US oil and gas giant, ExxonMobil fell to a 15-year low on Monday just over a week before CEO Darren Woods is scheduled to present the oil explorer’s long-term strategic plan to investors and analysts.
The shares have been under pressure since Exxon disclosed disappointing fourth-quarter results in late January and prospects for a near-term recovery were dimmed by the spreading coronavirus. Excess supplies of natural gas, chemicals and motor fuels also weighed on the oil supermajor.
Exxon fell 4.7% to close at $56.36 on Monday in New York as Brent crude tumbled to about $56 a barrel. The last time the Texas-based driller’s stock traded at this level was the end of 2005, when crude fetched $59.
Exxon has been scrutinizing employee-travel budgets since posting its worst quarterly profit in almost four years, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News earlier this month. Auditing teams have fanned out to some divisions to analyze travel requests involving industry conferences, the people said.
Woods is focused on rebuilding Exxon’s portfolio of crude and gas projects through new drilling from Guyana to Mozambique. But investors have so far balked at the huge cost. Woods is scheduled to defend his strategy in a day-long presentation on March 5 in New York.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
A former Deputy Minister for Power under the erstwhile John Mahama administration and a current Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, in the Republic of Ghana, John Abdulai Jinapor has given the Akufo-Addo-administration a 24-hour ultimatum to publish a Load Shedding Time Table or face the wrath of the Minority.
“The Minister for Energy is, hereby, putting on notice that failure to comply within 24 hours will compel us to explore all available options under the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of Parliament not excluding a vote of censure on him,” John Jinapor said in a statement.
There has been pockets of power outages across the West African nation since the beginning of February 2020.
The situation has made many electricity users lamenting on social media, with some concluding that the country has returned to the era of load shedding which was christened as ‘dumsor’ in the Ghanaian parlance.
In an interview with Accra-based Joy FM, Deputy Minister for Energy in charge of Power, William Owuraku Aidoo blamed the current power cuts on the ongoing cleaning and inspection exercise being undertaken by the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company which has stopped the flow of gas supply from the east to various power plants powered by natural gas.
“This is going to be for just a few more days, and we will come to normal… It is not as people have been saying that ‘dumsor’ is back and we’ve gone back to the bad old days again. No. This is work that needed to be done to ensure the integrity of the pipeline and gas supply to our generators,” Owuraku Aidoo explained.
“We apologise for the inconvenience… the engineers are working,” he said.
“We did take steps to try and reduce to the barest minimum the interruptions in the power supply because we shouldn’t forget that Ghana, of course, we have our own indigenous gas that we can flow from the west to the east, but unfortunately because of this work, the gas from the west to the east, that is from Takoradi to the Tema enclave could not also be supplied.
“The Kpone Thermal Plant…we’ve lost one of the generators, which is giving us something in the region of 100 megawatts. We have also lost the TICO Plant [Takoradi International Plant]. We’ve lost parts of it as well, which were not foreseen. We made all these plans and unfortunately this has happened. Cenpower also, we were taking 180, a combination of 360, one turbine is gone off losing 180 so when we combine these unforeseen generators that have gone off…right now we are losing something in the region of between 100 and 200 megawatts.
“The plants that have gone down that I have enumerated amounts to well over 300, almost 400 megawatts, so that is what has caused this problem but like I said, this is going to be for a few days and we will come back to normalcy. So I’ll apologise once again on behalf of the Ministry of Energy that we will come back to normal. It is not as people have been saying that ‘dumsor’ is back and we’ve gone back to the bad old days again, no. This is work that needed to be done to ensure the integrity of the pipeline and gas supply to our generators.”
However, John Jinapor, who accused the Akufo-Addo of poorly managing the energy sector, maintained that the dreadful ‘dumsor’ is back.
“It is instructive to note that GRIDCo has been clandestinely shedding about 200MW since the first week of February this year with no end in sight.
“Let me be clear, the dreaded DUMSOR which the Mahama administration resolved is sadly back due to the ineptitude and mismanagement of the energy sector,” he stated.
