The Management of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) has described as misleading and inaccurate reports suggesting that the company has made a loss of Ghs400 million under the current Managing Director of the company, Edwin Nii Obodai Provencal.
Mr Provencal was appointed Managing Director of BOST in 2019 when most of the company’s assets were dysfunctional.
However, through resilient work and dedication, the new MD, with his team, managed to revamp most of the assets and are now working to rake in income for the company.
A couple of projects being undertaken during his tenure include rehabilitation works at the Accra Plain Depot Rehabilitation, Accra Plains Administration project, Repair of the B3P3 pipeline, Tema Akosombo Petroleum Pipeline (TAPP) refurbishment, Tema Akosombo Petroleum Pipeline (TAPP) surveillance system, construction of the Bolgatanga Bulk Road Vehicle Park, Kumasi Depot Rehabilitation works, repair of 12 out of 16 storage tanks at the Accra Plains Depot (APD), Kumasi, Buipe and Bolgatanga, Remedial works on twin 18 and repair of marine assets (barges and tugboats).
The rest are the construction of Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) parking lot at APD, Tema-Kumasi Petroleum Pipeline-FEED, LPG FEED, supply & installation of mass flow meters, pumps and loading arms and maintenance of offloading platform at Kumasi Depot.
Although the company has, since 2016, consistently recorded losses, it was only in 2020 when the state oil stock holding company booked a profit of Gh¢9.844,673 before tax as stated by its audit report.
According to the audit report, BOST recorded a loss of Gh¢533,191,096 in 2016, Gh¢112,196,531 in 2017, Gh¢287,745,944 in 2018 and Gh¢158,478,676 in 2019.
In a statement responding to the awful impression created by the report, the management of BOST noted: “The report of the GH¢400 million losses made by BOST is not accurate. To measure the profitability and operational efficiency of a business, one must determine whether the underlying operations (core business) of the company are profitable.”
It continued that the Managing Director, in his submission at SIGA, was emphatic that the company achieved a profit before tax of GH¢9,844,673 versus an estimated GH¢30 million in 2020 as against a loss of GH¢158,478,676 in 2019.
The positive net profit before tax attained in 2020 implies a massive turnaround of the operational fortunes of the company.
The statement said: “This enhanced performance was driven by extensive operational efficiency initiatives including, but not limited to massive repair works of our storage tanks, pipelines and marine assets, replacement of outmoded parts across the facilities of the company in the last two years supported by improved marketing and customer service. In the past two years, our income-earning assets have improved from 18% to 91%.
“Any comprehensive and objective analysis of the audited statements for the past five years (2016-2020 profit before tax trend) will show a company on track to higher performance through enhanced efficiency and we look forward to capitalizing on these modest improvements to make BOST an example of a world-class state-owned enterprise.
“It remains uncontested that the debt to suppliers and related parties of $623 million has been paid down to $39 million, the debts owed the local banks of about GHS273 million have been fully cleared and our pipelines which were procured in 2011 and left to the mercy of the weather in the United States under the AT&V contract have arrived safely on our shores and we expect to complete the installation of the additional 12-inch pipeline between the Accra Plains and Akosombo depots. The cash flow position of the company is enhanced and the repair of the company’s infrastructure continues despite the reduction in our BOST Margin.
“We reiterate the fact that your company BOST is on its way to becoming a profitable state-owned enterprise and nothing will derail the resolve of management and staff to achieve this.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and power distributor, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have assured the public, particularly those in Accra that the reconstruction of transmission lines from Achimota to Mallam substations will not result in load shedding popularly known in the local parlance as ‘dumsor’.
“Whilst we confirm the reconstruction work on our transmission lines has commenced since
Saturday, April 9, 2022, we wish to assure the public that the ongoing work will not lead to any DUMSOR,” a statement jointly issued by GRIDCo and ECG said.
The statement said Phase 1 of the reconstruction exercise of the transmission line from the Mallam substation to Avenor was undertaken and completed in November 2021 without any significant disturbance to power delivery in Accra and its environs.
It added that Phase 2 of the exercise from the Achimota substation to Avernor would similarly not disrupt power delivery in Accra.
This statement sought to clarify an earlier statement issued by GRIDCo which some media houses misinterpreted to mean that there was going to be load shedding popularly known as ‘dumsor.’
