As this portal reported on April 16, 2022, that the tenure of Dr. Kofi Koduah Sarpong as Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) would end on Friday, April 22, 2022, energynewsafrica.com has intercepted a letter he wrote to the staff of the national oil company.
In the letter, Dr. Sarpong highlighted some of the achievements the corporation chalked under his tenure and also begged for forgiveness from those he might have hurt.
His letter to the staff rally support for Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah, who has been appointed as acting Chief Executive Officer of the corporation.
The appointment of Mr. Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah has dampened the spirit of some staff of the national oil company, energynewsafrica.com can report.
Mr. Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah’s appointment as acting Chief Executive Officer of GNPC, according to energnewsafrica.com sources, was influenced by Board Chairman of GNPC, Freddie Blay, and Nana Asante Bediatuo, Secretary to President Akufo-Addo, and cousin of Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah.
Below is Dr K.K Sarpong’s letter:
Dear All,
As you already aware, I will step down as Chief Executive of your esteemed Corporation on 22nd April, 2022.
My tenure in GNPC began some five (5) years ago during which time we have all together transformed this organization from just a few oil development projects to a much stronger national oil company with a lot more producing fields and discoveries. Indeed, we have achieved a lot together and I hope you are as proud of our achievements as I am.
To name a few – the Research & Technology Centre is near completion; the Takoradi Operational Office is under construction and the Accra Head Office project is just about to begin. Springfield’s West Cape Three Points Block, ENI’s Block 4 and Aker Energy’s Pecan Field will come onstream in the very near future. During my tenure, a lot more Ghanaians assessed the GNPC Foundation scholarship. More CSR projects were undertaken in line with GNPC’s objective to have its operations have a positive impact on the indigenes of this country.
Serving as CEO for this country’s oil and gas institution comes with huge responsibility.
However, you made it smooth sailing for me. I say this because I had the opportunity to meet and work with every talented, smart and dedicated professionals whose experience and skill made it easy for me to steer this ship. Working with such a fantastic team to achieve all that we have in such a short time warms my heart.
I leave knowing that you will build on the good foundation we have created together.
Together we came, we saw and we conquered. Ayekoo to all of you!! It has been a pleasure working with you and I am honestly going to miss everyone.
Human as I am, I may have inadvertently stepped on some toes in my bid to get the best for the organization. Please find a place in your heart to forgive me. It was never out of malice but for our common good.
Mr. Opoku Ahweeneh Danquah, Deputy Chief Executive (Technical) will step into my shoes as Chief Executive. Kindly accord him the same courtesies and support you gave me.
Thank you for everything we have accomplished so far, and I wish you the very best for everything you will do in the future.
K.K. SARPONG (DR.)
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Global oil demand will drop by 1.4 million barrels per day, according to the latest forecast by Rystad Energy.
The 1.4 million bpd loss would sink oil demand to 99.6 million bpd on average, below 2019 levels of 100.2 million bpd. And a rebound in this demand isn’t expected to happy until next year at the soonest, Rystad said.
The drop in oil demand will likely come from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, soaring inflation, China’s Covid-inspired lockdowns, and supply chain disruptions. And even more oil demand pressure could be applied through future lockdowns or geopolitical issues.
“Shrinking demand is a direct result of the impact of lower economic activity globally,” the consultancy said, adding that such a demand decrease could ease today’s tight oil markets, calming oil prices.
Rystad isn’t the only one lowering oil demand forecasts.
OPEC cut its 2022 oil demand growth forecast by 480,000 bpd on the back of lower expected global economic growth given the war in Ukraine and China’s Covid lockdowns.
The IEA also cut its oil demand forecast by 260,000 bpd to reflect the return of severe covid lockdowns in China.
Meanwhile, the World Bank and the IMF have both cut their overall global growth expectations for this year.
But Rystad isn’t changing its outlook for bullish oil prices. According to Rystad, if the Russian war in Ukraine drags on, it will increase oil and gas prices, particularly if the EU ends up banning oil and gas this year.
“The Russian war worst case for oil demand is premised on Brent prices reaching $180 per barrel in the fourth quarter, triggering a further economic slowdown and outright destruction of oil demand,” Rystad said.
Source: Oilprice.com
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security forces in Africa’s most populous nation to, with immediate effect, clamp down on all illegal oil refineries dotted across the country.
This follows the explosion that occurred over the weekend at an illegal refinery located at Abaezi forest in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.