“Today, the Ministry of Energy, having been exposed badly with the current DUMSOR the nation is witnessing is moving away from its earlier position that power outages was solely a result of financial challenges.
“For the records, this government has not procured a single drum of LCO since 2019.
“I, therefore, call on the Akuffo-Addo-led government to immediately desist from this blatant deception and publish the Load Shedding Time Table to enable Ghanaians plan their daily schedules,” Mr Jinapor demanded.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s largest independent power producer, Sunon Asogli Power GH Ltd has constructed a 4km-concrete road from the power plant to Pentecost Junction, a popular place at Kpone in the Republic of Ghana.
Sunon Asogli, which was established in 2006, has been very supportive to the people of Kpone.
The 4-kilometer road, estimated at the cost of $4 million, was constructed in partnership with the Kpone-Katamansu Municipal Assembly (KKMA) and it is intended to provide convenience for the chiefs and people of Kpone and its environs.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Kpone concrete road on Tuesday, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia expressed the government’s commitment in constructing more concrete roads in the country.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to constructing more roads this year since roads have become the core of Ghanaians for convenience.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana
Chronicling some selected roads in the Kpone Municipality which would be given a facelift, Dr Bawumia mentioned the Kpone township roads, Community 22 to Atadeka road, Afariwaa, Appolonia, Kakasunanka Numbers 1&2, Mac Baron to French man roads, among others.
The Vice President was optimistic that when completed, the roads would minimise the ordeal commuters go through daily and improve accessibility in the municipality.
He expressed the government’s appreciation and that of the community to Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited, the Chinese government, overseas shareholders and other development partners for the kind gesture.
He further urged the power generating company to continue to partner with the area’s assembly to meet the needs of the people of Kpone.
He was so much praise for China for its continuous demonstration of its willingness to be an important partner of Ghana with several developmental projects, especially when it comes to road construction and industries.
The Chairman of Sunon Asogli Power Limited, Mr. Yang Qun said the construction of the road was the demonstration of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the power company to Ghana.
The electricity demand in the country keeps growing and this is a boost to Ghana’s economy.
He said Sunon Asogli Power and Shenzhen Energy are looking at further investments in the sector. We hope we receive all the support needed to see this as a success.
“Sunon Asogli Power is very committed to continue being the most efficient and reliable IPP in the country. We will also ensure that we continue to meet the needs of the community, as it is our corporate-social responsibility.”Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is expected to pay a working visit to Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited, the country’s largest independent power producer, on Tuesday, 25th February, 2020.
According to energynewsafrica.com’s sources, the Vice President is scheduled to commission a 4km- concrete road the Sunon Asogli has constructed as part of its corporate social responsibility for residents and people of Kpone where it operates.
He will later tour the company’s power plant to familiarize himself with the operations of the company.
The Vice President will be accompanied by the Minister for Energy John -Peter Amewu, Roads and Highways Minister Hon. Kwesi Amoako Atta and other government officials.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Ministry of Energy is accusing a former Chief Executive Officer of the country’s national oil company, GNPC, Mr Alex Mould, of attempting to misinform Ghanaians in his write-ups on Aker Energy and AGM petroleum agreements.
According to the Ministry, the amendments to the Petroleum Agreements of Aker Energy and AGM were to provide regulatory certainty and incentives to support the realisation of Aker’s Pecan Project and increase investment in the AGM block respectively.
“These incentives have already yielded positive results for the country as AGM recently announced crude oil discoveries following an accelerated drilling campaign,” the Ministry explained.
In his latest epistle titled: ‘Government has bestowed on all Ghanaians massive historical damage to our oil and gas sector’, the former CEO of the GNPC berated the Akufo-Addo-administration for providing what he described as sweeping tax exemptions for the Norwegian oil and gas firm.
“Sadly, these amendments also provide sweeping tax exemption for Aker and AGM, its sub-contractors and sub sub-contractors. No withholding taxes in the case of AGM itself, and a reduced withholding tax rate of 5 percent instead of the 15 percent withholding tax for any work or services or supply or use of goods, both to domestic and international transactions.