Touching on some efforts made to improve power delivery in Accra, it said as part of measures to improve power delivery in Accra and its environs, GRIDCo and ECG commissioned the Pokuase and Kasoa substations.
“The bulk supply points of Kasoa, Mallam, Accra Central, Pokuase and Achimota substations have enough transformer capacities to meet the desired demand without any load curtailment or load shedding,” the statement noted.
“We wish once again to reassure Ghanaians that GRIDCo and ECG are collaborating effectively to deliver power whilst the reconstruction work goes on.”
OPEC does not have the additional spare capacity to lift crude oil production much more than it is doing today, Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister Timipre Sylva told Anadolu Agency on Friday.
“It is not something that you can open a tap for at this point. You must have the additional capacity, the idle capacity to bring on, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of investment for it to have additional production,” the Nigerian minister told the Turkish news agency in an interview.
Many OPEC producers, including Nigeria, are currently pumping at the peak of their capacities, Sylva noted.
“If there is anything we can do to produce more, OPEC will be the first to produce more.But unfortunately, this capacity doesn’t exist in most OPEC countries,” he told Anadolu Agency.
OPEC is not too happy with very high oil prices because it wants prices at levels that do not hurt the consumers of its crude, but the organization cannot do much more to pump more, the Nigerian minister said.
There is “absolutely” a supply problem in the oil sector right now, Jeff Currie, global head of commodities at Goldman Sachs, told Bloomberg earlier this week.
There are broad-based supply constraints in oil producers, particularly non-core OPEC, Currie said. Every producer except for Saudi Arabia and the UAE is producing less today than they were in 2020, he added. Throw in the Russian shock, and the supply constraints are the most severe in decades, since the 1970s, according to Currie.
In February, the OPEC+ group continued to severely underperform in its oil production levels compared to the target in the pact, with February output at more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) below the collective quota and compliance rate jumping to 136 percent, Reuters reported last month.
In March, OPEC’s second-largest producer, Iraq, produced just 4.15 million bpd of crude oil, well below its quota under the OPEC+ agreement, according to data from Iraqi state oil marketing firm SOMO seen by Reuters.
Oil production in OPEC’s key partner in the OPEC+ deal, Russia, has also shown signs of a decline in recent weeks.
Source: Oilprice.com
Parts of Ghana’s capital, Accra will be experiencing power outage for a period of eighty-two (82) days beginning today, Saturday, April 9, 2022.
The rational is to afford the West African nation’s power transmission company, GRIDCo to re-construct transmission lines from Achimota substation through Avenor to the Mallam substation.
In a statement issued Friday night, it said the work involves taking out service, two 161kV transmission lines (i.e. Achimota – Accra Central and Achimota – Mallam) from Saturday April 9, 2022, to Thursday, June 30, 2022.
According to the company, the exercise will result in power outages in parts of Accra, especially areas served by the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) distribution systems crossing these transmission lines (between the Achimota Substation at Dzorwulu and Avenor in Accra) during the day, for the stated period.
“The outage is to enable GRIDCo to upgrade the transmission capacity on each Line. This important exercise is to meet the growing demand for electricity in Accra and its environs.
“GRIDCo apologises for any inconvenience caused during the period,” the statement concluded.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria’s National Electricity Grid has collapsed again for the third successive time. The situation has plunged the West African giant into total darkness which is partly affecting businesses and industries.
The latest collapse, the third in less than a month, came despite assurances by the Federal Government of taken steps to deal with the situation head on.
However, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) which manages the grid had last month stated that, it had developed an alternative ways of managing the grid.
A statement by TCN sighted by energynewsafrica.com, said, its “in-house engineers have deployed a stop-gap solution to improve grid monitoring and acquisition of data from remote stations (power stations and transmission substations) to the National Control Centre. This, according to them was achieved by utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) solution and Virtual Private Network (VPN) by using various Internet Service Providers (ISP).
“This temporary use of the Network Automation System was deployed to assist TCN in conveying critical operational measurements data from remote stations to NCC using Web Technology, which is an integral component of the IoT. So far, the data received from remote stations has enabled NCC to obtain more insight into the situation of the power flow on the grid and has enabled NCC to make decisions that have impacted positively on the security and integrity of the Grid.
“The stop-gap solution became necessary as TCN could not access and receive comprehensive operational data of the entire power grid for managing the fast-growing system. The existing inadequate SCADA System cannot provide adequate grid visibility, as parts of the existing SCADA system are moribund and damaged, coupled with an ineffective telecommunication network infrastructure.’’