The explosion claimed over 100 lives of Nigerians.
The Nigerian leader, in a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, described the incident as “a catastrophe and a national disaster.”
President Buhari emphasised that security agencies have been directed to intensify the clampdown on illegal refineries.
He said the responsibility for the loss of lives and property “must squarely lie with the sponsors” of the illegal refinery, assuring that they “must all be caught and made to face justice.”
The president conveyed “the condolences and the full depth and range of the nation’s shock and trauma” to the families of the victims, the community and the people of the state.
Mr Buhari urged community leaders and the personnel of the Nigerian Police Force to take steps to ensure that such a “heartbreaking incident” is not allowed to occur again in any part of the country.
Illegal crude oil refining has become a lucrative business, mainly among residents of oil-producing states, despite its dangerous consequences.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Government of Ghana has sponsored the training of 149 Ghanaians to enable them to acquire technical skills for employment in the country’s upstream petroleum sector.
The six months of hands-on technician training was funded with an amount of Gh¢5.1 million, with the training of each person costing $7,500.
The trainees graduated on Friday, April 22, 2022, in Takoradi.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr. said the training programme has produced internationally certified professionals who can work in various aspects of the petroleum industry.
“Of the 149 persons that have graduated, 43 graduated as City and Guilds International Vocational Qualification (IVQ) level 3 Mechanical Technicians, 22 as IVQ level 3 Electrical Technicians, 44 as IVQ level 3 Process Technicians and 41 as IVQ level 3 Instrumentation Technicians. It cost the Petroleum Commission US$7,500 for each of the graduates in question. In total, the commission spent GH¢5.1 million for the entire training program.
“The best way graduates can show appreciation is to commit to working in Ghana and help reduce the cost of Oil and Gas Production in the country so that the IOC and government will spend less in exploration and production of oil from the standpoint of job role localization,” he added.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has held a day’s capacity building workshop for a section of Ghanaian journalists to equip them with the knowledge of the role of the Commission.
The journalists, selected from various media houses comprising both electronic and print, are under the umbrella of the Commission’s Media Fellowship which was recently launched in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
They were taken through several presentations by officials of the Commission.
Alhaji Abukari Jabaru, Director of Regional Operations at PURC
Alhaji Abukari Jabaru, Director of Regional Operations on Complaint Resolution Procedure, walked the journalists through the various steps that are taken before arriving at a resolution.
He said when a formal complaint is received from a complainant, for example, the first step the Commission takes is to visit the site of the complainant and conduct preliminary investigations.
After the preliminary investigations, the Commission begins mediation processes, if it becomes necessary, and finally starts a formal hearing where a panel is constituted to make recommendations to the Board for acceptance or otherwise.
A trend analysis of complaints lodged to the Commission and resolved from 2016 to 2021 showed that there was a decrease in the number of complaints lodged from 3,202 in 2016 to 2,713 in 2017, representing a 15.27 per cent decrease.
However, this increased to 5,226 in 2018, representing a 92.63 per cent increase.
The complaints again increased to 9,550 in 2019 by 82.74 per cent.
This increase, he noted, was a result of innovation introduced that allowed complainants to lodge complaints via WhatsApp.
He noted that another reason that accounted for the increase in complaints in 2019 was the problem between ECG and Kroboland.
There was, however, a decrease in complaints lodged from 9,550 in 2019 to 7,067 in 2020 representing a decrease of 26 per cent and this was mainly due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and its related lockdown of the country as well as restrictions on movement.
In 2021, complaints lodged with the Commission increased to 10,987 from 7,067 in 2020, representing an increase of 55.47 per cent.
He said about 10,701 out of the total complaints have been resolved.
Dr. Simon Akorli, Director responsible for Regulatory Economics at PURC
The Director in charge of Regulatory Economics at the PURC, Dr. Simon Akorli, also made a presentation on PURC Tariff Setting.
He walked the journalists through the factors the Commission considers before arriving at a tariff for both water and electricity.
He noted that the biggest challenge facing the country, as far as utilities are concerned, is the tariff structure.
He said unlike in Uganda where the tariff has been structured in a way that makes both residential and industrial consumers pay the same rates for consumption of utilities, Ghana’s tariff structure is such that residential consumers pay less while industries pay higher.
Kevin Kwao, Head of ICT, PURC
The very interactive workshop ended with a presentation by Mr. Kevin Kwao, Head of ICT, PURC, on the Commission’s Database Management System.
