The African Energy Chamber has welcomed the appointment of Timipre Silva as new Minister of Petroleum in the Republic of Nigeria.
In a statement, the Chamber noted that Timipre Silva understands the core issues affecting Nigeria’s oil & gas sector, the call for better revenue management and distribution, and the need for increased community involvement across Nigeria’s key oil regions.
Timipre Silva had previously served as a Special Assistant to a Minister of Petroleum and has demonstrated a vast experience and understanding of Nigeria, African and international energy dynamics.
“The appointment of a well-versed former Governor with a demonstrated ability to work with different parties and a good understanding of the oil sector is a clear sign that Nigeria is serious about continuing its pace of reforms,” declared Nj Ayuk, Executive Chairman at the Chamber and CEO of the Centurion Law Group.
“Africa’s biggest oil producer needs such an experienced figure to lead the industry and our continent into new heights.”
The African Energy Chamber congratulated H.E. Timipre Silva on behalf of all its partners and pledged its commitment to continue to work closely with the Department of Petroleum Resources to pursue local content development, support the regionalization of Nigerian oil and services companies, and assist any foreign investors seeking to do business in Nigeria.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kolo Kyari, is set to address the potential of harnessing oil and gas industry for national development at this year’s edition of the (Nigerian Association of Energy Correspondent), NAEC conference on August 22, in Lagos.
The conference, which aims to feature two technical sessions, will address “Effects of Sanctity of Contracts on Commercial Operations” and “Commercial Viability in Gas- to- Power Value Chain”.
Managing Director of ExxonMobil, Paul McGrath, is named as the Chairman of the Conference, while the Acting Director of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Ahmad Rufai Shakur, will be the special guest of honour.
A statement issued by NAEC, explained that the event would also feature the giving of awards to selected organisations and individuals who have contributed immensely to the sector’s growth through their relentless commitments.
Other confirmed speakers are; Group Managing Director of Oando Plc., Wale Tinubu, Group Managing Director of Aiteo Eastern E&P Limited, Victor Okoronkwo, Managing Director of Total, Mike Sangster, Managing Director of Nigeria LNG,Tony Attah, and President of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Debo Fagbami,among others.
An Iranian oil tanker has broken down in the Red Sea but the crew are safe and repairs are underway, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday.
“The ship’s crew are fixing the defect and the vessel is in a stable condition from a safety standpoint. Fortunately, the ship’s crew are in a safe condition,” IRNA quoted Akbar Jabal-Ameli, technical director of the state-run National Iranian Tanker Company, as saying.
The report identified the tanker as HELM. A vessel with that name is among individuals, companies and vessels which are under U.S. sanctions, according to the U.S. Treasury’s website.
Iran has one of the largest tanker fleets in the world, but Tehran is running short of options to replace its aging tankers and keep oil exports flowing because renewed U.S. sanctions are making potential sellers and flag registries wary of doing business with Tehran.
Source: Reuters
A four-day Power Africa Conference has been opened in Abuja, capital of the West African country, Nigeria.
The conference, which is organised by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Power and Energy Society (PAS), in collaboration with Industry Application Society (IAS), is under the theme: ‘Power Economics and Energy Innovation in Africa’.
It has brought together academicians, engineers, researchers, scientists and students from several countries including India, Uganda, Cameroon, USA, Ghana and other parts of Africa.
Power Africa conference provides forum for researchers, engineers and practitioners to present and discuss latest research findings, ideas and emerging technologies and applications in the area of power systems integrations, business models, technological advances, policies and regulatory framework for the African continent.
Opening the conference, IEEE Nigeria Section Chair Engr. Raphael Onokshakpor said: “We at IEEE and PES Nigeria Section are pleased to now formally validate our capacity and zeal to host international events of this scale in our dear nation, which is a developing country that has a lot of potential in terms of human capital and resources.
He stressed the need for the resource persons present to try and make an impact by sharing their experiences and ideas to ensure tangible results by the time the conference ends.
“The Nigerian Electricity System clearly needs solutions and interventions which can help bring the Nigerian Electricity power industry to the state where it would be capable of not only serving the country’s basic needs but also to drive industrialisation for Nigeria and also for other part of sub-Saharan Africa.”
