Ghana: BOST Makes Gh¢55M Profit Pre-Tax In 2021Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Three-Member IMC Stops Product Losses At TOR
The three-member Interim Management Committee (IMC) at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has succeeded in stemming products losses at the refinery barely eight months after it was put in place.
For more than three months, the refinery has not witnessed product losses as was the case in the past.
The ICM was constituted by the Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, and took over the reins of the refinery after the dismissal of the then Managing Director, Francis Boateng, and his deputy, Ato Morrison.
In October last year, Ghanaians were shocked when energynewsafrica.com reported that 14 top management executives of the refinery were interdicted over their alleged involvement in various thefts at the refinery.
The ICM, in a statement issued later, said its investigation uncovered the disappearance of 18 drums of electrical cables valued at Ghc10.4million the disappearance of LPG belonging to a client between 2012 and 2015 as a result of which TOR became indebted to the client to the tune of US$4.8 million.
Also, the ICM revealed the disappearance of 105,927 litres of gas oil on September 4, 2021.
In addition, there was a wrongful loading of 252,000 litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) instead of regular kerosene into BRV trucks at the loading gantry between September 21 and September 25, 2021.
In a chat with the Chairman of the IMC, Ing Norbert Anku, he alluded that they have been able to put control measures in place, saying this has helped to stem product losses.
“We have not witnessed product losses for the past few months,” he said.
He said, going forward, they intend to enhance the security of products by installing flow meters at the loading gantry, construct a new laboratory, refurbish the gantry and installing a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) at the refinery.
He believed when these things are done, they would go a long way to guarantee product security at the refinery https://www.purc.com.gh/.
Meanwhile, at a meeting with executives of the TOR workers union, the Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh expressed the government’s commitment to revamping TOR.
“We remain committed to finding the critical development partnership for the company.
“TOR’s viability would impact positively on the Ghanaian economy and as sector Minister, my continuous engagements are directed towards this cause. I am confident that our efforts will yield the needed results and my doors remain open to the company until it finds a sound footing,” he said.
Chevron Books Best Yearly Earnings Since 2014
Rallying oil and gas prices and the economic rebound in 2021 helped Chevron to book last year a record-high free cash flow and its best annual earnings since 2014.
Chevron reported on Friday full-year 2021 earnings of $15.6 billion, compared with a loss of $5.5 billion in 2020. The U.S. supermajor also booked strong cash flow from operations of $29.2 billion and record free cash flow of $21.1 billion last year.
Chevron’s net oil-equivalent production grew in 2021 to a record 3.10 million barrels per day (bpd).
The company also added 1.3 billion barrels of net oil-equivalent proved reserves in 2021, with the largest net additions in reserves coming from assets in the Permian Basin, the Gulf of Mexico, and Australia.
Chevron’s U.S. upstream operations booked earnings of $7.319 billion for 2021, compared to a loss of $1.6 billion for 2020. The international upstream business earned $8.499 billion last year, compared to a loss of $825 million in 2020. Downstream operations also yielded earnings in 2021, with the U.S. downstream business earning $2.389 billion versus a loss of $571 million in 2020.
“We’re more capital and cost efficient, enabling us to return more cash to shareholders,” Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Click on the link below to see a post by PURC
https://web.facebook.com/purcgh/posts/239752818341750
Earlier this week, Chevron raised its quarterly dividend by around 6 percent, putting it on track to make 2022 the 35th consecutive year with an increase in annual dividend payout per share.
Chevron’s stock rallied on Thursday to an all-time high of $136, but fell by 4 percent pre-market on Friday following the results release, which showed fourth quarter 2021 earnings below analyst estimates.
For the fourth quarter, Chevron booked adjusted earnings of $4.9 billion, or $2.56 per share, significantly higher than the adjusted earnings of $298 million, or $0.16 per share, for the fourth quarter 2020.
Still, the Q4 2021 earnings per share fell well short of analyst expectations. The analyst consensus of the Wall Street Journal expected Chevron to post $3.12 per share earnings.
Source:Oilprice.com
Ghana: Court Orders Eni&Vitol To Pay 30% Of Oil Proceeds From Sankofa Field To Registrar
A Commercial High Court in Accra, capital of Ghana, has ordered ENI Ghana Limited and its partner, Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited, the operator of the Sankofa Oil Field, to immediately pay 30 per cent of revenue realised from the sale of crude oil from the aforementioned field to the court registrar.