Dr. Ishmael Ackah, Executive Secretary of Public Utilities Regulatory Commission
Executive Secretary for the Commission, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, who opened the workshop, urged the participants to take a keen interest and learn.
He further called on them to work closely with the Commission for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s leading indigenous Oil Marketing Company, GOIL Company Limited, has donated fifty hospital beds to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
The beds were procured at the cost of Gh¢250,000 by the oil company and presented to the hospital by the Group CEO, Osei Kwame Prempeh, who was accompanied by some of the company’s staff.
The 37 Military Hospital is one of the referral hospitals in West Africa and receives hundreds of patients, thereby, putting pressure on the facility.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com, Group CEO and Managing Director of GOIL Company Limited, Osei Kwame Prempeh said he visited the hospital some weeks ago and while he was being conducted around the facility by officials, they informed him of the needs of the hospital.
Hearing that, he said he took their needs to the management of GOIL, who decided to use part of their Corporate Social Responsibility funds to procure the beds to equip the hospital to prevent situations where patients have been turned away because of shortages of beds.
Osei Kwame Prempeh said GOIL has been supporting the hospital with donations in different ways, recalling the supply of some Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to the hospital during the Covid-19 era.
The Group CEO said although GOIL cannot solve all the problems of the hospital, it would continue to support the facility no matter how small it would be.
He used the occasion to call on fuel consumers to keep patronising the services of GOIL, reminding Ghanaians to see the company like theirs and also bearing in mind that any profit the company makes is invested in the country to address the social and economic issues.
Commenting on the gesture, the Commanding Officer of 37 Military Hospital, Brig Gen Azumah Bugri, who received the beds on behalf of the hospital and other officers, commended the Management of GOIL for the donation and noted that beds are critical in health care delivery.
He said some patients go to the hospital for a day’s visit for observation while others go and are admitted.
He said in all scenarios, beds are needed for proper examination to be done on the patients and treatment.
He said the beds would go a long way to help the hospital.
Samples of the bedSource: https://energynewsafrica.com
Over 100 Nigerians have been killed in an explosion that occurred at an illegal bunkering site on April 23, 2022.
The Saturday night explosion occurred at the site located in the Ohaji-Egbema local government area of Imo State in the Abaezi forest that straddles the border of the two states.
“The fire outbreak occurred at an illegal bunkering site and it affected over 100 people who were burnt beyond recognition,” the state Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, Goodluck Oprah, told journalists.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre said several vehicles that were in a queue to buy illegal fuel were simmered in the blast.
According to reports, Nigerian police are currently looking for the owner of the illegal oil refinery.
Ifeanyi Nnaji of the National Emergency Management Agency told BBC that the number killed stood at 109 as of the time of reporting.
“We learnt many bodies are in nearby bushes and forests as some illegal operators and their patrons scampered for safety,” he said.
“The Rivers State governor has made a push recently to stamp out illegal refining in Rivers so it has to move to the fringes and neighbouring states. In the last month or two, there were several raids and some security agents involved were tackled,” Ledum Mitee, former president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), said.
At least 25 people including children, were killed in an explosion and fire at another illegal refinery in Rivers State in October last year.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s national oil company, GNPC, has appointed Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah as the acting Chief Executive Officer as the CEO of the corporation, Dr K.K Sarpong exits the corporation today, April 22, 2022.
Before the appointment, Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer responsible for technical operations.
A letter signed by the Board Chairman, Freddie Blay, wished the outgoing CEO well in his future endeavours while urging the staff of the corporation to accord Opoku Ahweneeh-Danquah the necessary support.
The move to appoint him as CEO has stirred anger in Ghana’s seat of government, the Jubilee House.
The appointment, according to sources within the presidency, was influenced by his cousin, Nana Asante Bediatuo, Secretary to the President, and Freddie Blay, Board Chair of GNPC.
Many at the seat of government are worried over the deliberate move by the duo because of claims by critics of President Nana Akufo-Addo that he is running a family and friends government.
According to energynewsafrica.com’s source, the attempt by the GNPC Board Chair and the President’s Secretary to get Opoku Ahwenneh-Danquah appointed is purely based on their intention to remote control him to get what they want.
Sources within the government said Freddie Blay has had a tough time with the outgoing CEO, Dr. K.K Sarpong, who appears to be ‘stubborn’ when it comes to making certain demands and, therefore, wants someone he can easily control.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Moroccan government has awarded seven concessions to independent power producers (IPPs) to develop 333MWp of solar photovoltaic capacity as part of the Noor PV II programme.