In a public notice sent to customers by Eko Electricity Distribution Company sighted by energynewsafrica.com, it said: “We regret to inform you that the current outage affecting our entire network is due to system. TCN team is working to resolve it as soon as possible. Sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused. Please bear with us.’’
Many Nigerians have however, resorted to social media to register their displeasure about the seeming unending power crisis in the country.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Tullow Oil Plc’s plan to take over the operations of the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah (KNK) being used in Ghana’s oilfield from oil services provider MODEC and self operate it has been questioned by a former Minister for Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah.
The African focused independent oil and gas firm said in its 2021 Full Year results that it would, in the middle of 2022, take over the operations of FPSO Kwame Nkrumah from MODEC.
This decision, according to Mr Amarh Buah, should be of concern to Ghanaians since it is likely to destroy the local Ghanaian businesses in the upstream petroleum sector.
“We face a real risk of losing millions if the government fails to address the issues raised.Remember, we are stuck with just three producing Fields with dwindling reserves in a very tough economic time,” the former Minister said in a statement issued and copied to energynewsafrica.com.
He questioned whether Tullow can operate FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.
“How is Tullow’s maintenance record?” he quizzed again.
According to him, “We know of Tullow’s poor maintenance record as evidenced by the FPSO KNK turret.
“The Turret remediation project cost Ghana over 1 Billion USD in the form of cost of oil production,” he claimed.
He further questioned Tullow’s real motive for jobs and local content and participation.
“What will be the impact of this decision on indigenous Ghanaian companies, especially on contracts they already have with the current operator, MODEC? With this short timeline to take over, what are the transitional arrangements made with MODEC?”
Meanwhile, Tullow Oil Plc is yet to comment on the issue raised by the former Minister when energynewsafrica.com reached the Communication team on the telephone.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has assured tanker drivers in the country of his resolve to address their welfare issues.
He noted that the drivers play an essential role in the petroleum downstream sector and thus going to roll out initiatives to benefit them.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid gave the assurance when members of the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union paid a courtesy call on him at the NPA head office in Accra.
In a Facebook post sighted by energynewsafrica.com, it said the purpose of the visit was to outline their challenges as tanker drivers and to also commend him for immediately addressing some of their challenges barely a year after taking office.
The tanker drivers, in recent times, have been protesting over poor working conditions despite working in a hazardous industry.
The poor working conditions and some other issues compelled the gas tanker drivers within the union to suspend their services but the swift response by Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid made them suspend their industrial action.
Dr. Hamid assured them that he was going to quickly work together with his team to resolve other outstanding challenges tabled during the meeting.
The Union led by George T. Nyaunu commended the Chief Executive for his sterling leadership and assured the Authority of their readiness to collaborate whenever they were called upon.
George T. Nyaunu, Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker DriversPerry Curtis Kwabla Okudzeto, Deputy CEO of NPASource: energynewsafrica.com
Kenya’s electricity company, Kenya Power, has made a startling revelation that criminals in the Eastern African nation have been vandalising its electric transformers and extracting the fluid in them and selling it to restaurants and roadside stalls as cooking oil for food preparation.
This criminal activity has been making the company lose millions of dollars.
The increase in vandalism of transformers in Kenya has been linked to the rising cost of cooking oil, which has forced some businesses to turn to unorthodox methods to try and keep afloat.
Health experts warn that transformer oil, which looks like cooking oil, is unsafe for human consumption and poses serious health risks.
A statement issued by Kenya Power noted that there has been a sharp increase in vandalism in central Kenya, where nearly 20 transformers were either destroyed or interfered with.
Harrison Kamau, the company’s business manager in Murang’a County, cited an incident where a vandal “was electrocuted on top of a transformer while attempting to remove/return fuses.
“He is currently admitted to the Thika General Hospital with life-threatening injuries,” the Kenya Power official said.
Of chips mwitu and the likes…stay woke!
Transformer oil contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which pose a major health risk to consumers.
— The Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc. (@KenyaPower) March 31, 2022
At least, 22 people have recently been arrested and their cases are currently in court.
Kenya Power has now started a nationwide awareness campaign about the dangers of vandalising the grid, and this comes as the company struggles with constant power blackouts.