“It is reckless to exempt withholding tax for international transactions; this is akin to surrendering taxing rights to a foreign state because the foreign state will apply tax on its worldwide income and will result in permanent revenue loss for Ghana. Additionally, exempting withholding tax on domestic transactions may lead to tax evasion as the trail is lost; eventually resulting in large scale tax loss due to avoidance,” Mr Mould said.
He further argued that the non-resident companies having established a Permanent Establishment (PE) status for tax purposes would be liable for full corporate tax.
“Sadly, the amendments make it possible for non-residence Permanent Establishment (PE) to be exempted from the payment of tax at the domestic rate. This will cause a substantial tax loss as the tax exemption is for 7 years.
However, in a statement signed by the Head of Communications at the Ministry, Nana Kofi Oppong-Damoah accused Mr Mould for churning out inaccurate information.
“It is important to state that in the amendments of the AGM Petroleum Agreement, we negotiated a higher net gain for Ghana. We reduced our commercial paid interest and the subsequent exposure of GNPC but raised the free carried interest of the state. This resulted in a Benefit-Cost ratio of 19 in favour of Ghana against 11 in the original Agreement.
“The Ministry wishes to advise Mr Mould and others who conduct themselves in similar ways to contact the appropriate institutions where they lack information on any issue in the oil and gas sector. As former CEO of GNPC. He cannot rely on uninformed commentators for information on critical subjects like petroleum for the purpose of conducting analysis for public consumption. Our doors are always open,” the Ministry said.
Clink on the link below for the Ministry’s full statementPRESS RELEASE
Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), the implementing agency for the Power Compact II in the Republic of Ghana, is to construct two power sub-stations at Kanda and Legon, both in the Republic of Ghana.
The cost of the two sub-stations is estimated at $11.3 million and will be funded by MCC as part of the US$308 million Compact II funds provided by the People and Government of the USA and US $23.2 million Counterpart funds by the Government of Ghana.
These form part of projects being implemented under the Ghana Power Compact Agreement Programme.
The project would assist in reducing technical losses at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
A kick-off meeting was held on 20th and 21st February, 2020, to signify the readiness of all the parties including the Project Contractor, Eiffage Ghana Ltd. towards the commencement of project.
Delivering his opening remarks, Eson-Benjamin said the Primary sub-stations “will fill an infrastructure gap which has been anticipated as the solution to the perennial power supply challenges experienced by the beneficiary health facilities.”
He added that these primary sub-station interventions could be perceived “as a health-driven infrastructure initiative and the sub-stations are, therefore, critical assets in the promotion of quality healthcare for Ghanaians.”
The 33/11kV Legon Primary Substation would improve electricity in Ghana and its surrounding communities, especially the newly constructed University of Ghana Teaching Hospital and Noguchi Memorial Institute for medical research.
The Kanda Primary sub-stations would improve power supply to the 37 Military Hospital and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
When completed, the health facilities and the neighbouring communities would experience significant improvements in power supplied to institutions and homes.
Along side the project, MiDA would construct a 16-unit three-bed apartment block at Kanda for the Ghana Armed Forces.
This would provide accommodation for persons to be affected by the construction of the sub-station.
The Deputy RCD of the MiDA, Ms Feleke said Ghanaians, as well as the US Government, who are providing the funds, hold huge expectations of the project.
SMEC PTY, the project engineers, and other project consultants were present.
Before the project implementation plan was drawn, series of meeting were held among all the stakeholders.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
OIL and Gas workers in the Republic of Ghana, West Africa, have issued two weeks’ ultimatum to the country’s Labour Commission to ensure speedy resolution of some compensation cases brought before it within the ultimatum timeline.
According to the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU), which is the umbrella body of the oil and gas workers, failure of the Commission will compel them to activate all the industrial action process at their disposal.
The Union accused the Commission of dragging its feet on their demands for compensation for two former workers of ETG Ghana Limited, Francis Narh and Patrick Akpable, who were sacked unlawfully about three years ago.
