Africa Oil Week has launched of first in a series of complimentary reports, produced in association with Wood Mackenzie.
The report “Opportunities for Africa in the Energy Transition”, will be accompanied by a free-to-attend webinar taking place this Wednesday (29 July, 15:00 GMT+1).
Posing the question “What does the energy transition means for Africa?”,the report explores the continent’s role in meeting global hydrocarbon demand and examines how Africa’s position as a hydrocarbon exporter will be challenged under various accelerated energy transition scenarios.
It also looks at how net zero goals, electrification, and new technology deployments are accelerating the energy transition globally, whilst providing an overview of how these factors are at play within Africa.
Moderated by Wood Mackenzie’s Valentina Kretzschmar, the accompanying webinar will include frank discussions around both the challenges and opportunities for Africa in the energy transition. The expert contributors, listed below, will be on-hand to provide cutting-edge analysis and answer questions from the audience:
• David Brown, Head of Markets & Transitions – Americas, Wood Mackenzie
• Ville Rimali, Director – Growth & Development, Wärtsilä
• Jonathan Evans, VP Africa New Ventures, BP Exploration
• Ade Adeola, Managing Director, Energy & Natural Resources, Standard Chartered Bank
The report is available here (https://bit.ly/330FbNc) as a complimentary download. Sign-up for the webinar here (https://bit.ly/2ByUWiW)
Source:Africa Oil Week
During a lively webinar focused on building Nigeria’s mining industry through downstream opportunities, the audience heard that the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic has levelled the playing field in the market, that buying “Made in Nigeria” should be encouraged and the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arch. Olamilekan Adegbite, invited investors to participate in the downstream sector.
The webinar was the first in a series in the run-up to the annual Nigeria Mining Week that is taking place from 12-16 October.
Last week it was announced that this year’s edition will be a digital platform and that the live event will return to Abuja in October next year.
The webinars are hosted in collaboration with media partner Mining Review Africa.
Government Will Provide Infrastructure
In his official opening statement at the start of the webinar, Minister Adegbite said “the COVID-19 pandemic restricts movement across borders and we need to accelerate our plans for economic investigation, employment and revenue generation for the country.”
He added that work had been ongoing on the downstream policy having gone through stakeholders engagement and waiting for the final approval from the Federal Executive Council. “The policy strengthens the regime for beneficiation locally: that is to stop exportation of raw minerals from Nigeria. So to this end, government is providing infrastructure to encourage investors to come into Nigeria to participate in the downstream opportunities. Government will provide road, rail and water transportation infrastructure and at the same time provide energy at certain clusters, which have been created for this purpose.”
The President of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji. Kabir Mohammed Kankara, said the COVID-19 pandemic had taught humanity of this generation that only the basic essential necessities of live are essential for human existence and wellbeing.
“The role of mining in providing these basic necessities cannot be overemphasised,” said Alhaji Kankara. “Besides, the provision of jobs and generating revenue for the government coffers, mining products are essential in ingredients of food, drugs and pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, developing the downstream opportunities in the downstream sector will not only provide the building blocks for the mining industry, it will also help to rebuild the nation by ways of massive job creation, reduction in crime rate, developing other cottage industries and growing the GDP in an atmosphere of peace and security.”
“If there is any benefit offered by this global pandemic it is the window of opportunity to commence the systemic implementation of policies and regulations that have been accumulated on our books over the years. Enough of these rhetorics. It is time that our engagement and related discussions and talks for pragmatic actions that will deliver the mining industry of our dreams. A sector that will take Nigeria out of the woods of a mono economy.”
The live webinar panel comprised:
Moderator: Habeeb Jaiyeola, PwC Nigeria, Associate Director, responsible for the public sector
– Dr Garba Abdulrasaq, Director General, Nigeria Geological Survey Agency, Nigeria
– Josephine Emotan Aburime-Shine, CEO, Emotan Global Ventures, Nigeria
– David Turvey, Managing Director, Kogi Iron, Nigeria
– Mary Iwelumo, PwC Government & Public Sector Lead and Head Strategy, Nigeria
The panel discussed how Nigeria could improve investment into the sector through increased beneficiation opportunities, encouraging local transformation and boosting local market and job opportunities through local beneficiation and developing the Made in Nigeria brand.