In January, a national blackout seen as the worst in years was blamed on the vandalism of steel pylons for scrap metal, which led to the collapse of the power grid.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Ghana is expected to review its electricity and water tariffs in July this year.
The last time the West African nation reviewed its utility tariff was in July 2019 when electricity saw an 11.7 per cent upward review.
This was after electricity cost was reduced by 17.5 per cent for residential consumers, while non-residential consumers enjoyed 30 per cent reduction.
Special load tariff customers (those who use more power, such as industries) also enjoyed a 25 per cent tariff reduction, while the mines had a 10 per cent reduction.
Speaking to journalists in the Western Region of Ghana, the Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), a regulator of utilities, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, said the Commission is currently reviewing all the proposals received from the utilities and would arrive at a decision and follow it with an announcement in July.
According to him, the announcement would depend on the Ghana Utility Performance Index satisfaction which the PURC would publish this year.
“This year is a major tariff review year. Before we start, we develop guidelines, and in these guidelines, we go around to engage utilities, consumers and other groups after which we ask utilities to submit proposals. These proposals have been submitted. In coming out with the tariff, we look at the proposals; we look at microeconomic indicators, exchange rates and others. We look at customer services, which is how utilities over the period have also responded to customer concerns.
“Let me add that this year, PURC is going to start publishing what we call the Ghana Utility Performance Index looking at the regional performance based on customer satisfaction and the number of indicators. So, we look at all these things before we come out with the tariff. Where we are now is that all utilities have submitted their proposals to PURC. We have started doing the initial analysis, and as we speak, it will be very difficult to tell you whether it will go up or come down, but we hope to announce the tariff in July,’’ he said.
Dr. Ackah said the Commission would engage all consumers, the media and civil society before coming out with the new tariff.
He, however, said he did not foresee much impact on the tariffs from the increment in the prices of petroleum products.
“When we look at the generation mix, we have the hydro and we have thermal plants, but most of them use natural gas. I think we have only one plant using petrol now, and then, we have the solar system contributing about one per cent. So if there are any changes in gas price, then, it is going to affect the tariff because we have only one plant using petrol…yes, petrol can have some effect, but it is just one plant, so it may not be as much as gas if there are changes in gas price,“ he added.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Ministry of Energy has rejected claims by the former Minister for Power under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress administration that the country risks returning to the days of prolonged power crisis over the lack of significant power generation under the current administration.
At a press conference earlier this week, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, the first Minister for Power when the John Mahama administration carved it from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, observed that there has not been significant power generation under the Akufo-Addo administration, warning that the situation could be dire for the country.
He said on February 15, 2022, Ghana’s peak power demand was 3,343 Megawatts, saying on that day, the available power was 3,527 Megawatts.
“We had a surplus of only 180 Megawatts. So, we were dangerously close to matching peak demand with total available supply,” he explained.
The former Minister, also a legislator for East Pru, who expressed his fears about the danger ahead, said: “I happen to have been the Minister in charge of Power when this country went through a very tremendous period in terms of power supply. Today, we are gradually creeping into a situation that if I don’t draw the nation’s attention, I would not have been doing my diligent duty to the people of Ghana.”
However, reacting to his comments in a statement, the Ministry of Energy described the claim as unfounded.
“In line with our projected demand and the prudent management of the energy sector, the Ministry of Energy is confident that there is no way that the country will go back to the dark days of ‘dumsor’,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry explained that the pervasive ‘dumsor’ (load shedding) which plagued the country in the past was never about generational capacity but rather, poor hydrology due to over drafting of hydro dams, inadequate fuel supply to thermal plants and financial challenges.
Addressing the issue of poor hydrology, the Ministry said there is currently prudent management of hydro resources which includes the hybridization of Ghana’s hydro dams.
The 250MW Bui Solar project of which 50MW has been commissioned and operationalized, with the next phases ongoing, is to curb the challenge of over-drafting of the Bui Dam.
The Ministry also added in its statement that, under this government, gas flow is no longer uni-directional.
“The Takoradi-Tema Interconnection Project (TTIP) is ensuring the reverse flow of indigenous natural gas from the West to the East to power our turbines. What this means is that we no longer have the phenomenon of stranded gas in the west of the country.
“Again, the Tema LNG project, when completed soon, will allow the importation of LNG to support generation. The total generation capacity added by this government is, therefore, 421MW. This brings Ghana’s total installed capacity to 5358.50MW, against the backdrop of current peak demand of 3,469MW which was recorded on March 18, 2022,” it added.
