Multiple oil transport and storage companies across Europe are dealing with cyber-attacks.
IT systems have been disrupted at Oiltanking in Germany, SEA-Invest in Belgium and Evos in the Netherlands.
In total dozens of terminals with oil storage and transport around the world have been affected, with firms reporting that the attacks occurred over the weekend.
But experts caution against assuming this is a co-ordinated attack.
The BBC understands that all three companies’ IT systems went down or were severely disrupted.
Belgian prosecutors say they are investigating the cyber-attack that’s affected SEA-Invest terminals including the company’s largest in Antwerp, called SEA-Tank.
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A spokeswoman for the company said they were hit on Sunday with every port they run in Europe and Africa affected.
The company is working to get a back-up IT system online but says that most liquid
transportation is operational.
The spokeswoman said SEA-Invest is aware of the cyber-attacks against other companies but investigations have not determined if there is a link.
A spokesperson for Evos in the Netherlands told the BBC that IT services at terminals in Terneuzen, Ghent and Malta have “caused some delays in execution”.
On Monday Oiltanking Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, which stores and transports oil, vehicle fuels and other petroleum products, said it had been hacked.
The company was forced to operate at a “limited capacity” and was investigating the incident, it said.
Some reports suggest the attack on Oiltanking is ransomware, where hackers scramble data and make computer systems inoperable until they get paid a ransom.
In May last year a ransomware attack on US oil supplier Colonial Pipeline saw supplies tighten across the US and multiple states declaring an emergency.
The Colonial Pipeline in the US was hacked in May 2021
An employee of a major barging company in the Netherlands told the BBC that port supply chains were disrupted.
The worker said they first noticed problems on Tuesday when oil deliveries started slowing down. He said “things are moving but much slower than normal”.
The disruption comes as tensions remain high between Ukraine and Russia and as concern over rising energy prices grows.
But cyber-security experts caution against jumping to the conclusion that the multiple incidents are the result of a co-ordinated effort to disrupt the European energy sector.
“Some types of malware scoop up emails and contact lists and use them to automatically spam malicious attachments or links, so companies with shared connections can sometimes be hit in quick succession,” said Brett Callow, Threat Analyst at cyber-security company Emsisoft.
“This is why you sometimes see sector-based or geographic-based clusters of incidents.”
Another possible explanation could be that all the companies use the same software for operations that may have been compromised by hackers.
Source: BBC
The Federal Government of Nigeria has rescinded its decision to withdraw fuel subsidies, consequently, budgeting 3trillion Naira (US$7.22 billion) as fuel subsidy in the 2022 Budget following pressure from the citizens.
The government announced last year that it would withdraw fuel subsidies in 2022, thus sparking controversy among industry players and consumers.
However, the Buhari administration backtracked after remonstrations from Nigerians.
Speaking at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting last week, Nigeria’s Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has presented the N3 trillion bill to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) as what is required for the whole of this year to extend the payment of petroleum subsidy.
She explained that realities on the ground, including the present hardship faced by Nigerians and the lack of structures to support subsidy removal, resulted in the NNPC making a request of N3 trillion from the Ministry of Finance for 2022.
“What this means is that we have to make incremental provision of N2.557 trillion to be able to meet subsidy requirement which is averaging about N270 billion per month,” she said.
She said the request was considered by FEC, which directed the ministry to approach the National Assembly for an amendment to the fiscal framework as well as the budget.
Last Wednesday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, met with the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) over the N3 trillion subsidy payment.
Workers of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in the Republic of Ghana are seething with anger after a list of seven persons said to have been appointed as new Board Members of the refinery emerged on social media and published on several online portals including this portal.
The West African nation’s premier refinery was messed up by successive leadership with the refinery currently saddled with huge indebtedness to a host of both state and private institutions.
The refinery is currently being managed by a three-member Interim Management Committee (IMC) chaired by Ing Norbert Anku.
It was constituted after the Managing Director, Francis Boateng, and his deputy, Ato Morrison, were dismissed last year.
Since the IMC assumed the post, the workers say they have demonstrated capacity to turn the refinery around if they are given the necessary support from the government.
In a petition intercepted by energynewasfrica.com, the workers argued that “since they (IMC) were appointed, TOR’s operations are gradually gaining its glory with our partners because strategic measures have been put in place to fix the plant.
“When the workers heard of the appointment of the new board, staff of TOR are in dilemma and the question they are asking is why can’t the President allow the IMC to roll out their strategic policies before any appointment is affected?” it said.
The workers said, “We are pleading that Mr President, for once, let this IMC stay a little more to ensure that what they plan of implementing to salvage the refinery is achieved.