“The government should discourage the export of raw materials by increasing the taxes” said Emotan Global Ventures’ Josephine Aburime-Shine, explaining: “we have become famous for exporting our raw materials at extremely low prices and then importing it again at very high costs after being processed. When I started to explore this industry, I wondered why Nigeria was not showing up as a centre for gemstones. Especially as I became more aware of all the metals and minerals that are actually here and are being exported.”
Using Thailand as an example, she said the Nigerian government should discourage the export of raw materials by increasing the taxes while reducing the taxes on processed materials.
Building A Buy Nigerian Brand
“It has to be made easy for people to buy Nigerian products” said PwC’s Mary Iwelumo. “The result of the lack of beneficiation means that a lot of money leaves the country and in order to build a Buy Nigerian brand, you have to be able to give value and it has to make commercial sense. So what would encourage people to spend their money in Nigeria? Quality, exit options, after sales service and a trusted second hard market.”
“In terms of branding our product, I just know that the brand value associated with any item comes with time. So this is definitely not a sprint, it’s something that we need to focus on, we need to be diligent and dogged about. Nigerians are known to be resourceful and produce results.”
Ms Iwelumo also emphasised that the COVID-19 pandemic had created an opportunity for Nigeria’s mining sector: “we’re in a pandemic, we’re in a crisis. The jig would be on us if we do not take advantage of the opportunity this has opened up. COVID-19 is a crisis beyond the healthcare space. It has levelled the market playing field, everyone is dealing with similar issues, and our indigenous players can take advantage of that. If we can leverage that around quality assurance, convenience, understanding what we have and knowing the value.”
There Are Some Good Signs
“Kogi Iron is in the thick of the value added chain business in that we have an iron ore processor and we are looking at building a steel plant,” said David Turvey, MD of Kogi Iron in Nigeria. “That steel plant is directed towards replacing imports the country currently has in steel. It is a very important project, not an export project initially, but to service and help the industrialisation of Nigeria.”
Asked what steps he would advise to on creating a beneficiation industry, Mr Turvey replied: “it does relate to attractive and efficient policies, they’re important. Your security in tenure, your assets are very important. Effective and available infrastructure is critical in any value added processing, because it does reflect on the cost structure of the overall business of the mining industry. The one important thing that is often missed is really the quality control and quality assurance systems that you need right from exploring through to the mining of a mineral to the beneficiation of the mineral to enable you to get a quality product when you do the value adding. Unless you have that value chain all the way through, you will never produce at a quality level.”
“Nigeria is in its early stages but there are some good signs. There’s political stability, there’s will and some of the administrative and data systems have been improved. Where it needs to go now is those data systems need to be applied and focused on minerals that are critical for your country internally and also critical to beneficiate for export dollars.”
Opinion poll
During the webinar the some 300 participants were asked to take part in an opinion poll on that they thought the biggest impact would be on the development of the downsteam sector of the Nigerian ministry. The results were as follows:
– Improvement in infrastructure: 36%
– Review of policies and regulations: 19%
– Incentives to drive investments: 31%
– Human capacity development: 14%
“We need to find our own solutions”
The issue of quality control and testing as well as the technology for that also formed part of the discussions and the CEO of Emotan Global Ventures was able to give practical examples.
“A lot of equipment is imported and not always affordable for our local miners. That doesn’t mean that we cannot come up with our own solutions. We were making jewellery centuries ago, gold is not a new material for Africa. We need to find our own testing solutions from our own scientists.”
Josephine continued: “we need to take charge of what we have ourselves and realise how processing can affect the value. Sometimes a simple washing of the stones can make a big difference and change the value. Why are we losing a lot of revenue into the country because we are not getting the value and taxes for what we are exporting out because we are exporting it in a very raw state, without separation, without any kind of processing. Whereas if we are able to train and educate the locals to sort it out and identify the stones into the various categories of prices. That will make a huge difference.”
“These are all things that we have to start to understand if we want to change this industry. I encourage my local miners because I believe that the artisanal miners have kept the Nigerian mining industry going. These people work so hard and it sometimes saddens me that they get the least benefit from the hard work and labour.”
Government’s Role
“The Government’s position on the downstream sector is that if you look at the Nigerian Roadmap it is stated clearly that there is a need for us to encourage development or beneficiation of our mineral products,” said Dr Garba Abdulrasaq, Director General, Nigeria Geological Survey Agency.