On her part, Chair of IEEE Africa Council Prof. Gloria Chukwudebe noted that the 5th edition of IEEE power Africa conference would be unique, as there would be interesting keynote addresses, presentations by distinguished scientists and engineers on smart energy regulation and policy, smart grid designs, smart technology applications, electrical safety and industry standards, renewable energy solutions and opportunities for private sector investment.
“Access to clean energy is still a big challenge to the sub-Saharan Africa. This conference is a very good opportunity for research scientists, engineers and practitioners to deliberate on latest research findings, ideas, emerging technologies and applications that will proffer solutions for the African continent to fast track achievement of the sustainable development goals,” she said.
Meanwhile, General Chair and Co-Chair of the Organising Committee of 2019 Power Africa, Chief Tunde Y. Salihu, has said that the growing importance of this conference towards getting African nations to meet up with their counterparts worldwide is the major reason the IEEE, Industrial Application and Power and Energy Societies have continued to sponsor this conference.
He commended all the organising committee members for their commitment towards the successful organisation of the conference.Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Minister for Energy John Peter Amewu has expressed satisfaction with the level of work done to reconnect 470MW Karadeniz Powership Osman Khan in the Western Region to the country’s national electricity grid.
The powership is currently at the Sekondi Naval Base, where it is expected that within 17 days, work on it should be completed to add power to the national grid.
The Karpowership was originally stationed at the industrial city of Ghana, Tema, but was decommissioned and relocated to Secondi-Takoradi of the West African country to utilise gas from Ghana Gas’ facility at Atuabo.
Speaking during a tour of the Karpowership and other ancillary installations on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, Minister Peter Amewu cautioned contractors, who are to ensure first gas for the Karpowership by September, to expedite work to avoid delays.
John-Peter Amewu addressing journalists after the visit
His caution followed difficulties by one of the contractors, Amandi, to access the Ghana Gas Transmission, Regulatory and Metering Station (TRMS) constructed by ENI due to handing over issues leading to some delays.
Mr Amewu, together with officials of Ghana Gas, ENI and Amandi, inspected ongoing works on the about 11-kilometre gas pipeline to transmit gas from the Aboadze Thermal enclave to the Naval Base, where the Karpowership sits.
“This project is about five different phases, thus, the pipeline construction, the construction of the transmission lines, the Transmission, Regulatory and Metering Station (TRMS) and the Onshore Terminal Station (OTS) and, then, the Karpowership installation. It is quite a complicated project but what is good is that, finally, the Karpowership is here in Sekondi and a lot of work has, so far, been done and so I want to congratulate Karpowership and the various contractors including Amandi, which has played a very critical role,” he said.
“There have been some few problems of little delays in terms of having the first gas. Now that the Karpowership is available here, we need to quickly connect with the first gas. It is currently going to feed on heavy fuel for some short period, but the quicker you are able to supply it with gas, the better it would be for us. The pipelines for the gas has been completed, the transmission lines are in place, but at the OTS, there are certain things that need to be done where the gas would have to be retreated in terms of heating and bringing the pressure down.
“So all these would be investigated to know exactly where the cause is coming from. You realise that it has to do with just the access. Ghana Gas is of the view that certain things must be done before they can take possession, but we think that this is not the final completion but a practical completion, which gives allowance for deferred liability period.
“So during those different liability periods, any differed liability that occurs can be corrected so they (Ghana Gas) can go ahead and then take over at that period while other issues are dealt with. So these are the issues were are looking at,” he added.
The General Manager of Amandi, David-Ben Ayun, who is supervising the construction of the Onshore Terminal Station and the gas pipeline, said they are committed to the schedule.
“We are putting effort, even though, we have a lot of delays from third parties not from our side. We are expected to give first gas by the close of September,” he said.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Karpowership Ghana Company Limited, Volkan Buyikbicer says it would resume power generation with Heavy Fuel Oil to the national grid by August ending, even before first gas in September.
The Karpowership would be adding 470 megawatts at full capacity and would help to reduce power generation with complete operation with gas.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Equatorial Guinea is set to construct the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification plant in West Africa, advancing efforts to monetize gas resources through the creation of a domestic gas-to-power infrastructure.
