The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) has rewarded six second-cycle schools in the Republic of Ghana for showcasing their renewable energy projects.
The schools participated in the Energy Commission’s maiden ‘High School Renewable Energy Challenge’, introduced this year alongside the 5th Ghana Renewable Energy Fair and National Energy Symposium.
The schools showcased renewable energy projects in the area of solar, waste and wind.
Ing. William Amuna, a technical advisor at MiDA presenting a cash reward to the representative of Forces SHS
Ebenezer Senior High School emerged the winner of the Renewable Energy Challenge and it received GHs5,000.
Forces SHS took home GHs4, 500, Manhean SHS GHs 3,500, Tema Technical High School GHs3,000, Achimota SHS GHs 2,000 and Osu Presec GHs2, 000.
The ‘High School Renewable Energy Challenge’ is aimed at instilling a passion for solving renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change challenges in students through research and innovation, develop research skills of senior high school students and promote technological innovation in renewable energy and energy efficiency, develop presentation skills of senior high school students and promote self -confidence and encourage hard work through public recognition and rewards.Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Hon. Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, says Somalia holds huge opportunities for investors looking to enter the East African market.
He, thus, called on prospective investors to take advantage and come and invest.
“Nowhere is the contribution that the energy industry can make to civil society and economic development greater than in Somalia,” he said in a speech at the Africa Oil & Power conference in Cape Town, South Africa
He noted that the sector has the potential to greatly enhance stability and economic development.
On its path to transforming its petroleum industry and attract the attention of new investors, Somalia has made significant progress in recent years. This year, the country passed a new petroleum law which enabled it to make progress in exploration and development, and attract interest from oil and gas majors ExxonMobil and Shell.
“My ministry worked successfully with the six federal member states to develop an equitable and transparent framework for development, focused on the greater good of Somalia and all its people, whilst ensuring that we are highly competitive internationally to attract investment by delivering returns that are consistent with the risks and rewards of developing our off-shore industry,” the minister said.
Eager to demonstrate to the world that Somalia is open for business, the minister said the country is currently on an international roadshow which will showcase the exploration opportunities available in its hydrocarbons sector.
“This includes seismic data recently shot by Spectrum covering 20,185 km. The current licensing round is in respect of up to 15 blocks, covering a total area of approximately 7,500 square miles. The bid round will follow shortly after to ensure that the world knows: Somalia is open for business.”
Minister Ahmed also spoke on the attractiveness of the country’s production sharing agreement (PSA) model for offshore oil exploration and development – regarding it as being amongst the most attractive to investors in the frontier basins. The PSA provides a highly attractive regulatory fiscal framework that is both competitive and equitable for both the people of Somalia and international oil companies (IOC).
“By equitably linking of royalties and share of revenue closely to the price of oil, the Somalia PSA ensures that IOCs can recover their up-front development costs and earn a fair share profit even if oil prices fall, whilst maximizing the profit going to the Somalian people,” the minister explained.
Oil major BP now expects to deliver divestment proceeds and announced transactions totalling around $10 billion by the end of 2019, comprising the majority of its two-year divestment program planned to complete by the end of 2020.
Following the $10.25 billion all-cash acquisition of US onshore assets from BHP in 2018, BP announced a $10 billion divestment program over 2019 and 2020.
According to Offshoreenergytoday.com, BP said on Friday that the strong progress in delivering the program had been driven by the agreed sale of BP’s interests in Alaska, as well as progress in divesting assets from its existing, non-BHP US Lower 48 legacy gas business.
The $5.6 billion sale to Hilcorp of BP’s Alaskan business-announced in August and subject to regulatory approval – is the largest single agreed transaction and is expected to complete in 2020.
BP has also agreed the sale of four packages of legacy gas assets from its US Lower 48 business.
As a result of the agreed divestments, BP expects to take a non-cash, non-operating, after-tax charge of $2-3 billion in its third quarter 2019 results. BP will also continue to review asset valuations as divestments in the US Lower 48 progress over the fourth quarter 2019.
These impairment charges are expected to increase gearing in the short term, as a result of the impact on equity, with gearing remaining above the top end of the 20-30% range through year end.
However, in line with the expected growth in free cash flow and the receipt of divestment proceeds, BP continues to expect net debt levels to reduce and gearing to move towards the middle of its target range of 20-30% through 2020.