“We need especially our local industry to use the minerals, develop them to create employment, to generate revenue and also to encourage the development of orders in the downstream and sidestream industry. Now building this downstream sector, through the development of local industries, requires sustainability. What this connodes is the interdependence of the mining eco system upstream, midstream and downstream and sidestream for the survival of the industry. The ministry and this agency trigger the industry value chain by identifying, locating and exploring the country’s minerals to determine their quantity and quality and this is pivotal for any mineral value chain. So, the government, apart from trying to institute policies, is also driving the development of some of these minerals to support the system.”
Increase Mining Contribution To GDP To 5%
Nigeria’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines & Steel Development the Hon. Dr Uchechukwu Ogah delivered the closing address for the webinar. His comments included that the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development was created by the current administration for the diversification of the economy, industrialisation, poverty reduction and job creation.
“Most importantly,” Dr Ogah said, “to ensure that there is value added to minerals for export. Solid minerals contribute about 2.5% of GDP and currently we are looking at how we can increase it to 5% by the year 2025. We are actively focusing on a number of policy initiatives. These include the development of key strategic minerals such as gold, barite, coal, lead, zinc, iron, bitumen and limestone. We are also currently working on the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale miners.”
Source: nigeriaminingweek.com
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, last year, which has become a global pandemic killing over 655,000 people across the globe, has had serious impact on economies of nations. No country has been spared of the impact of the virus.
Almost every sector of national economies of countries in the world have been hit of the impact of the virus.
Mr Agyemang-Duah, who is the industry coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies in Ghana, West Africa, shared the impact of the virus on the downstream petroleum sector in the country.
Below is a video of an exclusive interview Mr Agyemang-Duah had with the editor of energynewsafrica.com, Michael Creg Afful:
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, a petroleum advocacy group in the Republic of Ghana, is calling for a drastic reduction in transport fares with immediate effect.
The call follows the directive by President Akufo-Addo on Sunday, asking commercial transport operators to forthwith, pick the normal number of passengers as before the lockdown and the accompanying social distancing restrictions.
The commercial transport operators in the West African nation, recently, announced between 15-30 percent increases in transport fares.
A statement issued by Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC, said: “The Chamber takes cognisance of the fact that the period prior to the covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions had fuel prices trading at GHc5.650/litre but due to a global fall in demand and its attendant effects on pricing, fuel prices dropped by over 30 percent to below GHc3.890/litre have in recent times, gone up marginally by a cumulative average of 16 percent to currently average 4.80/litre at the pumps.
“The above, thus, renders any possible argument on the part of transport operators for stay of current transport fares at this point.”
He, consequently, explained that the marginal fuel price increases should not be an excuse ostensibly to deny Ghanaian commuters the deserved reductions in transport fares since the fuel price variance before and after the lockdown period remains a distant 10 percent+ positive to the commercial transport operators at this point.
“We are, by this statement, calling on some of our major stakeholders in the transport sector including the GPRTU, Concerned Drivers’ Association, Committed Drivers’ Association and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council to immediately, without fail, ensure that transport fares are reversed by close of day Monday (today), not only to previous rates but a further 5 percent reduction possibly on the previous rates before these recent increases since fuel price variance, as at this point, remains positive by at least a further 12 percent from the pre-covid-19 lockdown period,” the statement said.
It warned that they would have no option than to go to court to have the fares reversed if the transport operators fail.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Members of the Gas Tanker Drivers’ Association in the Republic of Ghana have called off their industrial action.
The decision follows a meeting between the aggrieved drivers and officials of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) led by Madam Esther Anku, National Security Officials and Kwaku Agyemang-Duah, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies and Chairman of the (CRM) Implementation Committee.
The meeting was chaired by Kwaku Agyemang-Duah.
Sources told energynewsafrica.com the NPA had agreed to print Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) document, which had become an avenue of extortion by the police in Central and Western Regions.
The UPPF would be attached to the drivers’ waybill to stop the harassment by the police.
The NPA further requested the tanker drivers to furnish them with the list of newly constructed LPG stations, which had been embargoed but wanted to be considered for opening.
The proposal by the NPA was taken in good faith by the tanker drivers, hence, their decision to call off their strike.
It would be recalled that last Wednesday, the Gas Tanker Drivers’ Association embarked on a strike action over a number of issues.
They lamented on poor salaries, harassment and extortion by the police in Central and Western Regions, piloting of cylinder recirculation model policy and embargo on the opening of new LPG stations.
The drivers noted that the NPA’s decision to ban newly constructed stations from operating had halted the wider penetration of LPG in the country.
