The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bui Power Authority, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi has invited investors to partner with the Authority in its quest to maximize renewable energy generation in the country.
Speaking alongside the COP 26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Mr. Dzamesi said Ghana is limitless in solar power generation so BPA’s doors are opened to interested parties in renewable power generation including wind, geothermal and nuclear power.
“Because of this conference and the fact that we want to go more into renewables, we’ve opened up and are telling people to come to us. If you come and you have the money to support, we cooperate and then we’ll be able to build more solar plants,” he said.
According to him, Ghana has planned to do away with thermal plants. “We don’t want to burn coal, gas and fuel but solar and hydroelectric power generation.”
He said BPA had been given the mandate to construct solar plants at all Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO) sub-stations across the country to feed onto the national grid, hence the call for investor partnership.
On financial security of investors, Mr Dzamesi stated that the BPA had kept its integrity by honouring their obligation of the bargain in the first 50MW hydroelectric power which impressed the investor to woo other investors for another 100MW project.
Regarding solar, the BPA is constructing 250MW with 50MW already completed and connected to the national grid while the remaining 200MW is still under construction.
Aside from this in the Bui enclave, 1MW floating solar has also been installed on the Bui reservoir where more power can still be generated from the huge reservoir.
On hydro, Mr Dzamesi said the three biggest rivers in the Western Region of Ghana-Rivers Pra, Ankobra and Tano-have been ceded to the BPA for hydroelectric power generation.
He further disclosed that consultancy processes have begun to generate power using the run-on-the-river technique to get more hydroelectric power from those rivers.
“We have the hydro plants but that does not limit us from getting other hydro plants,” the BPA CEO stated.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Deputy Managing Director of Tullow Ghana Limited, Cynthia Lumor has underscored the need for drastic changes in institutional, organizational and government policies to allow for diversity and inclusion of women in all spheres of life.
Presently, she said factors such as social, cultural, economic and attitudinal issues are limiting society’s ability to reap the full benefit of women’s participation for improved organizational, institutional and national performance.
She said: “Research has demonstrated that when diversity and inclusion are deliberately planned and properly executed, and the ideas and experience of a diverse organization are fully included in idea generation and decision-making, companies benefit from the motivation, creativity and innovation from that result. The contribution of women in those circumstances cannot be overestimated.”
In her view, competent women are fully capable of making significant contributions in any role and should not be unfairly constrained due to conscious or unconscious bias.
Contributing to a panel discussion on ‘Diversity and Inclusion at the Africa Oil Week in Dubai, UAE, Madam Cynthia Lumor said both men and women have a role to play in ensuring diversity and inclusion and called on all players to be deliberate about playing their part.
Speaking to energynesafrica.com, Madam Cynthia Lumor noted that it is time for the oil and gas industry to correct the historically low participation of women in the industry as the industry is still skewed with only about 30 per cent participation of women.
She attributed the low representation of women in the sector to several factors including lower participation in the educational disciplines that form the basis for jobs in the sector, lack of knowledge about jobs, limited networks for access to opportunities, organizational structures that do not readily promote the work-life balance to accommodate women, especially during child-bearing and rearing ages, lack of career development and training and social and cultural norms that promote the belief that certain roles are the preserve of men, among others.
According to her, this needs to change, and in her view, the energy transition presents the world with the best opportunity to write the wrongs of the past.
Emphasizing the need for equal opportunities for both males and females, Madam Cynthia Lumor outlined what must be done to encourage women.
“Things like relevant education, active encouragement, deliberate hiring practices, internships, mentorship, training and development on the job, access to information, equal pay and support, interventions and policies that encourage and make women feel comfortable and respected in the workplace, are very important,’’ she said.
Stressing the benefit of diversity and inclusion, Madam Cynthia Lumor said, “When we are deliberate about diversity and inclusion, we impact the bottom line because we get diversity and free flow of creative and innovative ideas for problem-solving and decision-making, thereby, positively impacting performance.’’
Touching on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Madam Cynthia Lumor noted that there is limited participation of women.
“We know that in education, STEM disciplines, for example, do not typically have a lot of women. If you go to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and assess the male/female ratio of students pursuing engineering courses, I would venture to say the men would outnumber the women,’’ she posited.