Mr President, this plea from the workers of TOR has never happened before. This shows that the workers are extremely happy with what the IMC is implementing.”
The workers expressed fear that if the IMC is kicked out, the new board and the incoming Managing Director may erode the gains achieved.
The workers appealed to the President to consider IMC members for appointment in the refinery.
Meanwhile, energynewafrica.com understands that the Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, is expected to meet the leadership of the TOR workers’ Union on Thursday at the Ministry.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund has approved a $27.39 million grant to Ghana for the development of renewable energy investments in the mini grid and net metering space.
The project involves the development of 35 mini grids, standalone solar photovoltaic systems in 400 schools, 200 units in healthcare centers and 100 units for community energy services centers in the Volta region.
It will also deploy up to 12,000 units of roof-mounted net-metered solar photovoltaic systems for public institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and selected households.
The project has leveraged co-financing from the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program, a funding window of the Climate Investment Funds, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, amounting to $28.49 million and $13.30 million, respectively.
The Ghana Mini Grid and Solar Photovoltaic Net Metering is expected to have an annual electricity output of renewable energy estimated at 111,361MWh, corresponding to an installed capacity of 67.5MW.
The project will mitigate greenhouse emissions of 0.7795 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year and create up to 2,865 jobs during construction, of which 30% will target women and youth.
Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, the African Development Bank Group’s Director General for West Africa, said: “The Bank Group’s support is aligned to Ghana’s development priorities that aim to promote and develop the country’s rich renewable energy resources for sustainable economic growth, improved social life and reduced adverse climate change effects. In addition, the post Covid-19 era has highlighted the importance of reliable energy services.”
Eyerusalem Fasika, the African Development Bank’s Country Manager for Ghana, said: “The project will support Ghana’s Covid-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support (Ghana CARES) program, which identifies the energy sector as an enabler of economic transformation. It has the potential to create jobs, fundamentally expand access to businesses and bring prosperity to Ghanaians.”
Daniel Schroth, Acting Director of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department, noted that the West African nation of Ghana has one of the highest electrification rates in Africa.
”The approval of the grant facility reflects a strong commitment of the African Development Bank to support Ghana’s objective to achieve universal access to electricity and its 10% renewable energy target by 2030,” he said. “This project is a good example of the Bank Group’s ability to leverage financing from climate investment funds and donor partners by supporting electrification of Ghana’s remaining 15% located in the island communities.”
The African Development Fund is the Bank Group’s concessional funding arm. The African Development Bank has been an implementing entity of the Climate Investment Funds since 2010.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Tema Regional branch of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has invested a total of ¢3.26 million on seven major system improvement works from July to December 2021.
The system improvement projects in the region, forms part of a grand corporate plan of ensuring reliable power supply and delivery of safe and quality electricity services to customers.
The projects, each of which costs above ¢200,000 include system injections and replacement of obsolete equipment.
In a statement, the General Manager for the Region, Ing. Emmanuel Akinie, said: “ECG is continuously working diligently towards its mandate and that such system improvement works are needed to ensure the integrity of the system, and to extend supply to new customers”.
Giving a breakdown, he said out of the seven major projects, three of them covered the replacement of cables within the Tema Metropolis at a cost of ¢2,364,801.12, while the rest of the funding was allocated to system injections because there was the need to add more transformers to the power system or network in order to improve the quality of supply.
He added that “these injections become necessary as the customer population grows and existing transformers become overburdened. If such injections are not done timely, the existing transformers serving customers could either get damaged or the customer end voltage will be substandard”.
Ing. Emmanuel Akinie, General Manager for Tema Regional ECG
Ing. Akinie indicated that ECG needs to undertake such works in order to keep the power on for customers as much as possible.
He therefore used the opportunity to urge customers to pay their bills promptly, so that the company could generate the needed revenue to improve the system and delight customers in several ways.
For those engaged in power theft, he stated that, “we constantly monitor the consumption of our meters both at the offices and on the field. There are sanctions in place so if anyone does not want to be found on the wrong side of the law, they should endeavor to do the right thing and stop the illegal connection”.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Ugandan government and its oil and gas partners have announced their final decision to proceed with the development of the country’s oil and gas projects after years of setback that threatened the East African nation’s efforts to become oil exporter.
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and the French energy conglomerate, TotalEnergies, say the investment in Uganda will be more than US$10billion.
The President of Uganda, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, witnessed the announcement of the final investment decision (FID) for the oil and gas projects.