The court presided over by Justice Mariama Sammo, gave the directive last Monday, January 24, 2022.
This followed an application by Springfield Exploration and Production Limited, Operators of West Cape Three Points (WCTP) Block 2, for the court’s clear interpretation of its ruling last year.
Eni and its partner are supposed to US$40 monthly effective June 2021 until the court determined a substantive matter between them and Springfield E&P, a wholly-owned Ghanaian upstream player.
Upon receipt of the payment, the registrar would then pay the same into an escrow account and furnish the court and the parties with payment records.
https://www.purc.com.gh/
Springfield’s application was precipitated by ENI and Vitol’s failure to comply with the ruling of June 25, 2021.
On June 25, 2021, the court ruled in favour of SEP’s application to freeze revenues from Eni and Vitol from the sale of crude oil from the Sankofa field, pending determination of their substantive case filed in July 2020.
The companies have been in dispute since an April 2020 directive was issued by the Energy Ministry to unitise the Afina and Sankofa fields to ensure optimal recovery of the resources in the common reservoir in the interest of all the parties involved, including the state.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Gas Tanker Catches Fire On N1 Highway, Drivers Abandon Cars
A report reaching energynewsafrica.com indicates that a gas tanker has caught fire on a section of the George Walker Bush Highway, popularly known as the N1 Highway in Accra.
The incident, which occurred at Awoshie, around the Victory Bible Church Junction on the N1, resulted in pandemonium as many cars were seen trying to flee while occupants of cars abandoned their vehicles in the middle of the road.
An eyewitness, Ernest Ofori, confirming the incident on Atinka FM a while ago, said the situation has resulted in huge vehicular traffic.
At the time of his report, there was no fire service on the scene.
Ghana: Fuel Tanker Explode In Kaase While Fuel Siphoning Was OngoingMore soon…
Kenya: Three Top Brass Managers Of Kenya Power Face Prosecution
Three top managers of Kenya’s power utility company, Kenya Power, are facing prosecution for their alleged involvement in the nationwide blackout on January 11, 2022.
The three top brass are Raphael Ndolo, Network Manager; David Kamau, Transmission Manager, and Julius Karani, Transmission Engineer.
They have been arraigned before the Kahawa Law Courts.
The three were among nine top managers of Kenya Power who were put before the court on Wednesday 19th January 2022 for willfully sabotaging the power utility company.
The court, however, discharged six of them because the prosecuting team failed to provide reasonable evidence.
At the court sitting on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, the Kahawa Law Courts Chief Magistrate, Diana Mochache found that the three had questions to answer in the January 11 blackout.
The three were, consequently, released on Sh1 million cash bail or Sh2 million bond each.
The three are accused of willfully and unlawfully, with intent to sabotage, failing to maintain and reinforce the Dandora-Embakasi high voltage power lines, leading to the collapse of Towers Numbers 11, 12, 13 and 14 at Imara Daima in Embakasi South Sub-County, Nairobi County.
The said negligence happened between November 29, 2021, and January 11, 2022, culminating in a power crisis that saw many parts of the country including Nairobi, Central Kenya, Nyanza, Western Kenya, sections of Rift Valley and Coast plunged into the daytime outage.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Kenya: Ghana’s NPA Officials Visit Kenya Pipeline Company
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has led a delegation to visit Kenya Pipeline Company.
The visit was for the NPA team to familiarise themselves with the operations of Kenya Pipeline Company.
In a post on KPC Facebook and sighted by energynewsafrica.com, it said Stella Nyayiemi, Gas Officer at Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, addressed the team during the familiarization tour of KPC installations in Mombasa by the National Petroleum Authority of Ghana.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Police Chase Fuel Tanker Driver, Tricycle Riders For Engaging In Fuel Siphoning At Kaase
Security personnel in Ashanti Region are on a manhunt for a fuel tanker driver and tricycle riders whose illegal activity caused an explosion at Kaase, a suburb of Kumasi, last Friday.
Energynewsafrica.com reported last Friday that a fuel tanker caught fire and exploded at Kaase in the Ashanti Region in the Republic of Ghana.
A statement by the police in the Ashanti Region said preliminary investigation established that the driver of the DAF tanker with registration number AS 2531-19 was discharging fuel to some tricycle riders and in the process caught fire.
The fire caused the tanker to explode, burning about 40 wooden structures.
The statement said no fatalities were recorded.