“We wish to urge Dr. Donkor to first seek the correct information on similar issues from the ministry in future before going public with pronouncements that are not only incorrect but also tend to mislead the public and cause unnecessary concerns. This is particularly because he is a former Minister for Power and his pronouncements, therefore, carry some weight,” the statement said.
“We urge Ghanaians to rest assured that the Ministry of Energy, under the leadership of Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, remains committed to solving challenges in the generation, transmission, and distribution system of the energy sector.”
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Oil giant Shell has confirmed it will take a hit of up to $5bn (£3.8bn) from offloading its Russian assets as part of plans to withdraw from the country.
The firm has pledged to no longer buy oil, but contracts signed before the invasion of Ukraine will be fulfilled.
The costs of Shell no longer doing business in Russia include quitting joint ventures with Gazprom.
Shell was criticised when it bought Russian crude oil at a cheap price shortly after the war began.
In response to the outrage, the company apologised and pledged to stop buying oil from Russia.
The company said it would cost between $4bn and $5bn to cut ties with the country.
“Shell has not renewed longer-term contracts for Russian oil, and will only do so under explicit government direction, but we are legally obliged to take delivery of crude bought under contracts that were signed before the invasion,” the company said.
The oil firm added that the state of the global oil markets remained “volatile”.
Brent Crude – the global benchmark for oil prices – was trading at about $100 a barrel early on Thursday, but its price has risen to record levels since the war in the Ukraine.
The rise in oil prices is due to Russia being one of the world’s largest exporters of the commodity and fears of supplies being disrupted because of the conflict.
Though the UK gets very little of its oil from Russia, it has been affected by the global rise in prices, which has seen petrol and diesel prices hit record levels.
As part of Shell’s withdrawal plans, the company said previously it would offload a 27.5% stake in a Russian liquefied natural gas facility, a 50% stake in an oilfield project in Siberia and an energy joint venture.
It will also end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany, which has been put on hold by ministers in Berlin.
Up to eight more nuclear reactors could be approved on existing sites as part of the UK’s new energy strategy.
The strategy, which aims to boost UK energy independence and tackle rising prices, also includes plans to increase wind, hydrogen and solar production.
But experts have called for a bigger focus on energy efficiency and improving home insulation.
Consumers are facing soaring energy bills after the Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed gas prices even higher. Under the government’s new plans, up to 95% of the UK’s electricity could come from low-carbon sources by 2030.
It outlines, for example, the hope of producing up to 50 gigawatts (GW) of energy through offshore wind farms, which the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) said would be more than enough to power every home in the UK.
The government’s energy strategy has been much-delayed, with one of the big points of contention reported to have been the construction of onshore wind turbines.
Key points of the new energy strategy
Nuclear – The government plans to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas by building as many as eight new nuclear reactors, including two at Sizewell in Suffolk. A new body will oversee the delivery of the new plants.
Wind – The government aims to reform planning laws to speed up approvals for new offshore wind farms. For onshore wind farms it wants to develop partnerships with “supportive communities” who want to host turbines in exchange for guaranteed cheaper energy bills.
Hydrogen – Targets for hydrogen production are being doubled to help provide cleaner energy for industry as well as for power, transport and potentially heating.
Solar – The government will consider reforming rules for installing solar panels on homes and commercial buildings to help increase the current solar capacity by up to five times by 2035.
Oil and gas – A new licensing round for North Sea projects is being launched in the summer on the basis that producing gas in the UK has a lower carbon footprint than doing so abroad.
Heat pumps – There will be a £30m “heat pump investment accelerator competition” to make British heat pumps which reduce demand for gas.
Environmentalists and many energy experts have reacted with disbelief and anger at some of the measures in the strategy.
They cannot believe the government has offered no new policies on saving energy by insulating buildings.
They say energy efficiency would immediately lower bills and emissions, and is the cheapest way to improve energy security.
A Downing Street source said the strategy was now being seen as an energy supply strategy.
Campaigners are also furious that ministers have committed to seeking more oil and gas in the North Sea, even though humans have already found enough fossil fuels to wreck the climate.
Nuclear Plans
The new strategy says the government wants to “lead the world once again” in nuclear power, reversing what it describes as “decades of underinvestment”.