The project will be led by local construction and engineering firm Elite Construcciones. The project forms part of Equatorial Guinea’s regional LNG2Africa initiative which seeks to drive gas monetization through in-country gas-to-power projects.
Located at the Port of Akonikien on the country’s mainland, the plant will enable the transportation and storage of LNG from the EG LNG plant at the Punta Europa Gas Complex on Bioko Island, to Akonikien on the southern border of the mainland.
It will then be fed into the regasification plant to be distributed to smaller-scale power plants and LNG power stations throughout the country, as well as exported to neighboring countries.
The Akonikien project is the first gas-to-power development in Equatorial Guinea’s LNG2Africa initiative. Launched by the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons in 2018, the initiative seeks to facilitate the production and trade of LNG through the creation of a domestic gas-to-power infrastructure and intra-African LNG industry.
Spearheaded by local construction and engineering firm Elite Construcciones, the plant will have a storage capacity of 14,000 cubic meters with 12 bullet tanks.
The tanks are currently the largest factory-built cryogenic bullet tanks in the world with a capacity of 1,228 cubic meters and dimensions of 31 meters by 9.3 meters by 8.8 meters. Built by American manufacturer Corban Energy Group, each tank is estimated to require 12 hours to complete the 12,000-meter distance from the port to the new plant. Elite Construcciones is also installing a truck loading station and 12 kilometers of 10-inch gas and diesel pipelines.
Other major suppliers include pipe supplier PFF Group, who manufactured 12,400 meters of pipes, shipping agents D&B Shipping Ltd. who facilitated the shipment of 22 40-foot open-top containers, and Meakin Logistics UK. Elite Construcciones also worked closely with German companies Noorwerk and ESC on the design and construction of the plant.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
I have been following keenly, the various reportage on the PDS bond guarantee, and having studied the various narratives and processes led by the Government of Ghana through MiDA, the conclusion may not be that damning to PDS, as the impression created initially.
There is growing evidence to prove that the transaction went through the agreed and accepted processes which included our own Ghanaian financial entities, namely: Cal Bank Ghana Limited and Donewell Insurance Company Limited.
If anything at all, it is clear that as a country, Government of Ghana must take up the issue with these foreign entities, that is, Jo Australia and Al Koot, who for far too long, like majority of the developed countries, looked down on Africa. For example, how can Al Koot, in one breath say they do not know of any transaction, but in another breath confirm an agreement and their intention to cancel it?
How could they do that to Donewell Insurance Company Limited, PDS, and for that matter, Ghana? However, we will not be prejudicial, but will patiently await the final determination by the Government of Ghana.
In the midst of all these issues, it is very important to inform stakeholders that there has been some quick wins and successes chalked by PDS within this short period of the takeover as suggested by data intercepted from players in the power sector.
Within the last 4 months, the revenue to sales collection of PDS has hit 95.92% from a previous historical hovering region of 90%.
When it comes to system losses, PDS met a system loss level of 27.3% but has worked tirelessly to reduce it to a figure of 18.6%, as at the end of June 2019, through various technical and commercial interventions as shown below.
Currently, there is a customer growth of 0.58%, reflecting the addition of more than 20,000 new customers since PDS took over.
Furthermore, PDS inherited an accumulated debt of GHS3.365billion, which has been reduced to GHS2.6billion.
You can easily deduce from the table below that system reliability has also improved significantly. PDS has reduced the frequency of weekly outages which was in the region of 1000 outages per week when they took over, to around 300 outages per week. For example, from March to June 2018, System average interruption frequency index was 23.17hours, but within the same period of March to June 2019, the interruption frequency has been reduced to 18.43hours.
In the same vein, system average interruption duration index between March and June 2018 was 24.87hours but reduced to 17.26hours from March to June 2019. That is about 30.6% improvement as compared to the same period last year, where a customer experienced additional 8 hours of power outage.
Without further elaboration, the general productivity and efficiency of the Company has improved, even though staff strength has reduced by 0.39%. This high performance can be attributed to the introduction of electricity distribution best standards and practices like the enhancement of work ethics and systems, re-alignment, employee performance measurement, etc.
This has created a high morale among staff due to timely payment of salaries, better conditions of service and the general clarity of organizational focus and strategies.