In a resolution reached after the Union’s Regional Conference in Takoradi, they said the National Labour Commission has, for the last three years, failed to rule on the Union’s request for compensation for two of their members dismissed by ETG Ghana Limited.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com in a telephone interview, Chairman of GTPCWU, Bernard Owusu said after the expiration of the two weeks’ ultimatum, the Union members would picket at ETG Ghana Limited and other businesses of the owner of the company including the Takoradi Mall.
Bernard-Owusu,Chairman of General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, Republic of Ghana
He continued that after the few days of picketing, the Union would follow it with a declaration of a full-blown strike action saying, “All our members will withdraw their services in solidarity of the two dismissed colleagues.
Though it is refreshing that Ghana has, so far, realised about US$6 billion in revenue from the Petroleum Industry since 2011, the industry is, however, bedeviled with concerns of unfair remuneration and dismissals among the few Ghanaians employed.
Besides, the yet to be resolved compensation for the two helicopter crash survivors, the latest is the sacking of two workers of ETG Ghana, a subsidiary of Amarja, a Petroleum Industry Support service provider.”
He told energynewsafrica.com that the country’s upstream regulator, Petroleum Commission, is aware of the issues but has not done anything about it.
“For the Petroleum Commission, they are aware of all of these things. We don’t have confidence in them because of things that have happened in the past. You remember a few years ago, a helicopter had an accident and as we speak now, nothing has happened to those workers. So if you have a Commission like that in place, do we go back and tell them that these workers have been sacked? In the oil sector, what we are hearing is that our people are in the pocket of the multinationals so when you’re even talking, they don’t even care about it.
“What they understand is this radical measures; hitting the streets, going on strike. That is what they basically understand and we have been quiet for some time now but they should be ready that come some days ahead of us, we would be embarking on certain actions about things that have happened to our workers that have not been addressed. As the resolution said, in two weeks if we do not hear anything from the authorities, the National Union, with the region, would embark on certain industrial actions which would not be nice or pleasant.“
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Special Presidential Task Force constituted by President of the Republic of Liberia to investigate circumstances that led to the scarcity of petroleum products on the Liberian Market has finalized and submitted its report to the President.
According to FrontPageAfrica Newspaper, the Task Force, headed by the Minister of State without Portfolio, Trokon Kpui, submitted their report on Friday, February 21, 2020.
The Task Force was charged with the responsibility of probing what was determined to be a variance of 60 percent between importers’ inventory of products at the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) and actual stock at the storage facilities.
The President has highlighted the significance of the investigation and the need to take the appropriate actions after fully perusing their report. This, he said, is necessary in order to advert a repeat of the difficulty Liberians encountered in the last couple of weeks as they tried to obtain petroleum products.
The report, which will be made public, includes a detailed explanation of the LPRC petroleum storage and lifting schedules, while also describing what caused the shortage and which corrective measures should be taken to prevent a recurrence.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has hired Maximilian Bankole Jarrett as its first Africa Programme Manager to help expand the Agency’s reach and coordinate its work as it deepens its engagement across the continent.
Mr Jarrett brings 30 years of experience in the fields of international economic affairs, media production and strategic communications.
He most recently served as the Director-in-Charge of the Geneva-based Africa Progress Panel, which was chaired by the late Kofi Annan, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former UN Secretary General.
The IEA has long focused on Africa’s energy sector, including work on the continent’s energy access issues since 2002. This work has since expanded significantly and will continue to do so in the coming years.
Last year, Dr Kandeh Yumkella, a former United Nations Under-Secretary-General, became an advisor to the IEA on Africa and energy access issues.
In October, the IEA published Africa Energy Outlook 2019 its most comprehensive and in-depth work to date about the continent, with a particular emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa.
The special report, part of the IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook, highlighted Africa’s increasing role in global energy affairs and included detailed energy profiles of 11 countries that represent three-quarters of the region’s gross domestic product and energy demand, including Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana.
The IEA is also strengthening its relationships with African energy decision-makers.