She stated that there must be deliberate, effective measures put in place to correct the imbalance.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Africa focused oil and gas firm, Tullow Oil plc, has announced that it has exercised its right of pre-emption related to the sale of Occidental Petroleum’s interests in the Jubilee and TEN fields in the Republic of Ghana to Kosmos Energy.
The company said when the acquisition process is completed, its equity interests will increase to 38.9 per cent in the Jubilee field and to 54.8 per cent in the TEN fields.
The transaction is expected to cost Tullow about US$150 million to be funded through existing resources.
“As per the DWT Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), Tullow has pre-emption rights in respect of the 11.05 per cent participating interest within the offshore DWT Block acquired by Kosmos Energy as a result of its acquisition of Anadarko WCTP Company announced on 13 October 2021.
“Tullow has exercised its right of pre-emption over this participating interest in DWT and assuming all JV Partners also fully exercise their pre-emption rights, this would increase Tullow’s share in the Block by 7.7 per cent (to a total of 54.8 per cent ). This would, in turn, increase Tullow’s equity interests in the Jubilee and TEN fields to 38.9 per cent and 54.8 per cent, respectively,’’ the company said in a statement posted on its website.
The CEO of Tullow, Rahul Dhir commented: “This is a value accretive, the self-funded opportunity for the Group which will increase Tullow’s daily Group production by 10 per cent and generate additional cash flow to help accelerate debt reduction. Increasing our operated stakes in the Jubilee and TEN fields underscores our commitment to investing in and delivering our Ghana Value Maximisation Plan. This opportunity fits well with our strategy to focus on maximizing value from our producing assets. We look forward to constructive conversations with our JV Partners and the Government of Ghana as we finalise the transaction.”
Saudi Arabia’s top energy official said on Wednesday that efforts to combat climate change should not undermine global energy security or shun any particular energy source, and denied the kingdom was hampering international talks on the issue.
The comments from the top producer nation in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries come as the UK hosts of the UN climate summit underway in Scotland push to secure ambitious pledges from world leaders to slash greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from oil, coal and gas.
“It is imperative that we recognise the diversity of climate solutions, and the importance of emissions reduction as stipulated in the Paris Agreement, without any bias towards or against any particular source of energy,” Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud said at the summit.
He added that negotiators should be “conscious of the special circumstances of the Less Developed Countries”, some of which have been resisting calls for aggressive moves away from fossil fuels because of the economic costs.
“We should work together to help these countries mitigate the impact of climate change policies, without compromising their sustainable development,” he said.
Several officials involved in the Glasgow talks told Reuters Saudi Arabia has been obstructing the progress of negotiations toward a strong deal, including by using procedural delay tactics.
“What you’ve been hearing is a false allegation, and a cheat and a lie,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
When asked by Reuters whether he agrees fossil fuels are main driver of climate change Prince Abdulaziz said: “No, I think there will be a good way forward. We should use all resources as long as we congregate around mitigating.”
Coal-fired power generation should continue to be part of South Africa’s energy mix, its Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday, noting that he would go to court if necessary to keep a plan for new coal power plants alive.
“I know that we’re going to end up in court for it,” Mantashe said at the Africa Energy Week conference in Cape Town on Tuesday, he said.
Debates have heated up in South Africa—a major producer, exporter, and consumer of coal—about whether the dirtiest fossil fuel should remain a pillar of its energy supply, especially in light of the climate push for countries to move away from coal.
Mantashe, a former coal unionist, says that South Africa’s Integrated Resources Plan includes plans for the construction of 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity and should be kept.
Currently, coal is by far the major energy source for South Africa, comprising around 80 percent of the country’s energy mix.
The country is also the world’s fifth-largest coal exporter.
Earlier this year, representatives of the United States, the European Union, the UK, France, and Germany met with some of South Africa’s top government officials—but not with minister Mantashe—to discuss a potential climate agreement and ways to help fund the African country’s transition away from coal.
Earlier this month, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that France, Germany, the UK, the U.S., and the EU would support a just transition and a move away from coal by mobilizing an initial $8.5 billion over the next three to five years through a range of instruments, including grants and concessional finance.
South Africa, however, did not sign the COP26 coal pledge of 40 countries to phase out coal, South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy told Daily Maverick this week.
“What will happen is that the country will end up with stranded assets. And we know that in any transition there are winners and losers. The losers are seldom owners, it’s normally the workers and the communities,” Creecy said.