“The embargo is also restricting job opportunities for us as drivers of LPG tankers. This is because the availability of stations to receive LPG products increases our employability and working times,” they said.
The development, they claimed, had put undue pressure and negatively impacting on their working conditions.
“We call on the NPA to lift the embargo immediately and process all such other station application for operation,” they demanded.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The timely intervention of personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of the Republic of Ghana saved a fuel tanker from total burning.
The incident happened on Saturday morning at Anloga Junction, a suburb of Kumasi.
This incident comes barely a day after a similar incident happened at the main gate of the Presbyterian SHS at Akwapem Mampong in the Eastern Region.
Speaking to the media, AD O1 Eric Mensah from the Tech Fire Service Station, said the Fire Service received a distress call that there was an inferno opposite the police station at Anloga Junction and, quickly, they moved to the scene.
At the scene, the personnel realised that a fuel tanker was in some flames but the driver managed to disconnect the battery terminals.
This, he explained, helped to prevent the fire from escalating.
According to the officer, they detected that some loose wires in the engine touched one another, thereby, triggering the fire.
The tanker had since been towed by the National Road Safety Commission to allow flow of traffic.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Minister for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta says that the Government of Ghana has spent in excess of GH¢4.7 billion to ensure stable supply of electricity in the past three and half years.
The West African nation experienced power crisis between 2012 and 2016 creating discomfort for residential consumers and also resulting in the collapse of businesses.
The five years’ power crisis which started easing in the last quarter of 2016 led to many employees being thrown out of jobs.
According to a research findings by the Institute of Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, the country lost about GH¢3 billion as result of the power crisis.
The findings which covered between 2012 and 2015 revealed the negative impact of the power crisis on small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in particular.
It was established that 885 SMEs lost GHc250m, while 55 folded up with its attendant job losses.
The previous government brought in the Ameri Power and Karpowership and signed contracts with other Independent Powers Powers in an attempt to address the power situation.
However, upon assumption of power, this government, led by President Akufo-Addo raised concerns with some of the deals accusing his predecessor of signing questionable deals.
The government claims it has been paying over 2.5 billion annually for power it does not consumer.
Presenting the 2020 mid-year budget on the floor of Ghana’s Parliament, Thursday, July 23, 2020, Ghana’s Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta said the power crisis is now a thing of the past.
“We have relegated ‘dumsor’ to the past. It is clear to our fellow Ghanaians by now that we have enjoyed three and half years of reliable and cheaper power. We have spent in excess of GH¢4.7 billion on capacity payments, not only to ensure that we keep the lights on, but also pay for power we do not use under very questionable contractual obligations we inherited,” he told Ghanaians.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Power supply and its reliability in the Volta and Oti regions of the Republic of Ghana have improved significantly following intensified maintenance works, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has said.
The power distribution company said the move was to enable people to stay at home to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the General Manager of ECG for Volta and Oti Regions, Mr Delali Oklu, the availability of electricity in the Volta Region stood at 97.52 percent.
He told Ghana News Agency that as part of efforts to improve on supply, the Company recently commissioned Special Maintenance Teams at the regional and district levels, to identify, detect and submit faults for immediate redress.
He said as a result of numerous maintenance activities, feeders at Ve-Golokwati, Asiekpe-Waya, Kpetoe and Nkwanta, which used to have frequent power cuts had seen massive improvement.
A feeder is a high tension line that sends electricity to the transformer for distribution to customers.
Mr Oklu said the exercise had also improved voltage profile of the supply system, leading to increased quality of power and reduction of outages in the catchment areas.
He urged prepaid customers to use the ECG Power App to pay bills to minimise physical contacts and congestion at the offices.
“However, prepaid customers in Ho and Hohoe districts can still visit our offices or any private vendor to purchase prepaid credit for their meters,” he added.
Mr Jones Makumator, the Regional Engineer, said the Company had replaced old and weak insulators and upgraded undersized electricity conductors (cables) for efficient power supply.
He said it also carried out many injection projects in areas like Lolito, Dzodze, Ho-Barracks Newtown, Dambai-Kwame Akura, Anyako Kpota and Apedido, at a cost of GH¢ 511,616.36, to relieve overloaded transformers for continuous power supply.
“The Company did these injection projects because now that a lot of people are home due to this pandemic, we envisaged that domestic demand for electricity was going to increase, hence the need to increase the capacity of some overloaded transformers to ensure that our customers experience stable power supply,” Mr Makumator added.