Output disrupted by hurricane
Across the Upstream, BP said it continued to make strong progress with the delivery of its program of major projects. 23 of the 35 projects expected online by the end of 2021 are now in production, with production ramping up from the four projects that have started up so far in 2019.
In the near term, BP’s third quarter 2019 production was impacted by turnarounds in some of the highest-margin regions, and output in the US Gulf of Mexico was significantly disrupted by Hurricane Barry, with facilities shut down for around 14 days.
Taken together, these factors impacted BP’s third quarter 2019 production by around 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with the overall production mix in the third quarter having a higher proportion of barrels produced from higher tax regions.
As a result, BP’s underlying effective tax rate is expected to be around 50% in the third quarter 2019, significantly higher than in the second quarter. The full year 2019 tax guidance of around 40% remains unchanged.
Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Finance, Charles Adu-Boahen says Akufo-Addo’s administration mantra of developing ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ is contingent on the availability of fuel and power, hence the government is working to ensure that there is availability of fuel and power for the growth of the country’s economy.
He noted that energy is a key enabler of economic growth, adding that no country that has developed has done so without reliable and affordable energy.
“The attainment of the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ will be based on the collective efforts of both state and non-state actors.
“The contribution of the utility agencies will be critical in this push to improve the lives of Ghanaians. And this will depend on their readiness to supply energy at reasonable prices through the reduction of losses and improvement in service delivery cannot be overemphasised, “he said.
In his view, the growth of every economy is dependent on energy, saying “This is the reason why the Ghanaian economy recorded the slowest growth during the period of ‘dumsor’, with manufacturing growth being negative at the height of dumsor.”
Ghana experienced power crisis between 2012 and 2016 and this resulted in the collapse of many businesses with hundreds of people losing their jobs.
The power situation eased in 2017, when the current administration took over.In a speech delivered on his behalf by Dr. Joseph Asenso, Head of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Finance, at the ongoing National Energy Symposium in Accra, capital of Ghana, Charles Adu-Boahen said: “We have successfully ‘banished’ dumsor and I hope it is for good.
“The experience of 2015/2016 when electricity was moving away off the national grid to solar and generating sets, in order to avoid paying for higher electricity tariffs is an indication of how customers will find alternative ways to survive when energy becomes too expensive.
For this reason, Charles Adu-Boahen said government is doing all within its power to ensure that energy costs are not beyond what Ghanaians can afford.
“We have taken steps to reduce the price of indigenous gas, a key input for electricity generation.
“We have also commenced the process of renegotiating IPP and LNG contracts, all in a bid to reduce energy costs,” he said.
Radiance Petroleum, one of the Oil Marketing Companies in the Republic of Ghana has given away some goodies to customers as part of its customer service week.
The indigenous Oil Marketing Company gave away, fuel top ups, T-shirts and many other goodies to customers who visited their stations across the country.
According to management of the company, the week will see staff being reminded about the importance of the customer to the growth of every firm.
Speaking to journalists, Managing Director of Radiance Petroleum, Emmanuel Pobee, said: “Customers should expect more fuel, value for money, a friendly oil marketing company and also an experience of our motto: ‘You deserve the best fuel’.”
The customer service week being celebrated at all Radiance Fuel Station across the country will last from Monday October 7 to Friday October 11, 2019.
Mr. Emmanuel Pobee also expressed concern about the dwindling margins of Oil Marketing Companies due to intense competition as a result of the deregulation exercise.
He called on the National Petroleum Authority to take a look at the challenge which according to the Bulk Oil Distribution Company threatening the survival of some players in the sector.
South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe has hinted that the country’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) would be concluded within days.
“By Wednesday, I am very hopeful that the IRP would be concluded, and we will gazette it,” he said.
Delivering a keynote address at the Africa Oil & Power event in Cape Town Thursday, Hon. Mantashe explained that the plan will lay the foundation for investment in power generation. Such an investment should have the impact of lowering the cost of doing business in our country.
Minister Mantashe highlighted the potential investment that could come as a result of a finalised IRP, which represents a key component of South Africa’s energy strategy. With this, he invited investors to enter the South African market.
“Come to the fore, we are ready for you. Talk to us,” he said.
