alongside three others by the Shareholders of GOIL at a virtual Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), which was to ratify the appointment of the four.
The GOIL new Board Chairman’s brief profile indicates a rich and varied background in the communication industry, having worked with British-American Tobacco from 1976 to 1988 as the Marketing, Advertising and Merchandising Manager.
He set up Media Majique and Research Systems Limited, a full-service advertising agency in Ghana in 1989 which became a worldwide affiliate of Ogilvy and Mather International in 1995.
He received a Special Recognition Award by the International Advertising Association in 2015 for being an eminent speaker at the Africa Rising Conference in Ghana.
In that same year, Mr Laryea received the Advertising Association of Ghana’s Distinguished Personality Award.
He is a member of the Board of the National Media Commission in Ghana and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana.
He is also the Chairman of Media Whizz Kids, a subsidiary experiential and events marketing company and Ogilvy Ghana.
Other members are Mr John Boadu, who is the General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Edwin Alfred Provencal, Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited and former Technical Advisor to the Minister for Energy, and Ms Angela Forson.
Other board members are Mr Beauclerc A. Williams, Mr Stephen Tengan, Mrs Mabel A. Amoatemaa Sarpong; Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, Group CEO and Managing Director of GOIL, and Nana Ama Kusi-Appouh serves as Secretary to the Board.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, has launched the Renewable Energy Tariff pilot programme to assist many businesses who have corporate renewable energy commitments.
This would enable customers to source a blended electricity supply with up to 100% of their electricity from one of the utility’s renewable sources.
The Renewable Energy Tariff pilot programme gives customers a mechanism to achieve their renewable energy commitments to purchase this energy from Eskom, without the initial capital investment of having to own a renewable energy generator or to enter into long term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
This offer allows customers to have a 24-hour blended renewable supply to their facility, and allows them flexibility to relocate premises without needing to move renewable energy assets.
Eskom generates green power from some of its renewable electricity plants such as the Sere Wind Farm and run-of-river hydro facilities. The Renewable Energy Tariff pilot programme is initially limited to renewable electricity generated from the Sere Wind Farm and only available to Eskom’s customers.
During the period of the pilot programme, Eskom offers a maximum of 300GWh per annum to customers supplied directly by Eskom, on a first-come-first-served basis.
Monde Bala, Group Executive Eskom Distribution Division explains, “The Renewable Energy Tariff is designed to provide a cost-effective and flexible option for Eskom customers to consume renewable power. It further provides flexible, convenient and short-term power purchases for when you move your facilities. It will be available to Eskom supplied customers whose electricity accounts are up to date.”
Bala says the tariff will be available to Eskom business customers who have green targets and who would like to use renewable power in their facility or production processes. All participating customers will have an option to select any percentage of their current electricity usage to be green. The Renewable Energy Tariff can also supplement wheeled electricity from a third party or own renewable electricity generated on site to help customers achieve their clean energy target.
The tariff is designed as a declining block tariff. This means that the more green energy a customer purchases (as a percentage of total consumption), the lower the rate, more detail on the tariff pilot is available from the Eskom website (https://www.eskom.co.za/eas/renewable-energy/).
https://energynewsafrica.com/index.php/2020/11/24/south-africa-andre-de-ruyter-sees-eskom-unbundled-in-2021/
Eskom customers therefore have an option to select an affordable contract, which is charged monthly, based on the percentage of renewable energy they consume, and this percentage will be charged monthly as specified in the contract. At the end of 12 consecutive months, Eskom will evaluate the amount of renewable energy in kWh consumed against the contracted percentage, and if the actual capacity is less than the contracted capacity, Eskom will adjust the Renewable Energy Tariff based on the actual percentage. The renewable energy charge payable by the customer will be adjusted accordingly. The customer’s next electricity account will be adjusted to reflect the difference.
Eskom’s Renewable Energy Tariff pilot programme will last for a two-year period ending 31 March 2023, after which the company will make a decision whether to take the tariff for formal approval.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s has realised over $6.5 billion from its oil resources over the last ten years.