He said ECG also started replacing rusted head gears along the coastal areas from Adina to Azizadzi and from Anloga to Anyanui at GH¢153, 229.78.
“Once this project is completed, it will enhance the reliability of power supply to customers along the coast,” Mr Makumator said.
He said the Company was also installing a voltage booster station at Hohoe to help improve the voltage profile and ensure uninterrupted power supply in the Municipality.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The African Development Bank has concluded its bid to co-finance the construction of Mozambique’s integrated Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant by signing a senior loan of $400 million for the transformational project.
The Mozambique LNG Area 1 Project, estimated to cost over $20 billion, is ranked Africa’s single largest foreign direct investment to date.
It comprises a global team of energy developers and operators, led by Total alongside Mitsui, Oil India, ONGC Videsh Limited, Bharat Petroleum, PTT Exploration, as well as Mozambique’s national oil and gas company, ENH.
With the signing on 15 July, the Bank joins a global syndicate of commercial banks, development finance institutions and export credit agencies to provide the requisite financing for the project. Financial close is expected later in 2020.
The project, which benefits from one of the world’s largest natural gas reserves off the coast of northern Mozambique, will be the country’s first liquefied natural gas development. It will initially consist of two LNG trains with a total capacity of around 13 million tons per annum.
As well as being transformational for the energy sector in Mozambique, the project is expected to have broader socio-economic benefits for the country.
“Signing the Mozambique LNG Area 1 agreement heralds a new age of industrialization for Mozambique,” said Abdu Mukhtar, the Director of the Bank’s Industrial & Trade Development Department. He noted that gas purchasers, such as fertilizer plants, had the potential for improving regional and global competitiveness.
The project comprises both onshore and offshore components, which will be funded by a combination of equity, pre-completion cashflows and over $14 billion in senior debt facilities. The senior debt consists of a mix of Export Credit Agency (ECA) direct loans, commercial bank loans and the facility from the Bank, the only multilateral development institution involved in the project’s first phase.
Wale Shonibare, the Bank’s Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation, said the project would create a new energy model in Mozambique and help to electrify Southern Africa.” Through the availability of domestic gas, the project stands to facilitate the development of gas-fired electricity in Mozambique. This will play a key role in providing reliable and affordable energy for the country and the wider region,” said Shonibare.
The Bank played a crucial role in requiring compliance with strict environmental and social standards, in addition to working on SME and gender-development in Mozambique and promoting adherence to international best practices. The Bank’s involvement is consistent with its country strategy in Mozambique, which aims to leverage natural resource development and investment in sustainable infrastructure.
Overall, the project will improve livelihoods, spur economic growth and boost universal electricity access, in line with one of the Bank’s High 5 strategic priorities, Light Up and Power Africa, Bank officials said.
The Bank’s Acting General Counsel, Souley Amadou, commented: “This is a first in class transaction that sets a new standard for mega-projects on the African continent. The collaboration and unity of purpose between the sponsors, Government of Mozambique, the financing parties and advisors were truly remarkable.”
The world’s largest oilfield services provider, Schlumberger has reported a second straight quarterly loss on the back of a dramatic revenue slump in U.S. shale and asset impairment charges in what “has probably been the most challenging quarter in past decades.”
A statement issued by the company also announced it would get rid of 21,000 jobs as oil producers rein in spending.
Schlumberger reported on Friday a net loss of US$3.434 billion for the second quarter, after a US$ 7.376-billion loss for Q1, which was the result of a US$8.5-billion impairment charge.
As a result of the market conditions, Schlumberger recorded US$3.7 billion of pretax restructuring and asset impairment charges in the second quarter, including US$1 billion of severance costs associated with the massive workforce reduction.
Schlumberger’s total revenues slumped by 28 percent quarter on quarter and by 35 percent year on year, to US$5.356 billion.
The drop in North American revenue alone was much steeper—down by 48 percent compared to Q1 and down 58 percent compared to Q2 2019.
While Schlumberger gets more revenues from outside the American market, the company was affected by the collapse in drilling activity in the United States and the cut in spending plans outside North America of major oil and gas companies after the price crash.
“This has probably been the most challenging quarter in past decades. Schlumberger second-quarter revenue declined 28% sequentially, caused by the unprecedented fall in North America activity, and international activity drop due to downward revisions to customer budgets accentuated by COVID-19 disruptions,” chief executive Le Peuch said.