In line with the conference theme: ‘Make Energy Work’, Minister Mantashe also spoke on the importance of developing a thriving energy sector as a means to encouraging economic growth, noting that the sector is “part of an effort that is a catalyst to economic growth.”
On the country’s energy future, he said that natural gas would be a key part of South Africa’s energy mix, and explained that projects, like the Coega development in the Eastern Cape Province, would be at the core of this strategy.
“This ambitious project for us will be a game changer, those who are waking up to take the opportunity will actually benefit from that development. It is quite a test for us because we need to get into gas in a big way.”
The multi-billion rand Coega special economic zone project is located in the Nelson Mandela bay and consists of 10 projects including a renewable energy components factory, a gas-to-power plant, a solar rooftop project and an oil refinery.
The gas-to-power project is expected to supply power from 2026.
The Africa Oil & Power conference and exhibition continues until October 11.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Energy Commission, with support from the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), is in the process of setting up two sustainable energy services in tertiary educational institutions in the Republic of Ghana, the country’s Minister for Energy John-Peter Amewu has revealed.
According to the Minister, Indian-based Development Environment Services Limited (DESL), in association with its partners, will assist to establish and operationalise these centres.
The West African nation’s Energy Minister John-Peter Amewu disclosed this in a speech read for him by his Deputy in charge of Petroleum, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, at the ongoing 5th Ghana Renewable Energy Fair and National Energy Symposium at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).
The 5th day Renewable Energy Fair and National Energy Symposium is under the theme: ‘ Opportunities for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in a constrained energy sector.’
It has attracted several industry players especially those in the renewable energy sector in Ghana and around the globe.The SESCs, the Minister explained, would help in capacity-building and also provide training support for energy auditing to energy management professionals.
This, he said, would ensure that trained manpower is available to serve Ghana’s sustainable energy market.
“The Centres, further, fit in rightly with the objective of the government to build the capacity of the local professionals to serve not just Ghanaian market but also our neighbouring countries and the rest of the world,” he said.
Mr Amewu indicated that consultants have carried out the need assessment and baseline review of sustainable energy services in Ghana, identified the gaps and have prepared a roadmap to bridge these identified gaps.
He further said the consultants have also developed the tertiary education curriculum for training of sustainable energy (SE) service providers and would conduct the first set of training and certification to the professionals who would act as Master Trainers to provide training and certification to the Ghanaian sustainable energy professionals in the future.
He urged Ghanaian tertiary institutions to actively participate in the programmes of Sustainable Energy Services Centres and help establish a centre of excellence that would serve as the hub for skill development of SE professionals in Ghana.
Mr Amewu, who said he was aware that the roadmap would be presented at the renewable energy fair for deliberation, urged participants to examine the roadmap critically and provide valuable comments to refine the roadmap to a desired level.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has raised an alarm over the increasing menace of oil pipeline vandalism, which hit a record high of 228 pulverized points in July.
The corporation disclosed this in its July Monthly Financial and Operations Report released in Abuja on Wednesday.
It noted that the breached lines represented an increase of 115 per cent from
The 106 vandalised points recorded in June 2019.
It noted that out of the vandalised points, 15 failed to be welded, while five points were ruptured.
The report noted that the Aba-Enugu axis accounted for 35 per cent of the breaks, while Port Harcourt-Aba route recorded 22 per cent, with Ibadan-Ilorin layout hitting a 16-per cent mark.
Similarly, the report revealed that the Lagos Atlas Cove-Mosimi Zone logged 12 per cent with other locations recording the remaining 15 per cent of the breaks.
Nigeria’s Senate has commenced moves to amend the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) Act, following consideration of a bill to that effect during plenary on Tuesday, October 8, 2019.
A statement signed by Ezrel Tabiowo, Special Assistant (Press) to Senate President, indicated that the bill titled “Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract 2004 (amendment) Bill 2019” passed second reading on Tuesday.
It was consequently referred to the Senate Committees on Petroleum (Upstream) and Finance for further legislative work.