According to the police, the truck driver and riders escaped from the scene and have run into hiding.
The police said they are doing everything possible to effect their arrest.
“We would like to urge everyone to desist from engaging in activities that have the potential to put the lives of the general public at risk,” the police advised.
U.S. Oil Firms Urge Biden For Caution Over Possible Sanctions On Russia
Some of the largest U.S. companies, including the biggest oil lobby, called on the Biden Administration and Congress this week to tread carefully with potential new sanctions against Russia that could hit American firms and their competitiveness.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said “I have made it clear to — early on to President Putin that if he were to move into Ukraine, that there’d be severe consequences, including significant economic sanctions, as well as I’d feel obliged to beef up our presence — NATO’s presence in — on the eastern front: Poland, Romania, et cetera.”
President Biden was talking to reporters on one of the hottest geopolitical topics these days—the threat of Russia invading Ukraine.
The standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine continues amid the Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine. Amid the continued threat of possible Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Biden Administration is seeking to reassure Europe about its natural gas supply at a time of record-high gas and power prices amid low gas inventories and lower-than-normal supply from Russia.
Still, trade groups and the American Petroleum Institute (API) told Reuters this week that the Administration should carefully pick its fights in a possible new round of sanctions to limit the impact on U.S. companies.
The Administration and Congress need to “get the details right in case they must follow through on the threat of sanctions,” Jake Colvin, president of The National Foreign Trade Council, told Reuters.
API, via a spokesperson, also told Reuters that “Sanctions should be as targeted as possible in order to limit potential harm to the competitiveness of U.S. companies,” an API spokesperson said.”
In a previous round of sanctions against Russia, U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil had to pull out of a project in the Arctic in Russia.
Following the U.S. and EU sanctions against Russia over the annexation of Crimea back in 2014, Exxon shelved its plans to take part in the exploration and exploitation of Russia’s Arctic shelf. Exxon was estimated to have lost more than $1 billion from the sanctions.
Source: Oilprice.com
Tullow Oil Sees 2021 Free Cashflow At $250Million
West Africa-focused Tullow Oil expects its 2021 free cashflow to come in higher than previously forecast at $250 million and expects this year’s cash flow to come in at $100 million at an oil price of $75 a barrel, it said on Wednesday.
Tullow, with a market capitalisation of around $1 billion as of Tuesday, is focusing on reducing its $2.1 billion debt pile and has hedged 50%-75% of its output of around 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day between $51 and $78 a barrel to 2024.
The hedging cost is between $1.6 and $2 per barrel, it said.
Benchmark crude oil futures are trading near $90 a barrel, with much of last year’s third quarter above $80. Tullow had said in November it saw its 2021 free cashflow at $100 million.
“(2021) free cash flow is expected to be c.$250 million, ahead of guidance, driven by continued focus on costs, supportive oil prices in the latter parts of 2021 and favourable working capital movements,” Tullow said in a trading statement.
Lower free cashflow in 2022 would include a $75 million payment from divesting its Uganda assets, but also higher decommissioning spending and investments of $350 million, most of which is going to its flagship fields offshore Ghana.
It is due to report full-year results on March 9.
Tullow is seeking new investors for its yet to be developed projects in Guyana and Kenya, having submitted a revamped $3.4 billion development plan for some of its onshore Kenyan oilfields last month, it said.
There is no guidance yet on the timing or size of partial divestments from those projects, Chief Executive Rahul Dhir said.
Source: Reuters
Ghana: ZEN Petroleum Supports Victims Of Bogoso Explosion
ZEN Petroleum, a wholly owned Ghanaian petroleum downstream company has donated relief items to victims of the explosion which occurred at Appiatse, near Bogoso in the Western Region.
The gesture is part of the company’s disaster relief efforts to those who were badly affected by the incident.
The items donated comprised of 60 bags of rice, 15 cartons of 1L cooking oil, 10 boxes of canned sardines, 10 boxes of tomato paste, 17 boxes of toiletries, 84 packs of toilet paper rolls, 31 boxes of detergents, bathing and washing soaps, as well as medical supplies valued at GH¢50,000.
Speaking to the media, ZEN Operations Manager, Stanley Tweneboah said, “ZEN expresses its sympathies for the horrific losses the Appiatse community has had to endure.”
He added that, “We urge organisations to increase staff safety and education on accident mitigation to prevent incidents like this in the future.”