South Africa and Morocco are part of the IEA family as Association countries. In May 2019, the IEA and the African Union Commission co-hosted their first joint ministerial summit at which the two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to guide future collaboration. A second ministerial forum will be held in 2020, with South Africa offering to host the event in line with its 2020 presidency of the African Union.
Prior to his role with the Africa Progress Panel, Mr Jarrett spent over a decade working with the United Nations in Africa. He had started his career in 1990 as a programme presenter and senior producer with the BBC World Service. He worked on Focus on Africa and Network Africa, the BBC’s daily current affairs programmes for its audience in Africa.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom says it does not expect to have to implement rotational load shedding on Monday.
In a statement to update consumers, the utility said that additional generation units are expected to return to service later in the day.
“This will further increase generation capacity and help us avoid load shedding. Emergency reserves are at adequate levels,” it said.
Unplanned outages or breakdowns increased to 11 120MW on Monday morning, while planned maintenance was at 5 406MW.
“The generation system held up sufficiently during the weekend helping us to avoid the implementation of load shedding on Sunday. However, the generation plant[s] remain unreliable and unpredictable,” it said. The utility again warned that due to the unpredictability of the system, power cuts may be implemented at short notice.
Eskom has previously said there is an increased risk of load shedding over the next 18 months as it conducts maintenance on its fleet of ageing power plants
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has reached financial close and the start of the construction of the 589MW Changfang and Xidao wind project off the coast of Changhua County in Taiwan.
The Changfang and Xidao wind farm will feature 62 MHI Vestas 9.5MW wind turbines scheduled to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2024.
The wind farm will be financed through a combination of equity and senior loans from a consortium of 25 international and Taiwan banks and financial institutions, as well as six export credit agencies.
The total project financing raised from the banks and financial institutions amounts to approximately USD 3 billion, CIP said.
The project received the approval of its local content plan in December 2019 by the Taiwanese government and is the offshore wind project with the highest localization percentage in the Asia Pacific region, according to CIP.
The Changfang and Xidao project will localize the jacket foundation, pin piles, the onshore substation, transport and installation contracts, and more than 15 wind turbine components.
“Since we entered the Taiwan offshore wind market in 2017 we have worked intensively with Taiwanese companies and the government to build up the local supply chain and we are therefore proud to deliver the project with the highest extent of localization in Taiwan to date,” CEO of Changfang Xidao, Jesper Krarup Holst said.
CIP acquired the Changfang and Xidao wind farm in 2017 and the project obtained grid allocation in 2018. In 2019, the project entered into a 20-year PPA with the state-owned Taiwan Power Company.
The Changfang and Xidao project is owned by CI II and CI III, CIP’s funds, and a minority stake is owned by two local life insurance companies, Taiwan Life Insurance, and TransGlobe Life Insurance. CIP will lead the project through its construction phase.
“This project, besides being a remarkable project in Taiwan where it marks the continuation of the offshore wind build out, is part of leading the way for the complete APAC region going into offshore wind,”Anders Eldrup, CIP APAC Chairman said.
MUFG acted as Financial Advisor and CTBC as the local Financial Advisor for the project debt financing. White & Case acted as legal advisor and Baker McKenzie as the local legal advisor. FIH Partners acted as Financial Advisor to CIP.
To support the development, the Changfang and Xidao project has entered into contracts with the following companies: New Power Partners, PeakWind, Lautec, Wood Thilsted Partners, Bech Bruun, C2Wind, and JUM BO Consulting Group.
A former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s national oil company, GNPC, Alex Mould has fired salvo at the Akufo-Addo-administration for providing what he described as sweeping tax exemptions for Aker Energy and AGM, its sub-contractors as well as sub-sub-contractors.
This follows amendment of the country’s Petroleum (Exploration& Production) (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2019.
In his latest epistle, Mr Mould, who has been critical of the Akufo-Addo- administration over the Aker Energy and AGM deal, accused the government of bestowing on all Ghanaians massive historical damage to its oil and gas sector.