“North America revenue declined 48% sequentially with land revenue falling 60% as customers dramatically cut back spending,” the executive added.
According to Schlumberger, there are conditions for a modest increase in frac completion activity in North America in the third quarter, but if the economic recovery is slower and a second wave forces new major disruptions, they would be downside risks to its forecasts.
Earlier this week, Halliburton also booked a second quarterly loss in a row and has signaled that it will look beyond fracking completion in shale for profitability.
Source:www:energynewsafrica.com
Indian electrical equipment and electronics industry has begun mass cancellation of orders on Chinese companies in the last few days and are scouting for newer destinations for raw material sourcing.
Companies are cancelling orders mainly for power distribution and transmission gears and turning to other countries despite higher costs.
The process began in May after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vocal-for-local call.
This month, the campaign intensified with restrictions on power gear imports but industry wants to make sure that this does not create disruptions.
It also says the country needs to pools its testing facilities across sectors, as there are few in the power sector.
Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) president R K Chugh said the industry was till now importing raw material, sub-assemblies and in some cases finished goods too from China.
The association’s director general Sunil Misra said the industry is responding to its call of shifting to alternative sources as it is in their own interest to move out of Chinese supply sooner.
“In the intervening period towards 100 per cent Aatmanirbhar Bharat, we can shift to reliable and friendlier countries like Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Germany etc. Particularly software imports can be from Europe and raw material from Russia, Czech Republic or Poland. Our members have already started reaching out to other countries for MoUs,” Chugh said.
Chandigarh-based EPC company in conventional and renewable power sectors Hartek Group recently cancelled orders on a few Chinese companies for control panels and various state utilities also emphasising on shifting away from Chinese equipment.
“We back the prime minister’s vocal-for-local call,” company Chairman and Managing Director Hartek Singh told ET. “These were approved vendors but we cancelled the orders recently. This may hit 2-3 per cent of our bottomline. Hardships are bound to be there but if we don’t do it now, we will miss the bus. We need to raise our quality standards as this a big opportunity.”
The power ministry’s July 2 order has put in place an effective ban on imports from prior-reference countries like China and Pakistan, which require permission. All other imports will be tested at government- approved labs.
Cable manufacturer Ravin Cables recently cancelled a balance order on China and instead fast tracked the company’s manufacturing plant in the UAE, group chairman and managing director Vijay Karia said.
“We had imports happening for products not being manufactured here in case of specialised equipment, as customers insist on certain specifications and China has been the cheapest source of the equipment. We would have imported more than Rs 200 crore worth of equipment in last couple of years from China alone. We have now moved to Korea and European countries like Turkey and Germany. The vocal-for-local and anti-China narrative has gone out very well.”
He said India needs a long-term approach to favour local manufacturing and access to low-cost capital.
Deccan Enterprises managing director Vikas Jalan said his company has reduced offtake from China and is looking at other countries like the US, Germany, Norway, S Korea and Japan. “We are already enhancing local content in our products and have reached 70 per cent of indigenisation. We will accelerate further indigensation so that we can reach 80 per cent-85 per cent level in next six months to one year,” he said.
IEEMA has been demanding a ban on imports for many years to protect and promote local industry.
Chugh said the capacity utilisation of the electrical equipment and electronics industry was 70 per cent even before Covid-19, which has dropped to less than 50 per cent post pandemic. Of the $10 billion (Rs 71,000) imports in 2018-19, 30-35 per cent is Chinese, he said adding imposition of restrictions on imports from China is warranted on account of cyber security angle.
“Lot of software for SCADA and other Smart Grid applications also form part of these imports which is a bigger point of concern as security of our power system gets compromised. Malware and other viruses can play havoc here. While it can destroy the system from remote, it can transfer data from our systems to other countries, jeopardising our energy security and reliability,” he said.
As regards cost position, he said Chinese companies cannot be so low priced unless artificially subsidised. Indian companies have many times defeated Chinese firms in global tenders on the strength of quality, reliability and price competitiveness, he said adding “Cost is reality, pricing is political.”
Chugh said the government is working on increasing facilities for testing of equipment being imported. “If we pool our resources together with capacity available in the private sector, we can expedite testing and ensure higher levels of quality for domestic and global businesses,” he said.
Source: EnergyWorld.com
General Electric (GE) has announced the appointment of Nyimpini Mabunda as the Chief Executive Officer for Southern Africa.
In this role, Nyimpini will lead GE’s growth in the region and drive alignment across its Power, Healthcare, Aviation and Renewable Energy businesses.