According to shipsandports.com.ng, the sponsor of the bill, Senator Albert Bassey Akpan (PDP, Akwa-Ibom North East), said the bill seeks to amend Section 5 of the PSC Act to bring the provisions of that section into conformity with the generality of the provisions of the Act and into congruence with the intendment and essence of Production Sharing Contracts.“The PSC arrangement was offered by the Federal Government of Nigeria as a contractual arrangement for the exploration and production of petroleum in the 1991 licensing round,” he said.He explained that the fiscal incentives from the arrangement are distinct and absent from the provisions of the Petroleum Act and the Petroleum Profit Tax Act which regulate the fiscal regime of other types of petroleum exploration and production arrangements.“The Act provided in section 16 that where the price of crude oil exceeds US$20 per barrel, the PSC Act will be reviewed to ensure that the share of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in the additional revenue is adjusted to the extent that the PSCs shall be economically beneficial to the FGN and that in any event, the PSC Act shall be liable to be reviewed after 15 years from its commencement in 1993 and every 5 years thereafter.“This amendment alters the royalty payable by the PSC contractors so that whenever oil and gas price increases, the share of government increases with the automatic inception of the newly introduced royalty by price mechanism”, Senator Akpan added.In a related development, the Senate also urged the federal government to give priority to the development of the Oloibiri Oil and Gas Research Centre and Museum.The call was made by the Red chamber in resolutions reached after considering a motion on “The need to ensure immediate commencement of the Oil and Gas Research Centre and Museum, Oloibiri, Bayelsa State -Nigeria’s first oil field.”The sponsor of the motion, Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo (Bayelsa East), said in exhibition of the importance of the first oil field and the need to develop the foreign exchange earning tourism potentials of the area, the idea to build a world class museum of oil and gas was conceptualised, designed and foundation stone laid by President Shehu Shagari in 1953.According to him, though the federal government removed the project from the National Commission for Museum as rewarded and domiciled with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund in 2011, the project still remains moribund.The Senate, therefore, urged the Federal Government to direct PTDF and contractors to mobilise to site to commence the construction of the Oil and Gas research Centre and Museum.It also directed relevant Senate committees to carry out intensive oversight on the implementation of the project.
Talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the operation of a $4 billion hydropower dam that Ethiopia is constructing on the Nile, have reached a deadlock.
Egypt is calling for international mediation to solve the impasse.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), announced in 2011, is designed to be the centerpiece of the Horn of Africa country’s bid to become the continent’s biggest power exporter, generating more than 6,000MW.
“The negotiations on the Renaissance dam have reached a deadlock,” Egypt’s irrigation ministry said in a statement after a new round of talks ended in the Sudanese capital.
Egypt fears the dam will restrict the flow of the Nile, from Ethiopia’s highlands through the deserts of Sudan and on to Egypt’s fields and reservoirs.
The statement claimed the Ethiopian delegation “rejected all the proposals that take Egypt’s water interests into account” and presented one that “lacked guarantees” on how to deal with droughts that may occur in the future.
Egypt depends on the Nile for about 90% of its needs for irrigation and drinking water and says it has “historic rights” to the river guaranteed by treaties from 1929 and 1959.
“Egypt has called for involving an international party in the Renaissance Dam negotiations to mediate between the three countries and help…reaching a fair and balanced agreement,” it said after talks in the Sudanese capital Khartoum between the three countries’ water resources ministers.
Egypt did not say who should mediate, but the presidency called on the US to play “an active role in this regard”.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the US supports Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan’s negotiations to reach a sustainable and mutually beneficial agreement.
Ethiopia’s minister at the talks, Seleshi Bekele, rejected the Egyptian request for a mediator. “Why do we need new partners? Do you want to extend (the negotiations) for an indefinite time?,” he told reporters.
Ethiopia has blamed failure of the talks on Egypt and analysts fear that conflict could ensue if the dispute is not resolved before the dam begins operating.
Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), a subsidiary of Springfield Group, has made history by becoming the first independent African Energy company to drill in deep water.
Springfield has spud the Afina-1x well in the West Cape Three Points Block 2.
The Afina-1x well is the first of a two-well program being undertaken by Springfield utilizing the Stena Forth drillship.
The 673 sq km West Cape Three Points Block 2 (WCTP2), awarded in 2016, is located in the Tano / Western Basin. The water depth ranges from 100 meters to 1,700 meters.
Springfield E&P is the operator and majority interest holder of WCTP2 with state oil firm GNPC and its exploration company (Explorco) holding a minority interest.