According to him, the damage done to the sector by the Akufo-Addo government is incomparable with that of the shambolic agreement with Power Distribution Service (PDS) which attracted a storm of criticism from many Ghanaians.
He questioned the motive of the government in rushing the Aker Energy petroleum amendments for approval when due processes had not been followed.
“Sadly, these amendments also provide sweeping tax exemption for Aker and AGM, its sub-contractors and sub sub-contractors. No withholding taxes in the case of AGM itself, and a reduced withholding tax rate of 5 percent instead of the 15 percent withholding tax for any work or services or supply or use of goods, both to domestic and international transactions.
“It is reckless to exempt withholding tax for international transactions; this is akin to surrendering taxing rights to a foreign state because the foreign state will apply tax on its worldwide income and will result in permanent revenue loss for Ghana. Additionally, exempting withholding tax on domestic transactions may lead to tax evasion as the trail is lost; eventually resulting in large scale tax loss due to avoidance,” he said.
He further argued that the non-resident companies, having established a Permanent Establishment (PE) status for tax purposes, would be liable for full corporate tax.
“Sadly, the amendments make it possible for non-residence Permanent Establishment (PE) to be exempted from the payment of tax at the domestic rate. This will cause a substantial tax loss as the tax exemption is for 7 years.
“Transactions between sub-contractor to sub-contractor is also not subjected to withholding tax in the case of AGM and a reduced withholding tax rate of 5 percent instead of the 15 percent withholding tax for any work or services or supply or use of goods, both to domestic and international transactions.
“The amendments to exempt transactions between sub-contractor to sub-contractor are unacceptable as it would have similar consequences as said above. Aker and AGM will be exempted from import duty, VAT and all sorts of other taxes. However, the indirect taxes are not a cost to the Aker and AGM as it avails input credit,” he stated.
Mrs. Kadijah-Amoah, Country Manager of Aker Energy GhanaBelow is Mr Mould’s full statement:
Government Has Bestowed On All Ghanaians Massive Historical Damage To Our Oil And Gas Sector – Alex Mould Writes
Over the last few days, I have watched with keen interest, Kevin Taylor’s expose on the Aker/Ghana government deal. Kevin on his Loud Silence Media programme dubbed: “With All Due Respect” revealed clandestine changes in the upstream petroleum sector.
For the benefit of readers, let me add my comments to what I call the most radical political attack on Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector since the commencement of the FOURTH REPUBLIC. This attack has far reaching consequences and serious implications for the future of Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry way beyond AKER; affecting not only our economy but future generations to come!
Government knew we would all be distracted over the Christmas festivities in December; So, guess what our Gov’t did??? Late one evening, precisely on Dec 23rd, whilst some were spending family time together, some of us grieving, and our youth “Detty Raving”, “Blooming”, “Afro Chelling”, “Afro Nating” etc, our government led by President Nana Akuffo Addo, rushed amendments through Parliament, to approve significant changes to the upstream petroleum sector without following the due process!
Let me refresh our memories a bit; you may all recall in October last year, I stood on a platform with the Minister of Energy, Hon Peter Amewu at an Oil and Gas Conference held at the University of East London in the United Kingdom. At this conference I raised the alarm about the entire integrated Plan of Development (PoD) resubmitted by Aker Energy in relation to the Pecan oil field which would rob the nation of billions of United State Dollars both immediately and over the next 30 years.
I hinted that government was preparing to pass amendments to the existing regulations and laws governing the upstream petroleum sector provided Aker Energy agreed to the NPP Government’s demands. It is alleged that Government among other demands, asked Aker Energy to ensure the usage of only designated/chosen local partners (mainly controlled by people associated with the leadership of the NPP), even if these local partners are not qualified or even if these foreign oil services companies have already chosen their local partners.
The Energy Minister assured Ghanaians at the conference that he would not approve the PoD if those were the conditions attached to it. He said and I quote “the PoD that you are talking about is lying on my table and I insist I am not going to give them that opportunity”.