The government announced that a new body called Great British Nuclear will be launched to bolster the UK’s nuclear capacity, with the hope that by 2050 up to 24 GW of electricity will come from that source – 25% of the projected electricity demand.
The focus on nuclear could deliver up to eight new reactors to be built on existing sites.
The government hopes to have a new reactor approved each year until 2030 with the aim to have them up and running by 2050.
Source: BBC
It would be fair to say that when it comes to Africa’s energy industry, Africa and Europe have been at odds for the last several years.
Europe, which has valid concerns about protecting the climate and moving the world toward net-zero emissions goals, has been urging African oil- and gas-producing states not only to accelerate their transition to green energy sources, but also to send it into overdrive. The general sentiment in the European Union (EU) is that the time for new oil and gas projects in Africa has passed.
African Oil and Gas Producers and the African Energy Chamber (AEC) have been outspoken in our objection to European environmental groups, leaders, and financial institutions interfering in our energy industry, particularly when it discourages funding for new African petroleum projects. We even called for a boycott last July of European firms that cut off African oil and gas investments.
As you might expect, African countries have been equally frustrated with the EU’s interference. They are less than keen about turning their backs on the benefits their fossil fuel resources have to offer, particularly natural gas. When you consider that natural gas can ease the continent’s widespread energy poverty, help provide reliable electricity for nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa without reliable electricity, and be monetized to create the funds Africa will need for a successful energy transition, it’s easy to see why.
Nevertheless, the EU has been relentless in its push to halt Africa’s natural gas production. Until recently, that is.
A seismic shift began late last summer when Europe was faced with rising commodity prices and low natural gas supplies. Output from renewables wasn’t able to fill the gap, making coal use a necessary evil to meet their needs. European leaders started recognizing that the increased use of natural gas, which emits the least carbon dioxide of all fossil fuels, was their best strategy for sustainably protecting Europe’s energy security in the short term. By early 2022, the EU declared that natural gas (along with nuclear power) can be considered green energy — as long as it emits less than 270 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour.
Perspectives evolved further after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Currently, the European Union relies on Russia for 45% of its imported gas, which totaled about 155 billion cubic meters last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates. But earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would release proposals for phasing out its dependency on Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
Today, the world is starting to recognize the critical role Africa’s vast natural gas resources could play in meeting Europe’s needs. The EU is also eying Africa’s potential for the production of green hydrogen, that is, hydrogen produced with renewable energy sources. Countries like Germany have already determined that they cannot produce the large quantities of green hydrogen they’ll need to achieve their zero-emissions goals on their own. As a result, they’ve started setting the stage for successful import agreements with African producers by investing in infrastructure and African capacity-building programs. I was in Berlin Last week when Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo and German Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck, signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on cooperation in the field of green hydrogen during the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue. Namibia has a Green Hydrogen project that has advanced a lot thanks to the work of James Mnyupe, Namibia’s presidential economic adviser and hydrogen commissioner and his team but more work is needed. Frankfurt based, Emerging Energy Corporation has signed an agreement with the government of Niger to work on Green Hydrogen and also reduce carbon emissions in the oil fields and at the same time seek ways to get gas and hydrogen through pipelines into Europe.
Clearly, Africa has an important role to play in meeting European energy needs today and tomorrow. The question is, can European leaders and organizations let go of the dynamics that have dictated their dealings with Africa in the past — actions that prioritized climate objectives above Africa’s most pressing needs — and begin embracing the many benefits natural gas has to offer both continents?
Can we forge an alliance of mutual respect and cooperation, a “Green Gas Deal” of cooperation so to speak? I believe we can, and we must.
If we do, if European governments and businesses start ramping up their investments in African natural gas projects, they’ll accelerate the infrastructure development necessary for African countries to start exporting more gas and hydrogen to Europe, freeing countries there from reliance on Russia.
What’s more, European investments in Africa will open the doors to more gas-to-power projects with the potential to ease African energy poverty. The investments will open the door to industrial projects that use gas as a feedstock, such as chemical and fertilizer plants, that will diversify African economies. And they’ll foster the revenue generation that African countries will need to grow their energy mix and set the stage for a successful energy transition.
Now Is the Time to Invest in Africa
Besides, investing in African gas is a sound business move.