The group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mele Kolo Kyari has vowed to reverse the trend of petroleum imports into Nigeria by improving the existing refineries and encouraging private sector investment in the refineries.
“We must end the trend of fuel importation as an oil producing country,” he said
“We will deliver on the rehabilitation of the four refineries within the life of this administration and support the private sector to build refineries. We will support the Dangote Refinery to come on stream on schedule and transform Nigeria into a net exporter of petroleum products by 2023,” he said in a released copied to energynewsafrica.com by APO Group.
He added that the government’s target of raising crude oil production and reserves to three million barrels per day and 40 billion barrels respectively, was possible and that he would galvanise the corporation to achieve it by 2023.
When it comes to rooting out the corruption that has plagued the industry in Nigeria, Mr Kyari pointed out how much NNPC had changed over the past three years from the old image of a corruption-laden organisation, stressing that he would continue to entrench the culture of accountability in the affairs of the corporation.
“We are going to work to remove every element of discretion from our processes because discretion is one of the greatest enablers of corruption,” he said.
“NNPC will not be opaque; we’ll be transparent to all so that at the end of the day, everyone will be in a position to assess us and say what we have done right or wrong,” Mele Kolo Kyari added.
Support from OPEC
The Secretary General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo has commended the NNPC for its ongoing reforms aimed at changing the fortunes of the corporation for the better.
“I am glad that you continue to march on with your projects despite the downturn in the industry.
“We have seen the industry globally suffer in terms of contraction in investment which affected capacity. You have not only been able to stay on course but you also continue with these projects which are critical for the development of the corporation and the industry in Nigeria.
“To lead such a sensitive and capital-intensive industry like oil and gas, you must have transparency and accountability as one of your core principles in order to drive change. I am glad I have known Mele Kyari for a very long time.
“He is a very capable and straightforward individual with a high level of integrity even as a very junior officer. So, he has a track record. I remain confident that together with his team, and with the support of government, he will accomplish the task,” Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo eulogised.
Building A Nigerian Giant
Key to this strategy of reducing imports is the Dangote Refinery that is under construction near Lagos.
The 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) integrated refinery and petrochemical project will be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility upon completion in 2020.
The facility will be able to process a variety of light and medium grades of crude to produce Euro-V quality clean fuels including gasoline and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.
Nigeria In Focus At Africa Oil Week
Relations between South Africa and Nigeria have been strained in recent months after several days of riots in South Africa in September that mainly targeted foreign-owned, including Nigerian businesses.
But, following a visit to South Africa by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, tensions have eased.
A further sign of the improving relationship is the visit of Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, to Africa Oil Week (Africa-OilWeek.com).
The Minister expressed his excitement to be travelling to South Africa.
As the largest upstream event on the continent, Africa Oil Week has enjoyed attendance from the industry’s highest-level decision makers for over 25 years.
This year is no different, with Nigeria’s brand new NPCC GMD making his international debut at the 2019 conference in Cape Town this November (4-8).
Mallam Melee Kyari will be setting out the future vision of the NNPC under his leadership and participating in a session titled: ‘Atlantic Transform Margin (Liberia to Nigeria)’, where he will provide a deep insight into the current operating landscape in some of the most highly sought-after regions
Dutch FPSO operator SBM Offshore has confirmed a formal closure of its Brazil legacy case related to legacy bribery issues in Brazil.
A statement issued on Wednesday explained that the company has received notification that the Federal Court has formally closed the Improbity Lawsuit filed by the Brazilian Federal Prosecutors Office (Ministério Público Federal, MPF) in 2017.
This approval makes the Leniency Agreement between the MPF and SBM Offshore effective, which comprises a final settlement of BRL 200 million ($48.8M), which will be paid to Petrobras.
SMB Offshore reached a deal with the Brazilian prosecutor under which the prosecutor would refrain from initiating new legal proceedings against the company related to legacy bribery issues in Brazil in September 2018.
The agreement meant that the company had also reached a final settlement with the MPF over alleged improper sales practices before 2012, in addition to that with the Brazilian Authorities and Petrobras.
As with all such agreements signed by the MPF, the agreement was subject to approval by the Fifth Chamber of the MPF.