Out of the $6.550 billion received from 2011 to 2020, the country’s national oil company, GNPC, received $2,012.16 billion, representing about 30.72 per cent, Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) had $2,557.12 billion (39.04 per cent), the Ghana Heritage Fund had $0.587 billion (8.97 per cent) while the Ghana Stabilisation Fund received $1,393.18 billion (21.27 per cent).
This was disclosed by Professor Kwame Adom-Frimpong, Chairman of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee, at a forum in Takoradi for stakeholders in the Western and Central Regions.
The forum formed part of the 10th Anniversary of PIAC. It was on the theme: ‘A Decade of the Management and Use of Petroleum Revenue in Ghana, Successes and Lessons for future’.
The oil revenue, however, dipped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic with that year’s projections showing a reduction in royalties from $236,794,156.13 in 2019 to $195,359,565.96 in 2020.
Carried and Participation Interest (CAPI) also went down from $505,987,937.41 to $300,926,631.91 within the same period.
Prof Adom-Frimpong said the Jubilee Fields produced 350,469.95 Million Standard Cubic Feet (mmscf) of gas, Tweneboa Enyenra Ntomme (TEN) had 179,884.98 mmscf and Sankofa Gye Nyame produced 199,126 .687 mmscf to reach a total of 729,481.61 mmscf of gas between 2014 and 2020.
He said the oil monies focused on 12 development poles including health, infrastructure, alternative energy sources, environmental protection, social welfare, security, institutional strengthening and agriculture.
The Enchi-Asankragwa Road, the Kotoka International Airport Terminal Three, the Free SHS, the Kojokrom-Takoradi railway project, the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant and the Anomabo Fish College are examples of how the oil monies had been used in Ghana, he said.
Prof Adom-Frimpong said as a citizen-led group, PIAC would continue to engage the people to have collective views on the usage of revenue from the resource.
He said PIAC would monitor and evaluate the government’s compliance and other relevant institutions in the management and use of petroleum revenues and investments as provided by the law.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Boko Haram insurgent group has yet again destroyed four other high tension towers supplying electricity along Damaturu-Maiduguri in Borno State in Nigeria.
The group carried out the destruction of the towers on Friday.
This latest setback comes barely one month after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) commenced the building of a gas plant to provide electricity to the state in the North-East sub-region.
According to The Punch, a local newspaper, the electric towers were destroyed at the Garin Kuturu village, which is about two kilometres from Auno, an area constantly terrorised by the insurgents.
The report said the attack on the facilities started in the evening at about 7 and lasted up to 10 pm after which the four power lines were destroyed.
Some residents of the state capital who spoke to The Punch expressed their frustration at the latest destruction, stating that the state has suffered enough hardship as a result of the insurgency.
“This latest destruction of the electricity towers has confirmed that these insurgents are still active in the state. It also shows that they are closer to the city than suspected,” Adamu Usman noted.
Another resident, Mohammed Abdullahi questioned the genuineness of the recent surrender by some commanders of the terrorist group.
He said: “I have maintained my position that these Boko Haram terrorists are not repentant. They were forced out by the superior military operation ongoing in their hideouts. We do not trust these terrorists. We don’t believe they can ever repent. Their presence in our midst is dangerous not only to the poor masses but even the elites.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi have designed a device that can generate electricity from water drops, raindrops, water streams, and even from ocean waves using the ‘triboelectric effect’ and ‘electrostatic induction’.
The electricity generated by the device called ‘Liquid-solid Interface Triboelectric Nanogenerator’ can be stored in batteries for further use.
As per a statement from IIT Delhi, the device consists of specially designed nanocomposite polymers and contact electrodes and can generate a few milliwatt (mW) power, which is sufficient to power small electronic devices like watches, digital thermometers, radio frequency transmitters, healthcare sensors and pedometers. When compared to conventional methods, such as the use of the piezoelectric effect, it can generate significantly more electricity.