The ceremony, which took place at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, was also attended by Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
The announcement of FID comes after the signing of key agreements including the Shareholders Holders Agreement (SHA), Tariff & Transportation Agreement (TTA) and Host Government Agreements (HGA) for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), and subsequent launch of the projects in April 2021.
In a statement, Dr Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, remarked that “This officially marks the beginning of the detailed Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) phase by the Joint Venture Partners and, therefore, a commitment to see first oil by 2025, a journey that started in 2006. It is during this phase that we expect Ugandans to accrue significant benefits and opportunities from the sector through local content.”
Dr Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda.
The FID announcement signifies the commitment of the oil companies to invest close to US$10 billion to develop Uganda’s oil and gas resources through the implementation of the Tilenga Project in Buliisa and Nwoya districts; the Kingfisher Project in Hoima and Kikuube Districts (approximately US$6-8bn); and, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) that will cross the ten (10) districts of Hoima, Kikuube, Kakumiro, Kyankwanzi, Gomba, Mubende, Lwengo, Sembabule, Kyotera and Rakai in Uganda.
This is in addition to the government’s consistent efforts in improving infrastructure required to support the oil and gas developments by constructing the Hoima International Airport (approx. US$800m) with works currently at close to 70 per cent completion of the first phase and 700 kilometres of oil roads (approx. US$900m).
According to Mr Ernest N.T. Rubondo, Executive Director, Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), contracts worth US$ 6 billion for over 40 work packages for the Tilenga, Kingfisher and EACOP projects have been submitted by the licencees to the PAU for approval before award.
“The scope of companies being regulated by the Authority is increasing significantly to include world-class contractors who are setting up base in Uganda, implying an increase in investment in the country, and opportunities for local entrepreneurs and high-level employment of skilled Ugandans. Ugandans should therefore continue preparing for the direct and indirect opportunities that are now becoming visible,” he said.
The Third National Development Plan (NDP III) lists oil and gas as one of the sectors to propel Uganda from a predominantly low-income to a competitive upper-middle-income the country through revenue generation, infrastructure development and job creation. The announcement of FID is, therefore, in line with the country’s Sustainable Development of Petroleum Resources Programme under NDP III, whose goal is to attain equitable value from the petroleum resources and spur economic development in a timely and sustainable manner.
“FID is one of the important steps in Uganda’s journey to First Oil as it signifies that Uganda’s oil and gas sector remains profitable, even amidst the challenges related to the volatile crude oil prices and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. FID, therefore, unlocks the single highest value project in the country, that will bring in an investment of close to $15bn in the next three years within Uganda,” Irene Batebe, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said.
“Today is a historic day for TotalEnergies EP Uganda. This Final Investment Decision materializes after more than 6 years of intense effort from all our teams in close coordination with the Government of Uganda. It is a moment of great satisfaction and the excitement which also comes with the responsibility to deliver, together with our partners these projects on time and in compliance with the highest standards, while ensuring sustainable value retention in the economy through promotion of national content. The journey ahead of us is still long but we are, more than ever, fully committed to making it a great success for all, working together with our stakeholders,” Mr Philippe Groueix, General Manager TotalEnergies EP Uganda, said.
“Achieving FID for the Kingfisher Project is a great milestone to advance the development of the oil and gas resource in Uganda. The diligence, leadership and support with key stakeholders have largely contributed to the attainment of this breakthrough” stated Mr Chen. Zhuobiao, President, CNOOC Uganda Limited.
Mr Chen. Zhuobiao, President, CNOOC Uganda Limited
“We are extremely delighted today that as a country we have reached this stage. With the reaching of FID, UNOC will now fully represent the Government of Uganda as the commercial arm in Uganda’s oil and gas sector in the journey towards first oil” Ms Proscovia Nabbanja, Chief Executive Officer UNOC.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
At least 26 people have died after they were electrocuted by a falling power cable at a market in the Democratic Republic of Congo, police say.
The high-voltage cable snapped and fell onto houses and people shopping near the capital Kinshasa on Wednesday.
Unverified footage posted to social media appeared to show the aftermath of the incident, with several motionless bodies in puddles of water.
It is not yet clear what caused the power cable to break.
Police said the collapse happened at the Matadi-Kibala district on the outskirts of Kinshasa and that a number of people died on the spot.
“The cable snapped and the live end of it fell into a ditch that was filled with water after morning rain,” Charles Mbutamuntu, spokesman for the Kinshasa provincial government, told AFP news agency.
Local media report that the majority of the victims are female market traders.
Source: BBC
Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo has instituted a seven-member board for the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), the West African nation’s premier refinery.
The refinery has been without a substantive Managing Director and board of directors for several months now.