Source:Oilprice.com
Ghanaians should be prepared to use alternative means of energy to keep their homes lit as the country’s power transmission company hits of load shedding in the coming days.
In a statement issued by GRIDCo, Wednesday, November 10, 2021, it said at about 15:40 on Tuesday, a communication mast collapsed on its 330kV Aboadze-Kumasi Transmission Line.
This, the company said resulted in the collapse of two of its towers adjacent the mast.
According to GRIDCo, the incident has affected the national power system and may result in some load management.
The fallen communication mast
The company assured that it is working around the clock to replace the fallen towers within the shortest possible time.
“GRIDCo is committed to maintaining a stable network for reliable and efficient power delivery.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the statement concluded.
Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) says the rise in illicit fuel trade along with some entry and exit points of the country notably the Afloa border, has become a major concern and a threat to the revenue mobilization efforts of the government.
The Chief Executive of NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid says his outfit has been alerted on the happenings at the country’s eastern border.
The NPA, he stated, had not licensed any importer to bring fuel through the Aflao border and, therefore, urged the border officers to stop the importation of petroleum products by road.
Dr Abdul-Hamid said combating fuel smuggling is still a menace that denies the government of the right revenue.
He made these comments when he led the management of the Authority to tour the Aflao border to familiarize himself with illegal activities on the border.
“The NPA is an agency responsible for monitoring downstream petroleum industry and that combating fuel activities are central to what the Authority does,” he explained, noting that Ghana is the only country in the sub-region that consumes the highest quality of fuel.
Against this background, he said it was important to maintain such a feat and called for these activities to be tackled to the barest minimum.
Commenting on the development, Chairman of the Aflao Border Security Committee, Majeed Amandi, said unapproved entry points and routes on the Ghana-Togo borders were fueling criminal activities including fuel smuggling.
Mr Amandi, who doubles as the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority-Aflao Collection, indicated that the service was fighting the menace together with other security agencies as well as the NPA in a bid to intensify patrols and enhance efforts to combat the long-standing problem.
The Assistant Commissioner noted that during patrol operations, they observed that illegal actors operated at midnight to avoid detection.
He described them as daring because they always found their way into the country’s borders and offloaded unwholesome petroleum products into the Ghanaian market.
He said this is also a result of the unavailability of special boats for patrols on the seas at night.
He said border security agencies needed working tools to combat the illicit trade.
The Volta Regional Manager of the NPA, Mr Rasheed Dauda said he appreciated the collaboration with the security agencies at Aflao and pledged to work closely with them to arrest the criminals.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has announced the restoration of power supply in the Republic of Ghana following system disturbances on Tuesday which resulted in a nationwide blackout in the West African nation.
In a statement, GRIDCo explained that “at 19:50GMT, on Monday, the power system experienced a significant disturbance.”
It said that caused all generating units at the Aboadze Enclave and Bui to trip, resulting in a power outage in parts of Accra, the Western, middle and Northern parts of the country.
It continued that at about 04:38GMT, Tuesday, generating units at Aboadze and Bui were restored, supplying electricity to all major Bulk Supply Points (BSPs).
The company explained further that at 04:50GMT on Tuesday, in the process of restoring the remaining BSPs, a second disturbance occurred, resulting in the loss of generating units at the Aboadze Enclave and Bui.
“This led to another interruption of electricity supply to several areas of
Accra, the Western, middle and Northern parts of the country,” the statement said.
GRIDCo, in collaboration with its key stakeholders in the power supply chain, has restored power to all BSPs.
GRIDCo assured its stakeholders that it would continue to provide a stable power system for dependable and efficient power supply for national and economic growth
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the statement concluded.
The Republic of The Gambia, on Monday, launched a new bidding round for offshore Block A1 at the ongoing Africa Oil Week in Dubai, UAE.
Interested bidders have four months to submit their offers to The Gambia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
The licence will be for a maximum of 30 years, divided into three exploration periods.
In April 2019, the West African nation signed an agreement with BP for the development of Block A1.
BP, consequently, acquired 2D and 3D seismic data in the licence.
However, BP exited due to changes in the company’s corporate strategy.