The changes that were rushed through Parliament, even made reference to an earlier amendment which Parliament had approved conditionally; the condition being that the Minister had to come back to Parliament, within 6 months or so, with some agreed revised clauses Parliament had insisted on, which related to increasing the People of Ghana’s additional participating interest ( additional equity) from 3% to 10%, as well as ensuring that the original local content partners were not removed and their equity holding remained untouched .
Guess what happened?? The Minister in his submission of the recent amendment to parliament on Dec 22 did not even have the courtesy to address those preconditions that our legislative body (Parliament) had given for passing the previous amendment, but rather made mention in the new amendment laid on Dec 23, 2019 before Parliament that the previous conditional amendment that Parliament had given had been passed!
Consequences
The immediate impact of the amendments will;
Strangle state policymaking, state regulation, and state commercial participation in the upstream oil and gas (O&G) Sector.
Collapse local content development.
Impose certain critical obligations on the Minister which are regulatory in nature.
Compel the Minister to accept use of FPSO technology as the only option for producing the resources of the AGM Block – even before the appraisal of the field in which the technology must be deployed.
Compel the Minister to accept the contractor’s delineation of the area to be included within a “Development and Production Area” in the Aker Block.
Allow Aker within a year of its Final Investment Decision to unilaterally vary the approved development plan without reference to the Minister contrary to Section 27(12) of Act 919.
Give Contractors unfettered discretion over oilfield procurement without recourse to the petroleum commission or any other governmental authority – also weakening the role of GNPC in Joint Management Committees.
The direct beneficiary of these giveaways will be the Norwegian Multinational, AKER which owns and controls both the Aker Ghana and AGM operated Oil Blocks. The direct LOSER is Ghana
The cumulative medium to long term effect of all these giveaways will be a loss of national control over our precious petroleum resources which will lead among other things to:
billions of dollars lost to the nation; and
loss of job creation
Taxation and Other Imports
Sadly, these amendments also provide sweeping tax exemption for Aker and AGM, its sub-contractors and sub sub-contractors. No withholding taxes in the case of AGM itself, and a reduced withholding tax rate of 5% – instead of the 15% withholding tax – for any work or services or supply or use of goods, both to domestic and international transactions.
It is reckless to exempt Withholding tax for international transactions; this is akin to surrendering taxing rights to a foreign state because the foreign state will apply tax on its worldwide income and will result in permanent revenue loss for Ghana. Additionally, exempting Withholding tax on domestic transactions may lead to tax evasion as the trail is lost; eventually resulting in large scale tax loss due to avoidance.
The non-resident companies having established a Permanent Establishment (PE) status for tax purposes would be liable for full corporate tax. Sadly, the amendments make it possible for non-residence Permanent Establishment (PE) to be exempted from the payment of tax at the domestic rate. This will cause a substantial tax loss as the tax exemption is for 7 years.
Transactions between Sub-contractor to sub-contractor is also not subjected to Withholding tax in the case of AGM and a reduced withholding tax rate of 5% instead of the 15% withholding tax for any work or services or supply or use of goods, both to domestic and international transactions.
The amendments to exempt transactions between Sub-contractor to sub-contractor are unacceptable as it would have similar consequences as said above. Aker and AGM will be exempted from import duty, VAT and all sorts of other taxes. However, the indirect taxes are not a cost to the Aker and AGM as it avails input credit.
Conclusion
This government has bestowed on all Ghanaians massive historical damage to our oil and gas sector and our economy for future generations – damage that at least in financial terms far exceeds the damage of the PDS scandal.
May God help us all as we embark on a mission to reset and rescue Ghana from corruption and state capture in 2020!!!
END
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited, the strategic stock oil company in the Republic of Ghana, West Africa, has assisted the Buipe Fire Service Station in the Savannah Region with an amount of GHc 58,862 to repair its broken down tenders and control unit.
The Buipe Fire Service Station, which serves the road from Kintampo to Tamale, has been struggling to control fire outbreaks in that part of the West African nation because its only fire tender had broken down for some months.
Interestingly, the station is supposed to serve BOST’s depot that serves the Northern Region of the country, Savannah Cement Company, PBC and Volta Lake Transport Company in case of any fire outbreak.