North Africa wants to catch up in terms of renewable energy production.
The concessions were awarded to five independent power producers (IPPs), with the French company, Voltalia, awarded the largest lots.
Its Moroccan subsidiary will build two solar power plants.
The largest, with a capacity of 69MWp, will be located in Ain Beni Mathar in the Oriental Region.
Voltalia, Morocco’s second solar power plant, with an expected capacity of 48MWp, will be built in the north-east of the Kingdom.
The Taqa Group is also doing well with two solar photovoltaic plants of 48MWp each.
Its subsidiary, Taqa Morocco, based in Casablanca, will build its facilities in Sidi Bennour in the Casablanca-Settat Region and Kelaa Sraghna in the Marrakech-Safi Region.
For its part, the Emirati IPP Amea Power will build two solar power plants of 36MWp each near the city of Taroudant in the region of Souss-Massa and El Hajeb, a municipality in the region of Fez-Meknes.
Enel Green Power, the subsidiary of the Italian giant, Enel, will build a 48MWp solar power plant in Bejaad in the province of Khouribga.
According to MASEN, these sites have been chosen based on several criteria including the suitability of solar photovoltaic technology, accessibility, topography and the socio-economic impact of the project on the territory of implementation.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Africa focused oil and gas firm, Tullow Oil, is planning to invest a total of $1.6 billion to develop the Jubilee and TEN oilfields offshore the Republic of Ghana in the next five years spanning 2022 and 2026.
By 2022, Tullow is spending $350 million to develop new infrastructure and new wells to increase production at the Jubilee field.
At the TEN oilfield, the company plans to drill two important but strategic wells that will define its plan for the field.
However, beyond 2022, Tullow intends to spend $700 million to develop the Jubilee oilfield while the TEN oilfields will witness an investment of $550 million from 2023 to 2026.
Speaking to a section of journalists in Accra, the capital of Ghana, the CEO of Tullow Oil Plc, Rahul Dhur said these investments are aimed at increasing production at Jubilee and also repositioning TEN for the future growth.
According to him, Tullow is building subsea infrastructure such as pipelines to accelerate the development of the Jubilee and TEN oilfields.
“A lot of the spending we are doing this year is on infrastructure particularly Jubilee South-East Jubilee North-East. This will help us to sustain production,” he said
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
A couple at Kongo in the Upper East Region of Ghana was on Wednesday morning electrocuted after an electric wire they were drying their clothes on touched a live wire.
The couple, Joseph Bike and Mary Bike, according to Graphic Online, died instantly.
The report said the wife, Mary, was first to be electrocuted and in his attempt to rescue his wife, Joseph was also shocked to death.
According to the report, Mary went out to draw water from a nearby borehole and was unfortunately caught by the wire as she was in the process of pouring the water into a water reservoir.
Neighbours said it appeared Mary was unaware that the wire they regularly used as their drying line was live with electrical current.
She reportedly fell instantly with the water.
The incident attracted relatives and neighbours who dashed the couple to the Ayamfoya Memorial Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival.
Their bodies have been deposited at the morgue of the health facility for preservation and autopsy.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Biden Administration will release over $385 million to states to help Americans with their home energy costs through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the White House said on Thursday, as President Joe Biden is looking to tame the soaring prices of gasoline and energy amid international prices at multi-year highs.
The latest funding, to be made available by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), adds to $4.5 billion in the American Rescue Plan for LIHEAP.
In total, the U.S. Administration would be providing more than $8.3 billion in LIHEAP assistance to reduce heating and cooling costs for low-income Americans this year, which is the largest investment in a single year since the program was established in 1981, the White House said.
LIHEAP assists eligible low-income households with their heating and cooling energy costs, bill payment assistance, energy crisis assistance, weatherization, and energy-related home repairs.
The Administration is scrambling to lower home energy costs and gasoline prices for Americans as international oil prices – the largest factor in determining the price at the pump – hit $100 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Gasoline prices in the U.S. hit a fresh multi-year high in March at over $4.30 per gallon.
The Biden Administration announced at the end of March it would release 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over six months “to respond to Putin’s price hike at the pump.”
Apart from the massive strategic petroleum release—which analysts say will not help solve the structural deficit in the oil market with insufficient investments in recent years—the U.S. Administration announced earlier this month that the Environmental Protection Agency would issue an emergency waiver to allow E15 gasoline – a higher-ethanol containing gasoline typically banned in the summer – to be sold during this summer “in order to increase fuel supply.”