Speaking to the gathering at the Africa Oil Week, The Gambian Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Fafa Sanyang said: “Our key objective in designing the licensing round is to ensure an attractive fiscal regime with low entry conditions for bidders as well as procurement process and participation rules.”
He said his country, fully aware of the impact of energy transition which is confronting the oil and gas market, is willing to enter into a successful partnership for the development of the Gambian petroleum sector.
Mr Sanyang called on oil and gas investors to opt for The Gambia for good returns on their investment.
Deputy Commissioner of Petroleum at The Gambia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Kanni Touray said it remained the intention of the Ministry to encourage investments into the development of block A1.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The United Kingdom (UK) has admitted responsibility for the mess created by the climate in the country and other parts of Europe.
“The UK is responsible for the mess we find ourselves,” Alastair Long, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa, UK Department for International Trade, said while contributing to the discussion on ‘Designing an Economic Blueprint for Harmonisation of Energy Development Across Africa’ at the ongoing Africa Oil Week conference in Dubai, UAE.
According to him, the UK has a remarkable dependence on fossil fuel plants, noting that over 80 per cent of people in the UK depend on gas usage.
The UK and many parts of Europe have been witnessing cold weather, flooding and heatwave due to climate change.
In the UK, 40 per cent of CO2 emissions are caused by individuals, mostly from energy used in the home, driving and air travel.
The effects of climate change can be seen in the UK and around the world.
To address the climate change effects, Alastair Long said the UK has set up 11.6 billion funds to minimize CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy & ICT H.E Dr Amani Abou-Zeid says Africa is not much concerned about the much talked about energy transition that the Western nations are pushing for.
According to her, what the continent is concerned about is Africans getting excess electricity to spur economic growth.
She noted that 600 million Africans do not have electricity while 900 million do not have access to clean cooking and so wondered why the continent should be worried about the energy transition.
“When you say energy transition, it does not reflect in the lives of the people in Africa.
“For Africans, our agenda between now and 2063 is access to reliable and affordable energy,” she explained.
Contributing to the discussion on ‘Designing an Economic Blueprint for Harmonisation of Energy Development Across Africa’ at this year’s Africa Oil Week, which started today, Monday, in Dubai, H.E Dr Amani Abou-Zeid noted that the continent’s population is growing at a faster rate and, therefore, needs energy.
She described it as sad that although energy is playing a key role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, only 25 per cent of the health sector in Sub-Saharan Africa has energy.
“The fact remains that majority of our population still needs energy now especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she pointed out.
In her view, Africa has abundant energy resources such as solar and wind and called for efforts to ensure that citizens who are without electricity are connected.
She described it as an unfair push by the West for investors to stop investing in oil and gas.
Speaking on the same platform, the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), H.E Wankele Keabetsewe Mene stressed the need for electricity interconnectivity among African countries.
Making a strong case for affordable electricity in Africa, H.E Keabetsewe Mene said: “If we don’t have reliable and affordable energy, we won’t succeed,” he said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Africa’s focused oil and gas company, Tullow Oil Plc, is participating in this year’s Africa Oil Week (AOW) at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai in the UAE.
The Chief Executive Officer of Tullow Oil Plc, Rahul Dhir is leading the company’s delegation which include Tullow Ghana Limited Managing Director, Wissam Al Monthiry, deputy Managing Director, Mrs. Cynthia Lumor and other senior officials of Tullow.
Tullow Oil has been one of the major sponsors of Africa Oil Week, a global platform for discussing energy policy, deals and transactions across Africa’s oil and gas industry.
The event brings together governments, national and international oil companies, independents, investors, the G&G community and service providers.
This year’s Africa Oil Week, which is under the theme: ‘ Succeeding in a Changed Market’, will have over 45 Ministers of Energy and Petroleum in Africa and CEOs of national oil companies and multinational oil companies in attendance.
Madam Cynthia Lumor, Deputy Managing Director of Tullow Ghana Limited will, on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, join other female top managers in the Energy Sector on a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion.
David Jones Amoah (Left), External Affairs Manager of Tullow Ghana Limited and Mrs Cynthia Lumor (Right), Deputy Managing Director of Tullow Ghana Limited
Then on Thursday, the Managing Director of Tullow Ghana Limited, Mr Wissam Al Monthiry will speak at the African Independent Forum while the CEO, Mr Rahul Dhir will deliver a keynote address at the same event.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The Africa Oil Week (AOW), the largest and most prestigious oil and gas show for the African upstream, will officially open today with high-level attendance from the energy sector players in Africa and other parts of the world.