ZEN expressed its commitment to continually maintain the highest health and safety standards across all operations, as well as strict compliance to its key strategies emanating from Hazard Identification and Mitigation Processes, as well as Emergency Response and Recovery Processes to cover every single task performed.
ZEN’s support of the victims at Appiatse forms part of its ZEN to Community (Z2C) programs, which have included the donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction of a public library for the Perseus Mining resettlement village in Ayanfuri, as well as an ongoing partnership with educational charity Lead For Ghana, focused on the education development in communities across Ghana, amongst others.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: BOST Margin: Has It Been Utilised Efficiently?(Article)
In an article I wrote on June 17, 2020, following an increment in the BOST Margin, I urged Ghanaians, especially those who were not in favour of the increment, to rather demand that the Management of BOST put the monies they would generate from the increment to good use.
I iterated that Ghanaians would want to see the management utilizing the BOST Margin judiciously. I further stated that Ghanaians would want to see the dysfunctional pipelines repaired for the restoration of fuel transportation through pipelines and not Bulk Road Vehicles (BRVs), and the rehabilitation of the BOST storage tanks that had been down for several years. These, notwithstanding, I pushed for an end to BOST being used as a cash cow to finance political party activities during elections but instead make BOST a dividend-paying entity.
It was my view that should management work hard to meet these suggestions and requests, it was going to make Ghanaians have confidence in the management and would not be too worried if there is a proposal to increase BOST Margin in the future.
For those who may not be familiar with the petroleum downstream industry and for that matter BOST Margin, permit me to explain what BOST Margin is all about.
BOST Margins is one of the components of petroleum price build-up. BOST Margin was introduced in 2011 as a form of a levy for BOST to use to cover the maintenance and expansion of pipeline infrastructure for the transportation of petroleum products to its depots. The BOST Margin was pegged at Ghc0.3 pesewas in 2011 but remained unchanged until 2020 when it was adjusted upward to Ghc 0.6 pesewas per litre on fuel.
Having explained what BOST Margin is all about, what we should ask ourselves is whether the BOST Margin has been utilized efficiently and judiciously two years after the increment was effected.
I was privileged to be among a few selected journalists who were invited by the management of BOST as part of the end of year stakeholder engagement with the media to present their performance for the year and what they intend to do in 2022 and beyond.
I must say it was refreshing to see the kind of work the management has used the funds from the BOST Margin for, for the past two years.
There were about 19 key projects that BOST Margin was being used to execute. Among the projects include Accra Plain Depot Rehabilitation works, Accra Plains Administration project, Repair of B2P3 pipeline, TAPP Refurbishment, TAPP Surveillance system, Bolgatanga Bulk Road Vehicle Park, Kumasi Depot Rehabilitation Works, Repair of 12 out of 16 Tanks at APD, Kumasi, Buipe and Bolgatanga, Remedial works on twin 18″, Repair of marine assets (barges and tugboats), Construction of BRV parking lot at APD, Tema –Kumasi petroleum pipeline-FEED, LPG FEED, supply & installation of mass flow meters, pumps & loading arms and Maintenance of offloading platform at Kumasi depot. The company budgeted GHc 260.42M and has so far expended Ghs111.53M.
These projects are verifiable for all those who want to do so. I recall that sometime in 2021, the management of BOST transported Civil Society Groups (CSOs) working in the energy sector and some journalists to visit their depots to witness the projects they were executing with funds accrued from the BOST Margin.
The CSOs testified to the transformation that was taking place at the BOST depots and praised the Managing Director and his team for working hard to get most of the company’s assets which were decaying back to life.
It is instructive to note that a few years ago, BOST was always in the news for very bad reasons. Interestingly, the narrative has changed and the once debt-ridden state enterprise is en route to being turned into a profit-making entity within two years and five months since Edwin Nii Obodai Provencal was appointed.
I recall when Mr Provencal, who was then a Technical Advisor to John-Peter Amewu, former Minister for Energy, was appointed for his position, two people at the Ministry of Energy and a Ghanaian in the USA who had met him four months before his appointment expressed doubt that he would succeed at BOST. I had no idea why they were casting doubt about Mr Provencal’s ability. Whatever might be their reasons, Mr Provencal has proved them wrong.
For him to have succeeded at BOST means he has been diligent, tactical, disciplined and strategic.