Source: Kofi Brako
The private sector is a key solution provider to the energy challenge that faces Africa, says Chief Executive Officer of the South African Electrotechnical Council.
Addressing the South Africa-Zambia Business Seminar in Kitwe, Zambia, Chiboni Evans said that without energy, Africa will remain in the state of poverty.
The seminar was part of the Outward Trade and Investment mission to Zambia led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
According to a statement issued by the DTI, Evans added that unless the energy deficit is addressed, Africa will continue talking about industrialisation, growing its manufacturing base, adding value to the products and beneficiation of the minerals without having the ability to do all of that.
“The African Development Bank (AfDB) has stated that in order to industrialise, Africa needs a sufficient stock of productive infrastructure. Estimates are that the continent needs investment of between $130-170 billion a year.
“Through its New Deal on Energy for Africa, the AfDB anticipates that in order for Africa to achieve universal access to electricity by 2025 we will require 160 gigawatts of new capacity, 130 million new on-grid connections and 75 million new off-grid confections. To achieve these goals, it is estimated that the investment needed will range from between $60-90 billion per year,” Evans said.
According to the DTI, Evans again made reference to the AfDB report that said in order to industrialise, Africa needs sufficient stock of productive infrastructure in power, water and transport. And the AfDB estimates that the continent’s infrastructure needs about $130 to $170 billion per year to achieve this infrastructure required for industrialisation.
“The question is how much of that investment in Africa’s infrastructure will to go back to African businesses helping to implement those infrastructure projects. We cannot continue to have other people coming to build our infrastructure and do not develop the skills and create the manufacturing base in Africa. African countries need to begin to participate in executing these contracts,” Evans said.
She added: “The solutions to these challenges lie within the Africans Working together with the Copperbelt Energy Corporation in Zambia we can assist in providing the energy solutions for this country. As directed by Trade Invest Africa, a unit of the DTI, the South African Export Councils have a renewed focus on investing in projects through the maximisation of African content in African projects.”
The Chief Commercial Officer of the Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Titus Mwambunga told the South African business representatives that the demand for energy was growing at a rate that is higher than the generation capacity. To address this challenge, he called on the business representatives to invest in the hydropower generation, interconnectors and grid integration, and renewable energy.
Source: esi-africa.com
The effect of Friday’s (16 August 2019) judgement in the North Gauteng High Court in the case brought by Dr Kelvin Kemm, Phumzile Tshelane and Pam Bosman against former minister of energy Jeff Radebe is that the appointment of the current Necsa board by the former minister in December 2018 was declared unlawful, and was set aside.
According to legal opinion at Edward Nathan Sonnenberg, Necsa now effectively has no board in place. It follows from this that, any and all decisions that the unlawfully-appointed board now makes, and has made, stand to be reviewed.
There is an urgent need for a lawfully appointed board to now be put in place by the current Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, which could be either an interim or permanent board.
The Friday court decision does not return the previous board chairman, Dr Kelvin Kemm, and board finance head, Pam Bosman, to the board. Also, the unlawfully-appointed Radebe board should have served only until the end of March 2019, which was the remaining statutory period of that board’s term of office, according to legal opinion.
A media statement pointed out that the previous board had always had confidence in Phumzile Tshelane as Group CEO and were amazed when he was suspended by Radebe.
The Radebe-appointed board then charged Tshelane with mismanagement allegations, which were a set of collective board decisions, taken by people who in the majority had no knowledge or experience of running a nuclear organisation and had no experience of working with him. The accusations included allegations that the Group CEO had held a golf day for suppliers and customers.
Selling off Necsa nuclear medicine division
Necsa is a world leader in the production of advanced nuclear medicine. Over previous years daily exports were taking place to over 60 countries, earning significant money in foreign exchange.
Necsa had become one of the few SOEs that had made an operating profit and which paid tax to SARS.
However, it had earlier been revealed in the media that former minister Radebe had secretly undertaken negotiations with an American medical company to sell a ‘substantial portion’ of a national asset, the highly profitable Necsa nuclear medicine division to them.