Source: Oilprice.com
Germany is moving “as fast as possible” to end its reliance on Russian energy, but it will take time, the country’s finance minister has said.
“We have to be patient,” Christian Lindner said.
By contrast, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had earlier said Germany would end oil imports by the end of the year, with gas following.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised Germany for failing to curb Russian energy imports.
He described energy payments as “blood money”.
Proceeds from the sale of Russian oil and gas amount to around $1bn (£770m) a day, undermining international efforts to put economic pressure on President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
The US has already banned Russian oil imports and the UK plans to phase them out by the end of the year.
But EU countries are more heavily dependent on Russian energy, with Germany currently buying around 25% of its oil and 40% of its gas from Russia.
Mr Lindner told the BBC that his country was working to implement an embargo on Russian energy but that he preferred using sanctions which “hurt [Putin] more than us”.
He said a sudden halt to Russian energy imports could see the physical shutdown of German producers such as manufacturers and carmakers.
Earlier this week, German economic institutes warned that immediately halting Russian imports would spark a sharp recession in Europe’s biggest economy by 2023.
“We are willing to stop all energy imports from Russia, it’s just a matter of time,” said Mr Lindner, who is leader of the liberal Free Democrats, one constituent of Germany’s coalition government.
He insisted that any calculation on Vladimir Putin’s part that Germany would continue to rely on Russian energy was “wrong”.
“In the end, we don’t want to have any further business with Putin,” he said.
However his stance was at odds with statements made by Germany’s foreign minister, Ms Baerbock, who is Green Party co-leader.
Ms Baerbock said Germany would halve Russian oil imports by the summer and eliminate them altogether by the end of the year, to be followed quickly by a reduction in Russian gas imports.
Germany’s finance minister was keen to sound tough on Russia and appears acutely aware of the criticism levelled at his country for dragging its feet over a full energy embargo on the Kremlin.
His basic message was – it is coming, but not quite yet, because it is impossible to enact immediately and would probably lead to shutdowns of large swathes of the German economy.
President Zelensky used a BBC interview last week to demand an immediate embargo on Russia’s lucrative oil trade, accusing those sending euros and dollars to Kremlin-controlled oil giants of “trading in blood”. He singled out Germany alongside Hungary for blocking EU action.
Source:BBC
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) in the Republic of Nigeria is seeking an out-of-court settlement in a suit filed against it by Musa Abdullahi Esq, a legal practitioner and resident of Suleja Local Government, on behalf of other residents over electricity supply in their area.
Counsel for the power distributor, Morayo Yedoni, according to nannews.ng, informed Justice Mariya Ismail of a High Court in Niger State sitting in Suleja, the decision of AEDC shortly after the case was called.
She told the court that her client would like to settle the matter out of court.
The plaintiff urged the court to look at the faces of the people who came to court for the proceedings to understand how the people of Suleja felt about AEDC’s activities.
Consequently, Justice Ismail adjourned the case to May 30, 2022.
It would be recalled that energynewsafrica.com reported that the plaintiff, Abdullahi, had filed a writ on March 4, 2022, demanding an N200 million($480,000)compensation over alleged poor services.
He also prayed the court to give an order, in the alternative, directing a six-month bill-free period for the plaintiff as compensation for all the period of unjustified power interruption.
The plaintiff posed six questions for the defendant to respond to and sought nine reliefs from the court.
Among the reliefs, the plaintiff is seeking is a declaration that the defendant, having failed in their basic duty of provision of power supply safely and reliably, without any tangible justification, the plaintiff is entitled to damages and compensation because the charges/rates are under the guise of bills are imposed by the defendant on the plaintiff which the plaintiff pays.
An order directing the Defendant to pay Plaintiff (1) general damages to the tune of two hundred million Naira only (N200,000,000) for the wrongful, unjustifiable and unwarranted power interruption or refusal of the defendant to supply adequate electricity to the plaintiff which act of the defendant has caused untold hardship on the Plaintiff Or (ii) in an alternative an Order directing six months free bill period for the Plaintiff as compensation for the all the period of unjustified power interruption.
And an Order directing Defendant to always notify Plaintiff of any prolonged power outage exceeding four hours on any of their entire social media platforms be it newspaper or electronic media.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Samples of the bed
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