In October last year, the refinery became the subject of public discourse when 14 top management executives were interdicted for their alleged involvement in product losses which made the refinery heavily indebted to its businesses partners.
TOR is currently being managed by a three-member Interim Management Committee (IMC) which was constituted by the country’s Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, after dismissing the Managing Director, Francis Boateng and his deputy, Ato Morrison.
In a letter signed by Secretary to the President and copied to the Energy Minister, it mentioned the seven-member board as Hon. Dr. Prince Hamidu Armah, Nana Akua Bokuma Prempeh, Professor Albert Ahenkan, Mrs Edith Sapara-Grant, Kamal-Deen Abdulai, Mr Lean Kendon Apenteng and Madam Irene Osei Bonsu.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Uganda will on Tuesday February 1,2022 announce the Final Investment Decision for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), Tilenga and the Kingfisher project.
The EACOP is a 1,443km crude oil export pipeline that will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Kabaale – Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsula near Tanga port in Tanzania.
The heated crude oil pipeline, the longest of its kind in the world, is estimated at $3.5 billion.
Upon completion, it will make Uganda join the ranks of oil producing countries.
The pipeline works will be undertaken by Total E&P, CNOOC, Crude Oil Pipeline together with the two governments of Uganda and Tanzania.
The pipeline will, on completion, carry 216,000 barrels of crude oil for export daily.
The announcement will be broadcast live on YouTube and Twitter and Facebook pages of UNOC.
Below is the YouTube link https://youtu.be/1MdcwlXZClESource: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s president H.E Nana Akufo-Addo is said to have appointed Dr Ishmael Ackah as the acting Executive Secretary of Public Utilities Regulatory Commission ( PURC).
According to a report filed by Accra- based Asaase Radio, Dr Ackah’s appointment letter was signed by the secretary to the president, Nana Bediatuo Asante.
When this portal contacted him on the subject, Dr Ishmael Ackah confirmed receiving his appointment letter, adding that he told he is supposed to start work on next week Monday.
Meanwhile, checks at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) indicated that Dr Ackah’s appointment has not been brought to their attention.
According to sources within the PURC, the Executive Secretary, Mrs Mami Dufie Ofori has not received any letter from the Presidency terminating her appointment and therefore raises suspicion of the development.
Before his appointment, Dr Ishmael Ackah, who is an energy economist with more than 10 years of experience that spans public service, civil society, private sector, and academia was the regulatory and electricity market expert of the USAID West Africa Energy Programme in Ghana.
He is a fellow of the Institute for Economic Affairs Ghana.
He previously worked as the head of policy unit at the Africa Centre for Energy Policy.
Dr. Ackah served as the technical advisor on energy and petroleum policies to Ghana’s minister for planning for two years. He was the first coordinator of Local Content Secretariat at the Ghana Energy Commission.
He has provided research consultancies for the United Nations University, the African Development Bank, IHS Markit, GOGIG/OPM, Ghana’s National Accreditation Board, the Natural Resource Governance Institute, SNV Ghana among others.
He has published about 40 peer-reviewed papers in high impact journals such as the Energy Research and Social Science Journal, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Energy Efficiency Journal, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, the Extractive and Society Journal, etc. Ishmael holds a Ph.D in Energy Economics and Policy from the University of Portsmouth, UK and Msc Energy Economics and Policy, University of Surrey, UK.
He had his undergraduate studies at the University of Professional Studies, Accra Ghana.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Fuel prices at the local market in the Republic of Ghana are expected to witness a marginal increment of about 25 pesewas in the first pricing window in February 2022, energy think tank, Institute of Energy Security (IES) has projected.
The Institute pointed out that the projected increment in fuel prices is a result of an 8.52 per cent increase in the price of international benchmark Brent crude, as well as a marginal depreciation of the cedi to the US dollar during the last two weeks.
IES indicated that “Over the next two weeks, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) foresees the prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), diesel and petrol recording yet another jump at the pump, despite a suspension of the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy (PSRL).”
It further added that “The pending increases come on the back of an 8.52 per cent increase in the price of Brent crude, a 5.5 per cent rise in LPG price, a 6.23 per cent increase in the price of gasoline, and 9.86 per cent jump in gasoline price; all on the international oil and fuel markets.”
According to the Institute, “Further depreciation of the Ghana cedi against the US dollar on the foreign exchange (forex) market adds on to the factors that will push up the prices of the commodities on the local market.”
The Institute pointed out that “the impending price increases could see all the major Oil Marketing Companies crossing the GH¢7 per litre mark for gasoil and gasoline, moving the price increases for both products over the past six months beyond the 16 percentage mark recorded at the end of January 2022.”