One has to be disciplined, diligent and follow the godly counsel to succeed at BOST. BOST, as we all know, is a strategic stock-keeping company, therefore, its efficiency would guarantee fuel security for all Ghanaians, therefore, we must be happy and commend the current leadership for utilizing the BOST Margin efficiently and cleaning the greater part of the mess created in the past.
The writer is the editor of energynewsafrica.com. He is an award-winning journalist, strategic communicator and a researcher
Ghana: It Will Cost ECG More Than Gh¢1 Million To Restore Power Supply To Appiatse-MD
Ghana’s southern electricity distribution company, ECG, says it will cost them GH¢1 million to be able to fully restore power supply to the Appiatse township, following the explosion that destroyed all their electrical installations.
Appiatse became the topic for discussion in the Ghanaian and some International media last Thursday after mining explosives which were being transported to a mining site exploded on the way when a motorcycle allegedly hit the vehicle transporting the explosives.
The explosion resulted in the death of 13 people with over 50 people being injured while electrical installations were destroyed.
Speaking to journalists after visiting the area, the Managing Director of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Kwame Agyeman-Budu said: “We are here this morning to solidarize with the community with our support, and we have promised them that as soon as everything is settled, we will connect them back with electricity. We are supposed to continue our work but due to security reasons, NADMO and the security have asked us to stop to ensure that everything is completely safe here. When that is done, we will work 24/7 to ensure a stable power supply.”
Touching on the steps the company took when they heard about the explosion, he said: “When we heard of the incident, we quickly mobilized people to ensure that safety prevails. This they did by isolating the network to make sure that the place is safe. After that, we reconnected those places which were affected such as Asankragwa, Enchi and Akropong to make sure they have light. With a team from the region, we were able to restore power within 48 hours.”
Mr Agyeman-Budu noted that besides the transformer that was destroyed, other ECG properties including the low and high voltage poles, conductors among others were affected but said they are currently concerned about the safety of the people.
He announced that ECG would be contributing GH¢100,000 to the community to support those displaced and who have sustained injuries.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: Dangote Oil Refinery Is A Game Changer-Adesina
The President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, has described the Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Plant projects in the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a ‘game-changing initiative’ that will spur Africa’s development and deepen regional integration.
Dr. Adesina said this last Saturday, January 22, 2022, after touring the US$19.5 billion Nigerian Greenfield crude oil refinery and petrochemical production plant owned by Dangote Industries Limited.
In 2014, the African Development Bank’s board approved a US$300 million loan to Dangote Industries Limited to support the construction and operation of the Greenfield crude oil refinery and the Greenfield fertilizer manufacturing plant. The two facilities are expected to create 38,000 jobs during construction.
“The Dangote Group is an Africa growth accelerator…I am completely blown away by the magnitude of what I see here. This is a world-class industrial complex that will make Nigeria and Africa proud. We at the African Development Bank are proud of this project. Every African country needs to have an Aliko Dangote to help the continent industrialize.
“Dangote’s success demonstrates that governments should prioritize industrialization. We must continue to support the private sector, considering the value they bring,” Dr Adesina indicated.
Dr. Adesina said the African private sector was crucial to the execution of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
He pledged that the bank would continue to work with the Dangote Group to do more for Africa.
He said the bank’s industrialization strategy included identifying and backing ‘African regional champions’ like the Dangote Group.
He added that the African Bank was willing to assist the Dangote Group in such areas as agriculture–including rice and dairy products–as well as cement expansion into other countries.
It is estimated that by 2023, Nigeria would import zero petroleum oil products–down from approximately US$50 billion current oil product imports per year.
On his part, Aliko Dangote, Group President and Chief Executive, said the refinery is the world’s largest single-train petroleum refinery with a capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
“We appreciate the support of the Nigerian government, our lenders and development finance institutions like the African Development Bank, without whom we would not have come this far. We have enjoyed a good working relationship with the bank and this visit further encourages us,” Dangote said.
Dr Adesina and Dangote discussed the potential of collaboration between AfDB and Dangote Industries Limited to expand the business to other African countries.
The successful completion of the refinery project is expected to have a significant impact on Nigeria’s foreign exchange through import substitution and substantial savings in earnings.
The refinery is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year.
Accompanying Dr Adesina on the visit were African Development Bank’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization, Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor the Bank’s Director-General for its Nigeria country office, Lamin Barrow, and the Special Adviser to the President on industrialization, Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka.
Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Femi Otedola (link is external) also attended the meeting.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com