For one thing, the African Energy Chamber’s efforts to foster a positive investment environment in Africa have already been productive. African governments like Nigeria, Uganda, and Namibia have been working to create business-friendly policies, from fair local content policies to improved fiscal regimes that enhance international oil companies’ (IOCs’) ability to operate profitably within their borders.
This October, the AEC plans to highlight Africa’s downstream, midstream, and upstream oil and gas opportunities with our Africa Energy Week (https://bit.ly/3K84PlT), which will take place in Cape Town Oct. 18-21. It’s important to remember that Africa remains under-explored and still has vast stores of oil and gas. During the last year alone, there have been major discoveries in South Africa, Namibia, Gabon, and off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire, to name a few.
Not only do solid investment opportunities for Europe exist in exploration and production, but also in gas infrastructure. European governments, businesses, and organizations can facilitate African natural gas imports to their countries by investing in African gas infrastructure including pipelines, LNG export terminals, and maritime logistics operations. We hope to see businesses join forces, along with the creation of public-private partnerships, to drive these infrastructure projects forward.
Promising Steps
When it comes to a new era of energy cooperation, Europe and Africa are already moving in the right direction.
For example, I’m extremely encouraged by the commitment of Frans Timmermans, executive vice president of the European Commission, to participate in the AEC’s 2022 African Energy Week (AEW) (https://bit.ly/37eKnAV) in Cape Town this October. Timmermans will take part in investor forums, panel discussions, and meetings with African energy ministers, Presidents, Team Energy Africa and Oil and Gas industry stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the African Energy Chamber has met with the European Commission in Brussels and spoken to German leaders in Berlin about the role African hydrogen can play in Europe’s energy transition with great thanks and credit to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and particularly Anja Beretta, the Director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program for convincing us to be on the table and speak up our views. She never tried to muscle us and it was respectful.
I only hope this pattern of open, respectful communication continues.
To build on this moment, we will need strong leadership. As I’ve said more than once,
Africa and the EU need to think about our energy relationship not in terms of a binary choice between oil, natural gas, and coal production and climate change mitigation but rather in the context of energy security and a just energy transition. Rising energy prices and the conflicts underscore the urgency to do both.
That said, after my conversations with EU officials, I believe both Africa and Europe can rise to the challenge.
Africa can help Europe ease its dependence on Russian natural gas and produce the hydrogen it will need to meet its net-zero ambitions. And at the same time, Europe can support Africa’s goals for a just energy transition on our own timeline, one that allows us to use our oil and gas resources to build renewable energy infrastructure, skills, and technologies. One that will not negate our efforts to alleviate energy poverty.
We can, as allies, create the energy futures we both need and want. Now let’s change our mindset and get to work.
Source: NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber
Trina Solar, the leading global PV and smart energy total solutions provider, has announced that its 210×210mm i-TOPCon cell has achieved maximum efficiency of 25.5%, setting a world record for the 23rd time.
The result was certified by the National Institute of Metrology of China, the preeminent metrology scientific research center and national legal metrology technical institution.
At the company’s State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology, Trina Solar researchers solved technical problems related to selective boron emitter, large-area tunneling silicon oxide and doped polysilicon preparation, and high-efficiency hydrogen passivation. By using mass production cell equipment, they brought the maximum efficiency of large 210mm N-type monocrystalline cells to 25.5%. This new efficiency, the result of the company’s continuing innovation and research efforts, demonstrates once again Trina Solar’s prowess in cell 210×210mm i-TOPCon cell technology.
Commenting Dr Chen Yifeng, head of the company’s high efficiency cell and module R&D center, said: “We are extremely proud of these latest achievements. Trina Solar is thoroughly committed to cutting-edge research and development and has been a pioneer in technological production and manufacturing, helping it to maintain its leading position with its efficient products.”
The achievements have been vital as the company has pressed on with its 210mm N-type i-TOPCon high efficiency cell project and paves the way for follow-up development in the high-end market.
Trina Solar’s achievements have been widely welcomed in the industry, including by authorities and renowned institutions. In February Trina Solar was named by Reuters Events as one of the top 100 innovators in Global Energy Transition 2022. The company was the only listed company in China in the list and among only a few others in the Asia and Pacific region to figure on it.
Over the years Trina Solar has applied for 2,200 patents, making it an industry leader in this respect. It has played a key role in 107 industry standards and published 96 standards, making a tremendous contribution to advances in the photovoltaic technology.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: energynewsafrica.com