Crude oil prices have been soaring since the beginning of 2022.
As of midday Monday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at US$87.36 per barrel while Brent traded at US$91.12 per barrel
On the local market, leading Oil Marketing Company, GOIL, is selling both Super XP and Diesel XP at GH¢6.85 per litre while Total and Shell are selling at GH¢7.05 and GH¢6.99 per litre for super and diesel and GH¢6.95 respectively.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has led a delegation from the Authority to visit the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) of Kenya.
The visit is to strengthen NPA’s relationship with peer regulators on the African continent and share experiences for the mutual benefit of citizens.
Dr Abdul-Hamid, together with some NPA Board and Management members, as part of the visit, met Mr Daniel Kiptoo, EPRA Director-General, and his team in Nairobi, capital of Kenya.
The two entities discussed petroleum price deregulation policy, LPG distribution, planning of petroleum product importation, exportation, fuel adulteration and modern enforcement methods.
Dr Abdul-Hamid (Left), CEO of NPA and Daniel Kiptoo, EPRA Director-General (Right)
EPRA regulates the entire energy sector and has oversight responsibilities over both the petroleum upstream and downstream sectors, as well as electricity and other energy generation sources in Kenya, including renewable energy.
Neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo also import petroleum products through Kenya’s pipeline system.
Kenya operates an efficient network of petroleum product pipelines connecting its port city of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi and other counties in the country.
A new and modern oil jetty with the capacity to accommodate up to four vessels at a go is 95 per cent completed and ready to be commissioned in March in Mombasa. It is expected to handle 20 times more vessels than the current one.
As part of the experiential study visit, the delegation visited key petroleum facilities and institutions.
The NPA delegation met industry groups including the oil marketers who are the main importers and traders of petroleum products in the country.
https://web.facebook.com/purcgh/posts/241503441500021
Kenyan Ministry of Interior has announced plans by the government to provide 24-hour security for all electricity infrastructure and installations in the East African nation.
The move follows recent vandalism of electrical installations and collapsing of some transmission towers which plunged the country into a nationwide blackout.
Three top management executives of Kenya Power are currently facing prosecution for their alleged involvement in the nationwide blackout on January 11, 2022.
Speaking during a security meeting on the energy sector attended by Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma, Regional and County Commissioners, County Police Commanders, County Senior Energy sector managers, Dr Fred Okengo Matiang’i, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Interior, said Kenya Power, Energy Mink, KenGen Kenya and KETRACO1 and other energy providers projects would be placed under 24-hr protection in a partnership that would also clear power lines way leaves as a safety measure.
He said County Commissioners and national government administrative officers leadership would coordinate the protection of critical energy sector installations from vandals and saboteurs within their jurisdictions.
Click on the link below to see a post by PURChttps://web.facebook.com/purcgh/posts/239751761675189
Meanwhile, Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc has welcomed the decision by the government to secure the national electricity infrastructure to curb rising cases of vandalism.
Dr. @FredMatiangi who chairs the Cabinet sub-committee on Energy also directed the officers to robustly enforce H.E. President directive on the moratorium on scrap metal trade. pic.twitter.com/CUW5KEc10K
Nigeria’s Minister for Power, Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu has inaugurated a Ministerial Power Sector Working Group (MPSWG), as a top management tool to coordinate, monitor and evaluate activities in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
The Minister, who chairs the group, stated that the ministry and top institutional stakeholders’ meeting is to support one another to achieve a common goal in the sector, which is to give Nigerians a stable and affordable power supply.
Members of the MPSWG include the five directors from the Technical Departments of the Ministry-Transmission Services, Distribution Services, Renewable and Rural Access, Energy Services and Investment Sector, and top institutional stakeholders, comprising all the Chief Executives of the agencies under the Ministry, with the secretariat headed by Dr Mahmud Suleiman.
According to a media report, Dr Aliyu said his administration in the power sector is working towards actualizing the mandate to make sure everyone is up and doing and working hard to solve problems of epileptic electricity supply.
He further stated that the Ministerial Working Group is expected to meet two times in a month to strategize and discuss ways forward on how to carry out the activities and programme of the Ministry, and relating to stakeholders and the public(s).
The Minister also charged the Ministerial Working Group to work assiduously in order to achieve reliable and stable electricity, more than any other country.
The Ag. MD/CEO TCN, Engr. Dr. Sule Abdulaziz receives Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honoris Causa) from the LVIV University for Business and Law, Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/T3zwmXA14o
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