The former minister had admitted in court papers that he had started to assemble his new board some four months before informing the incumbent board of any of his allegations. Radebe then dissolved the board after instructing them to answer his allegations within five days, which included a weekend.
Their extensive reply was rejected by Radebe in under two hours and they were then ordered to leave office immediately. Tshelane was ordered off the Necsa property within the hour.
Nuclear medicine
Members of the previous board are impressed and supportive of Minister Gwede Mantashe’s pronouncements during his recent budget speech dealing with pressing Necsa related matters. These included the launching of the pharmaceutical company Ketlaphela to produce HIV medicine locally.
Necsa had become the only company in the southern hemisphere to have been able to successfully develop this complex medicine, which is desperately needed by South Africa. It seems that under the current board any progress with implementing HIV vaccine production has ground to a halt.
In addition, Mantashe recognised the collaboration between Mintek and the Necsa chemicals division, Pelchem, which has been able to produce critical chemicals for uses in industrially important processes such as speciality steel making and in producing critical chemicals used to manufacture high-strength magnets, such as found in cell phone speakers. These chemicals are derivatives of nuclear chemicals processing. This work had effectively been stopped by the current board.
Dr Kemm commented: “It is a great relief that the court has found that my board was guiding Necsa in a direction which is in the interests of the country and of corporate profitability
“It was extremely upsetting to have been confronted by the former minister and informed that he was conducting discussions with a foreign company with a view to selling a ‘substantial portion’ of our profitable division to them, but had not consulted me or the Group CEO.”
He continued: “I have been proud of the incredible achievements of Necsa staff who for some years have worked 24 hours a day seven days a week to export life-saving medicine daily to countries around the world”.
Bosman also commented: “While I oversaw the financial affairs of Necsa, we won an award from the Auditor General for excellence in our accounting practise and for submitting totally clean books. I was very offended when Jeff Radebe made accusations against me of unprofessional conduct and poor practise. He was wrong. The court decision has vindicated me.”
Source: esi-africa.com/energynewsafrica.com
A former CEO of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Alex Mould has disputed claims by President Akufo-Addo administration that it made over $7 billion savings from the cancellation of some Power Purchase Agreements (PPA)’s signed during the John Mahama administration.
According to Mr Mould, a PPA is signed between Independent Power Plant (IPP) investor and the off taker (in this case Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)), and that nowhere was Government directly a party to that agreement.
He revealed that government “is only involved when the investors’ financiers require a guarantee to mitigate political risk.”
He said since government was not obliged to give such political risk support to the IPP development, “in the form of a Governmemt Consent and Support Agreement (GCSA) or in more recent times a Put/Call Option Agreement (PCOA), unless of course the government wanted a particular IPP developed, all the PPAs would expire worthless as no IPP could be developed without the explicit support of government”
In his latest educative series on project financing, the energy and finance expert said a PPA was not the end of the transaction but rather a necessary requirement to get the investor’s financiers interested in commencing the approval process.
Mr Mould stated that since the IPP investors had not reached a financial investment decision to move forward with the IPP projects they thus had not committed financially to the project and that, “this cannot be said to be costing the Government of Ghana significantly, let alone $7B (USD).”
“How then does cancelling a number of PPA’s when Investors’ financiers have not committed to these IPPs (with no mention of accompanying Government Consent and Support Agreement/PCOAs), save the Government of Ghana so much money?” he queried.
Mr. Mould who is also the former Executive Director of Standard Chartered Bank said such “references are disturbingly misleading to the public, and can only be alleged either from a strong point of ignorance of the overall process or simple political maneuvering – or both.”
Read Full StatementIPP CANCELLATION: – NO SAVINGS MADE – ALEX MOULD In recent times, there have been discussions about the current administration’s ability to save the people of Ghana USD7 billion by terminating some of the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed with Independent Power Producers (IPP)’s during the former administration under H.E John Mahama.
These PPAs – initiated by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and approved by PURC were entered into with the aim of resolving the power crisis at the time (Dumsor) – are being portrayed as some of the reckless agreements the NDC government entered into and which the NPP Government is seeking to rectify.
In order to decipher the validity of this claim, it is important to stay educated on the overall process and nuisances surrounding any IPP investor’s ability to obtain financing for a power plant project end-to-end.