He will also drive GE’s BBBEE roadmap and processes in South Africa.
With a career spanning 23 years, Nyimpini is an accomplished business leader with a track record of consistent performance and business transformation across FMCG, Telecoms and Financial Services having occupied senior roles in Sales, Marketing, Strategy, Digital Transformation and Innovation.
He has worked for global and leading multinational businesses such as Vodacom, Diageo, and Procter & Gamble. He has spent the last 7 years working across markets in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya and Tanzania.
Prior to joining GE, Nyimpini was a Senior Advisor for the Boston Consulting Group and before that, he led Vodacom’s largest division, the Consumer Business Unit as Chief Executive for about 3 years responsible for commercial strategy and execution.
He was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of ‘Gammatek’ and Non-Executive Director of ‘The Beverage Company (Bevco)’, both owned by Ethos Private Equity.
He serves as a Non-Executive Director at Octodec Investments Ltd., a property loan company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Commenting on the appointment, Farid Fezoua, President and CEO, GE Africa said, “We are excited to have Nyimpini join us with a track record of growth, transformation and operational performance.
These are key ingredients to support our businesses for growth, local talent development and risk management across Southern Africa.”
Nyimpini holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Science, a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management and an MBA from the University of Cape Town.
His successes have been underpinned by his talent in people leadership, business turnaround, stakeholder management, digital disruption, execution excellence, and building strong brands.
“I am privileged and excited to take on this challenge to drive GE’s business in Southern Africa, building into its 120 plus years of impact in the continent. I’m looking forward to working across our businesses in Power, Healthcare, Renewable Energy and Aviation to create value for our countries, customers and people, as we rise to the challenge of building a world that works.” Nyimpini Mabunda said.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Information reaching energynewsafrica.com indicates that a liquefied petroleum gas tanker with registration number GN7453-15 which was fully-loaded with fuel had caught fire.
According to an eyewitnesse, the gas tanker, which was travelling from Accra, the capital of Ghana, caught fire at Mampong-Akwapem in the Akwapem-North Municipality in the Eastern Region.
The incident happened in front of the Mampong Akwapem Presbyterian SHS gate.
The eyewitness account indicated that students in the school including final year students writing their exit exams, Form Two students writing their end of semester exams, teachers, as well as EC officials embarking on ongoing Voters’ Regiatration Exercise in the school, had to flee for their lives.
“As we speak, the timely intervention of the Ghana National Fire Service has brought the fire under control, and ensured that there is no loss of life and property.
“Parts of the vehicle, however, burnt,” the eyewitness said.
The Gas Tanker after fire personnel managed to bring the fire under controlSource:www.energynewsafrica.com
The Government of Ghana has hinted of plans to pay the USD$1.4 billion debt owed members of the Chamber of Independent Power Producers, Bulk Distributors and Consumers (CIPDiB) for the supply of power for electricity generation in the country.
The independent power producers in the West African nation expected the country’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to announce how the government intended to settle its indebtedness when he presented the 2020 mid-year budget but that did not happen.
However, speaking on Accra-based Citi FM, Deputy Finance Minister, Charles Adu Boahen said the delays in the payments are as result of the ongoing renegotiation to beat down the high excess capacity charge as part of the government’s energy strategy.
He said the move is to make significant savings on the capacity charge in terms of how much the country would have to pay.
“We are in the process of renegotiating some of these excess capacity charges, and the idea is that we want to do it as a whole. There are some of the issues we need to address. We need to address the mechanism to ensure that the IPPs are paid in a regular graduated manner so that ECG and everybody is transparent. So the Cash Waterfall Mechanism has been implemented,” he explained.
Explaining the reason for the silence of the payment in the budget, Mr Adu-Boahen said: “In November 2019 when we presented the 2020 budget, we had in there the GHS3.6 billion to address these capacity charges which we thought we would have for the year. So, that is why it was not included in the mid-year budget because it is still in there to accommodate these excesses.”
He was optimistic the IPPs would receive the monies by the end of 2020 once the renegotiation deal is concluded.
“We are sitting at the table to look at their financing structure and then renegotiate the capacity charges, plus any areas or shortfalls they have in their books and see how we can re-finance it going. These discussions have started. We have engaged one or two IPPs and we are doing it in a gradual manner. Hopefully, by the end of the year, we should have cleared them all up and we should be able to move on,” he assured the IPPs.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