“Triboelectric effect is a known phenomenon for a long time, and in this effect, charges are generated when two surfaces are in friction. The best example we see is sparkling lights when we move the blankets or jackets. It is only lately that it has been extensively investigated as a practical alternative for energy harvesting,” said Professor Neeraj Khare from the Department of Physics in IIT Delhi.
Khare and his team at the Nanoscale Research Facility (NRF), IIT Delhi, have been working on harvesting electrical energy from to be wasted mechanical vibrations using the triboelectric effect.
The group has filed an Indian patent on the various aspects of the use of ferroelectric polymer for harvesting mechanical energy including the present device.
The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have supported the research work under the NNetRA project.
The IIT Delhi research team also explored the underlying mechanism of the electricity generated when the water drop comes in contact with the solid surface and it was found that saline water drops generate more electricity.
Auto fuel prices in India have maintained stability amidst volatility in global oil prices with crude on the boil again rising sharply for past few days.
The oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Friday kept pump prices of auto fuels petrol and diesel unchanged, the 12th consecutive day of no revision, as they preferred to watch the global oil situation before making any revision in prices.
Accordingly, the price of petrol and diesel remained unchanged at Rs 101.19 and Rs 88.62 per litre in Delhi, as per Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer.
In Mumbai, the petrol price is stable at Rs 107.26 per litre on Friday, while diesel rates also remained unchanged at Rs 96.19 a litre.
Across the country as well, petrol and diesel prices remained static on Friday but their retail rates varied depending on the level of local taxes in a particular state.
Fuel prices have been hovering at record levels on account of 41 increases in its retail rates since April this year.
Under the pricing formula adopted by oil companies, rates of petrol and diesel are to be reviewed and revised by them on a daily basis. The new prices becomes effective from morning at 6 a.m.
The daily review and revision of prices is based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates.
But, the fluctuations in global oil prices have prevented OMCs to follow this formula in totality and revisions are now being made with longer gaps. This has also prevented companies from increasing fuel prices whenever their is a mismatch between globally arrived and pump price of fuel.
After touching $74 a barrel mark couple of weeks back and then falling, benchmark Brent crude prices have bounced back to reach closer to $76 a barrel now.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Chief Executive Officer of National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has paid a working visit to some petroleum downstream agencies to familiarise himself with their operations.
Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid and his entourage visited Tema fuel depots enclave to understand their operations and challenges and how those challenges can be addressed.
He visited the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation’s (BOST) Accra Plains Depot, Tema Multi-Product Terminal (TMPT) and Bottling plant, the NPA Tanker yard and the Ridge Energy Depot.
The NPA’s CEO also visited Ghana Gas where he interacted with the Chief Executive, Dr Benjamin K.D. Asante.
Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid and other officials of NPA at Ghana Gas
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for petroleum and Mining, John Munyes, has issued notices to terminate contracts issued to six oil and gas exploration companies within the country’s Lamu Basin.
According to media reports, these notices were issued on the 27th of August, 2021, citing failure of the companies to meet their obligations as outlined in their respective petroleum agreements.
The companies are Zarara Oil and Gas, Octant Energy, A-Z Petroleum Products, Simba Africa Rift Energy, Lamu Oil and Gas and Milio/Castac Oil.
It is unclear why the Cabinet Secretary took the decision, however, per section 25 of the Petroleum Act, one of the reasons the Cabinet Secretary may terminate petroleum agreements at the exploration stage would be failure by the exploring company to meet its minimum work and expenditure obligations.
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has threatened the staff of the Electricity Company Ghana (ECG) with dismissal should the company continue to record huge commercial and system losses.
The recent Auditor General’s Report revealed that ECG recorded a huge loss of US$344.3 million in revenue as a result of system losses in 2018.
The company purchased a total power of 10,900.55 GWh from power producing companies in the West African nation.
However, ECG sold 8,251.47GWh to customers with the remaining 2,649.08, which represented 24.30 per cent of power purchased, being lost.