A recent fire outbreak that occurred at the BRV tanker yard near BOST depot resulted in about five of the BRV trucks completely burnt into ashes.
Fire service personnel, who were called to the scene had to employ the use of fire extinguishers to fight the fire, a situation they described as worrying.
Following that horrifying fire incident, the Savannah Regional Fire Service Commander, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Kwasi Baffour-Awuah told energynewsafrica.com that he wrote letters to all the stakeholders in the area to solicit for financial support to be able to repair the fire tender and also fix their control unit.
He said he later got information that the Managing Director of BOST, Mr Edwin Provencal was on a working visit to Buipe and, therefore, went to engage him over the issue.
According to him, after that engagement, the MD invited him to Accra where presented a cheque of GHc33, 670 to him.
He added that the BOST MD, subsequently presented another cheque of GHc25, 192 bringing the total to GHc58,862.
Mr Baffour-Awuah said due to the assistance from BOST, the broken fire tender and the control unit of the Buipe Fire Service Station has been repaired and recommissioned.
He was full of gratitude to the management of BOST and especially the MD for his timely intervention.
Kwasi Baffour Awuah, Savannah Regional Fire Service Commander
He said with the fire tender back to work, his outfit is now in the position to carry out its mandated duties.
“I want to take this opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude to BOST for assisting us and fixing our fire tender. The people of Buipe will heave a sigh of relief. Now, the area from Kintampo to Tamale is covered. I want to entreat everyone that, the harmattan is here and the weather is not favourable so everyone must be cautious with the use of fire especially naked fire,” he said.
He added that the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has started its fire safety education and as such, they would be at every place-the church, mosque, market and radio stations, educating people about the hazards of fire.
The Managing Director of BOST, Mr Edwin Provencal, however, expressed satisfaction with the work done on the equipment and assured that BOST would continue to partner its stakeholders to help make Ghana a better place.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Executive Director for Institute of Energy Security (IES), an energy think-tank in the Republic of Ghana, has been enstooled as the chief of Ekumfi Abor, near Mankessim in the Central Region of Ghana.
Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, also known as Joshua Anaman Sackey will also be the Ankobiahene of the Ekumfi Traditional Council.
He is currently the General Manager in charge of Shipping Logistics at Convenio Energy, an Oil Trading Firm with headquarters in Mauritius.
Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi(second from left).
Mr Anamua Sakyi, who is a former staff of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited has over 23 years of experience in the technical and management areas of Oil and Gas Management, Banking and Finance and Mechanical Engineering.
He had worked in both the gold mining and oil sectors.
He is currently working as an oil trader, consultant, and policy analyst in the global energy sector.
He serves as a resource to many global energy research firms, including Argus Media and CNBC Africa.Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
He was so much praise for China for its continuous demonstration of its willingness to be an important partner of Ghana with several developmental projects, especially when it comes to road construction and industries.
The Chairman of Sunon Asogli Power Limited, Mr. Yang Qun said the construction of the road was the demonstration of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the power company to Ghana.
The electricity demand in the country keeps growing and this is a boost to Ghana’s economy.
He said Sunon Asogli Power and Shenzhen Energy are looking at further investments in the sector. We hope we receive all the support needed to see this as a success.
“Sunon Asogli Power is very committed to continue being the most efficient and reliable IPP in the country. We will also ensure that we continue to meet the needs of the community, as it is our corporate-social responsibility.”
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com 
He said he later got information that the Managing Director of BOST, Mr Edwin Provencal was on a working visit to Buipe and, therefore, went to engage him over the issue.
According to him, after that engagement, the MD invited him to Accra where presented a cheque of GHc33, 670 to him.
He added that the BOST MD, subsequently presented another cheque of GHc25, 192 bringing the total to GHc58,862.
Mr Baffour-Awuah said due to the assistance from BOST, the broken fire tender and the control unit of the Buipe Fire Service Station has been repaired and recommissioned.
He was full of gratitude to the management of BOST and especially the MD for his timely intervention.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com