Taking place for the first time in UAE, the four day conference will end on Thursday, November 11, 2021.
Top companies in the energy sector, including TotalEnergies, Tullow, Eni, ADNOC, Shell, Equinor and Chevron, are strategic sponsors for this distinguished event which will convene senior E&P stakeholders, key policy makers and international investors, providing opportunities for executives to secure major deals and lucrative partnerships which will define the future of the African upstream.
Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, said, “The UAE has been at the forefront in facilitating many key events from around the world including the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai. Our efforts have helped us gain the confidence of events like Africa Oil Week that are of strategic importance to the energy sector in the MENA region. This will not only boost bilateral trade ties between both countries, but it will also drive investment opportunities for the Middle East region at large. I am certain the AOW will help us maintain our upward trajectory and prove instrumental in driving growth.”
Nicolas Terraz, President of Exploration and Production and member of the Executive Committee, TotalEnergies, said, “As one of the biggest oil producers in Africa and across the globe, we are well aware of our role at the Africa Oil Week.”
Paul Sinclair, Vice-President of Energy and Director of Government Relations at Africa Oil Week, said, “Africa Oil Week is due to kickstart tomorrow with various exciting engagements for participants, exhibitors and attendees.
Top government officials and senior executives will partake in the event that will stimulate dialogue and facilitate business opportunities. We aim to reaffirm the event’s role in bridging Africa and the Middle East’s energy sector.”
She attributed the low representation of women in the sector to several factors including lower participation in the educational disciplines that form the basis for jobs in the sector, lack of knowledge about jobs, limited networks for access to opportunities, organizational structures that do not readily promote the work-life balance to accommodate women, especially during child-bearing and rearing ages, lack of career development and training and social and cultural norms that promote the belief that certain roles are the preserve of men, among others.
According to her, this needs to change, and in her view, the energy transition presents the world with the best opportunity to write the wrongs of the past.
Emphasizing the need for equal opportunities for both males and females, Madam Cynthia Lumor outlined what must be done to encourage women.
“Things like relevant education, active encouragement, deliberate hiring practices, internships, mentorship, training and development on the job, access to information, equal pay and support, interventions and policies that encourage and make women feel comfortable and respected in the workplace, are very important,’’ she said.
Stressing the benefit of diversity and inclusion, Madam Cynthia Lumor said, “When we are deliberate about diversity and inclusion, we impact the bottom line because we get diversity and free flow of creative and innovative ideas for problem-solving and decision-making, thereby, positively impacting performance.’’
Touching on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Madam Cynthia Lumor noted that there is limited participation of women.
“We know that in education, STEM disciplines, for example, do not typically have a lot of women. If you go to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and assess the male/female ratio of students pursuing engineering courses, I would venture to say the men would outnumber the women,’’ she posited.
She stated that there must be deliberate, effective measures put in place to correct the imbalance.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com 
“The NPA is an agency responsible for monitoring downstream petroleum industry and that combating fuel activities are central to what the Authority does,” he explained, noting that Ghana is the only country in the sub-region that consumes the highest quality of fuel.
Against this background, he said it was important to maintain such a feat and called for these activities to be tackled to the barest minimum.
Commenting on the development, Chairman of the Aflao Border Security Committee, Majeed Amandi, said unapproved entry points and routes on the Ghana-Togo borders were fueling criminal activities including fuel smuggling.
Mr Amandi, who doubles as the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority-Aflao Collection, indicated that the service was fighting the menace together with other security agencies as well as the NPA in a bid to intensify patrols and enhance efforts to combat the long-standing problem.
The Assistant Commissioner noted that during patrol operations, they observed that illegal actors operated at midnight to avoid detection.
He described them as daring because they always found their way into the country’s borders and offloaded unwholesome petroleum products into the Ghanaian market.
He said this is also a result of the unavailability of special boats for patrols on the seas at night.
He said border security agencies needed working tools to combat the illicit trade.
The Volta Regional Manager of the NPA, Mr Rasheed Dauda said he appreciated the collaboration with the security agencies at Aflao and pledged to work closely with them to arrest the criminals.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