In 2020, the ECG again recorded a commercial loss of 26.02 per cent, with the Managing Director, Kwame Agyeman-Budu blaming it partly on the COVID-19 pandemic which forced the company to implement rotation of workers.
Speaking at the inauguration of ECG’s Revenue Protection Task Force in Accra last Tuesday, Energy Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh said ECG, Volta River Authority (VRA) and Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) can’t balance their books with such losses.
“It is in the interest of all citizens of this country to ensure that we pay for what we consume,” he said.
“How much are we making to afford to lose as much as 30 per cent of our labour in losses? So, it is in the interest of every staff and management member of ECG, VRA, NEDCo and GRIDCo to help avoid 30 per cent being recorded,” he stressed.
“The viability of your companies to employ you is at stake. So, it is in our collective interest to ensure that the system works,” he added.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
China will toughen punishments for regions that fail to meet targets aimed at controlling energy use, the state planning agency said in new policy guidelines published on Thursday.
China has been cracking down on high-energy consuming projects after 20 of its 30 provinces and regions failed to meet energy consumption targets in the first half of the year.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it would hold local officials accountable for limiting absolute energy use and for meeting targets to cut energy intensity – or the amount of energy used per unit of GDP.
The NDRC also said China would improve its mechanisms for setting overall consumption targets and ensure they are distributed fairly across regions.
It said China would also promote trade in energy use permits and “give full play” to market forces to encourage energy efficiency.
Earlier this year, a giant 126 billion yuan ($19.6 billion) coal-chemical plant in northwest China’s Shaanxi province was suspended after falling foul of energy consumption restrictions.
In a sign that economic considerations continue to prevail, though, the NDRC made it clear that important national projects would be exempt from local energy consumption controls.
China’s near-term energy strategy is under careful scrutiny as international climate talks approach, with Beijing under pressure to do more to tackle coal consumption and bring its carbon emissions to a peak earlier than 2030.
By 2030, China aims to reduce energy intensity by more than 65% compared to 2005 levels, and it will also start cutting coal use in 2026.
Climate watchers say China is likely to include an interim national energy cap in its 2021-2025 five-year plan for energy, but that it will still allow room for a steady rise in consumption over the period.
Source: Reuters
The General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr John Boadu, has been nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo to serve on the Board of GOIL Company Limited.
He was nominated alongside Edwin Alfred Nii Obodai Provencal, Managing Director of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company, Angela Forson, General Manager for Institutional Banking at the Consolidated Bank of Ghana, and Reginald Daniel Laryea, Board Chairman of Ogilvy Ghana, PlanoAfrique, Golden Beach Hotels, Scanad Ghana, Tsunami Axis West Africa ,Fossies Logistics and CEO of Media Majique.
This was announced by GOIL at its Extraordinary General Meeting on Thursday, September 16, 2021 in Accra, capital of Ghana.
As political strategist, Accountant and Quantitative Analyst, John Boadu served as a board member of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and also a member of the Audit sub-committee of the Board in the first term of President Akufo-Addo’s administration.
He currently serves as a Board Member for Guinness Ghana Limited where he also chairs the Audit Committee for the beverage company. Together with the team, they have managed to pay dividends to shareholders for two consecutive years.
He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Shokram Company Limited.
He has also served as the General Manager for FAAB Limited, Accra, Financial Controller/Auditor, FM Woodtech Limited, Tema, and served as a tutor for Accounting and Economics at the Nkwantia Secondary School.
In 2016, John Boadu was appointed as the Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party and Director of Operation for the 2016 Election Campaign.
He has served as the National Organiser of the party, Deputy Director of Communications, National Youth Organiser, National Youth Treasurer, Financial Officer/ Accountant at the NPP National Headquarters, Director of Information and Research, NPP Greater Accra Region, Constituency Secretary, South Ablekuma Constituency, Polling Station Chairman and Polling Agent, Korle-Bu Polling Station, Member of Danquah-Busia Club, Kumasi, and Secretary-General, Organisation of African Liberal Youth (OALY).