Under the agreement, the MPF committed to refrain from initiating new legal proceedings against the company under the Improbity Law, Anti-Corruption Law and Public-Procurement Law in relation to the legacy issues in Brazil.
The MPF and the company jointly requested the court to formally close the Improbity Lawsuit filed by the MPF in 2017, including the associated provisional measure to secure payment of potential damages.
The agreement provided – in addition to the amounts agreed in the leniency agreement – for the payment of an additional fine by SBM Offshore of BRL 200 million. The additional fine was to be paid to Petrobras in installments: an upfront payment of BRL 60 million, with seven BRL 20 million installments thereafter.
This additional agreement brought the total amount of the provision established by the company in respect of legacy issues in Brazil from $299 million to $347 million.
Ecuador’s state-owned energy company Petroamazonas has suspended production at three fields amid protests against rising fuel prices that have forced the government to move from the capital Quito to the coastal city of Guayaquil.
Reuters reports the Ecuadorian energy ministry as saying the field was “taken” by “individuals not affiliated with the operation.” The ministry added it had deployed the army at key locations in a bid to “safeguard the Ecuadoran state’s resources.”
Ecuador increased fuel prices by up to 120 percent earlier this month and this sparked protests among farmers and indigenous peoples, France 24 reports.
Hundreds have taken to the streets and roads, blocking them and burning tires and barricades.
Removing fuel subsidies was the reason for the price spike as the government of Lenin Moreno seeks to shrink Ecuador’s fiscal deficit. As the protests enter their fifth day, President Moreno has accused his former compatriots of staging a coup with the help of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.
“What has happened is not a manifestation of social discontent in protest of a government decision. The lootings, vandalism and violence show there is an organized political motive to destabilize the government,” Moreno said.
Several thousand people are marching towards the capital Quito, according to a local organization of indigenous people, CONAIE. France 24 recalls that almost 20 years ago CONAIE was instrumental in the ousting of then-president Jamil Mahuad from office during another economic crisis.
Troubled by its economic woes, Ecuador recently announced it would leave OPEC from January next year as it seeks to increase its oil revenues, which cannot happen if it complies with a production cap.
The Andean country has crude oil reserves estimated at 8.27 billion barrels and produces a little over half a million barrels daily, according to OPEC data. Of this, close to 400,000 bpd are exported.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
In a speech delivered on his behalf by Dr. Joseph Asenso, Head of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Finance, at the ongoing National Energy Symposium in Accra, capital of Ghana, Charles Adu-Boahen said: “We have successfully ‘banished’ dumsor and I hope it is for good.
“The experience of 2015/2016 when electricity was moving away off the national grid to solar and generating sets, in order to avoid paying for higher electricity tariffs is an indication of how customers will find alternative ways to survive when energy becomes too expensive.
For this reason, Charles Adu-Boahen said government is doing all within its power to ensure that energy costs are not beyond what Ghanaians can afford.
“We have taken steps to reduce the price of indigenous gas, a key input for electricity generation.
“We have also commenced the process of renegotiating IPP and LNG contracts, all in a bid to reduce energy costs,” he said.
The SESCs, the Minister explained, would help in capacity-building and also provide training support for energy auditing to energy management professionals.
This, he said, would ensure that trained manpower is available to serve Ghana’s sustainable energy market.
“The Centres, further, fit in rightly with the objective of the government to build the capacity of the local professionals to serve not just Ghanaian market but also our neighbouring countries and the rest of the world,” he said.
Mr Amewu indicated that consultants have carried out the need assessment and baseline review of sustainable energy services in Ghana, identified the gaps and have prepared a roadmap to bridge these identified gaps.
He further said the consultants have also developed the tertiary education curriculum for training of sustainable energy (SE) service providers and would conduct the first set of training and certification to the professionals who would act as Master Trainers to provide training and certification to the Ghanaian sustainable energy professionals in the future.
He urged Ghanaian tertiary institutions to actively participate in the programmes of Sustainable Energy Services Centres and help establish a centre of excellence that would serve as the hub for skill development of SE professionals in Ghana.
Mr Amewu, who said he was aware that the roadmap would be presented at the renewable energy fair for deliberation, urged participants to examine the roadmap critically and provide valuable comments to refine the roadmap to a desired level.