He established over 30 functional TESCON branches across the country, as well as supported and advocated for the recognition and voting rights of TESCON at both regional and national elections.
Reginald Daniel Laryea
He is credited for advocating for the inclusion of youth organisers and deputies in all conferences of the NPP.
John Boadu is a contemporary leader with deep knowledge of Ghana’s Political and Governance landscape and has been a contributor to major electoral and political reforms in recent times.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from the University of Ghana Business School.
He is a proud son of Opoku Ware Senior High School in Kumasi.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s leading indigenous oil marketing company, GOIL Company Limited, has opened two stations in Accra, capital of Ghana, and Keta, in the Volta Region.
This is part of the company’s strategy to make its quality products readily available to customers countrywide.
The new Kwame Nkrumah Circle service station is located at the Obra Spot, a popular area at Circle, a suburb of Accra.
The new station has two pump islands with two nozzles each and will dispense Super XP Ron 95 and Diesel XP.
It is also equipped with a modern lubricant centre to service all types of vehicles.
The station is strategically positioned to service vehicles in and around the busy travelling enclave of the city.
It is also expected to serve a wide customer base, especially private and commercial vehicles that desire to enjoy the benefits of quality fuels and lubricants from GOIL at their convenience.
Commissioning the station, the Group CEO and Managing Director of GOIL Company Limited, Mr Kwame Osei Prempeh touted the efficacy of GOIL’s XP Ron 95 and Diesel XP and entreated drivers especially public transport owners and commercial operators, to spread the good news about the company’s quality fuels and lubricants.
He promised that GOIL would continue to make available quality products for all customers countrywide.
The Head of Fuels Marketing, Augustine Boateng said the opening of the new station is part of efforts to make products available to customers without struggle.
In attendance at the ceremony were Helen Kyerematen, Zonal Manager South, Offei Anor, Former Chief Director, Ministry of Roads and Highways, Superintendent Imam Hussein from the Ghana Police Service, and Rebecca Aidoo, the CEO of Romania Company Limited.
The rest were Nana Berndt CEO, Kitchen World, Owusu Prempeh, GNPC, Mr Richard Aryee, Vice-chairman, Circle-Kasoa station, and Kofi Annan, Circle-Kasoa Station Manager.
Similarly, GOIL has opened another station in Keta in the Volta Region.
The ribbon-cutting for the commission of the station was done by Togbe Sri III, Paramount Chief of Anlo, the Chief Executive for Keta and other chiefs of the area.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
TGS, world’s leading multi-client seismic data company, has started a new 2D seismic survey in the Mauritania-Senegal-Gambia-Bissau-Conakry (MSGBC) Basin offshore Mauritania.
The survey adds to the North-West Africa Atlantic Margin (NWAAM) 2D campaign, the seismic company said.
The NWAAM 2021 survey will comprise 7,500 kilometers of seismic data, with a modern broadband acquisition setup.
The vessel BGP Pioneer will undertake the survey that has the full support of the Mauritanian Ministry of Hydrocarbons.
The survey aims to illuminate the regional plays in the ultra-deep and deepwater areas with a new azimuth and to provide prospective insights into an oil-prone area in relation to recent key wells and shallow water geology.
According to TGS, this additional insight will enable explorers to build upon the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim complex and surrounding discoveries.
The acquisition is expected to last for 60 days with fast-track data available three months after the acquisition. The full dataset will be available by Q2 2022.
“Our latest seismic survey offshore Mauritania will provide explorers with the subsurface intelligence needed to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the deep and ultra-deepwater. We see this project as the natural continuation of our successful NWAAM campaign, one of our flagship projects in Africa”, said Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS.
“The MSGBC Basin remains an important region for our clients, and TGS is well positioned with its unique combination of multibeam, seafloor sampling, seismic, interpretation, and imaging products to deliver the best subsurface knowledge in the industry”.