One must also understand the role of important agreements in the value chain of such Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Government Consent and Support Agreements (GSCAs) etc., and appreciate the roles of key participants such as Off-Takers, Financing Institutions/Creditors, Government, etc.
To kick off the financing process, an interested IPP investor must prove its capability to raise the necessary project financing to ECG. While doing this, the IPP investor must concurrently convince its financing partners (i.e. banks/financial institutions) of its ability to produce a solid Off-Taker agreement with a credible power Off-Taker i.e. ECG.
This dynamic dilemma of balancing these two adjoining work streams (1: Demonstrate promise of financing capability 2: Provide assurance of credible off-take) creates a known “chicken and egg” situation for the IPP investor i.e. which one comes first?
To move forward in the process and be taken seriously by its financing partners, the IPP investor must work diligently to enter a signed PPA with Off-Taker (i.e ECG).
This PPA allows for required due diligence activities required by financing partners (i.e. banks) to commence, which include investigating validity of demand, and the creditworthiness of the counterparty (i.e. ECG) to fulfill its obligations.
To demonstrate the “chicken and egg” realities embodying this early stage of the process, please note that before entering the PPA, the Off-Taker (ECG) also seeks to comfort from the financial institutions backing the IPP investors, and uses these interactions to assess the IPP investor’s overall financial whir-withal to reach financial close, known as Financial Investment Decision (FID), to bring the IPP development to fruition;
Following the requirement of obtaining a solid PPA with ECG, financing partners of the IPP investor reviews the country’s political risk, and most likely will require government support in the form of a Government Consent and Support Agreement (GCSA) or a Put/Call Option Agreement (PCOA)).
This agreement is necessary if the financial institutions believe, as in the normal practice in developing countries, that there is a high potential of interference by Government (current or future administrations) which may jeopardize the IPP investor’s ability to meet its obligations to them.
Used as a mitigation agreement between the IPP investor and key Off-Taker, this agreement basically places a burden on the Government to make the IPP investor whole, if there is a default caused by the government or any of its agencies i.e. Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) or, if there is Government interference on pricing and or payments due from Government – a common practice in our parts of the world.
To partake in a solid GCSA /PCOA with any serious IPP investors, it is common knowledge that the Government of Ghana was unable to instill the long-term confidence required independently, and needed the backing of renowned credit worthy development financial institutions such as World Bank, AfDB for the tenor required (approximately 15 years). In other words, any serious IPP investor, together with its financial partners, who entered into a PPA with ECG from 2006 onwards, would not be able to build the Independent Power Plant in Ghana unless it had supportive assurances made by the Government of Ghana’s (which would have to be credit-enhanced by a development bank such as World Bank or AfDB).
Take for instance the eniGhana Sankofa-Gye-Nyame gas project; as a requirement for support of the E&P gas development project, the World Bank was also required to support the financing of the 4 IPPs to off-take the gas to produce power (Gas2Power) by backing the PCOA issued by government required for the financing of the IPPs, the PCOAs issued by Government of Ghana was credit enhanced (i.e supported) by the World Bank.
In this project, the World Bank acted in two key roles – as credit enhancer to the chosen IPP and also to the SGN Gas Project directly. Without this innovative arrangement, the project would not have been executed.
Please note that when a PPA is signed between an IPP investor and ECG, Government is not obliged to give a PCOA unless the Government finds it necessary to do so i.e. unless Government wants that particular IPP developed.
Giving the lack of creditworthiness, and common challenges to recover full execution costs that have plagued the power industry for years, no Independent Power Producer (IPP) investor will endeavor to build an IPP without clear support by Government (GCSA/PCOA).
In short, without a GSCA or a PCOA no IPP can be developed irrespective of the strength of the PPAs signed between ECG and IPP investor.
So, a PPA on its own – without a GCSA/PCOA – is only a preliminary requirement, in a very long negotiating process.
A PPA on its own does not guarantee the financial backing of an IPP investor, and is used by IPP investors to simply kick-start the process of garnering early interest of financial institutions in the potential opportunity. And normally, a timeframe is stipulated in a PPA for the investor to obtain final investment decision (FID) from its financial institutions after all the above due diligence has been fully undertaken
In actuality, only about 6/7 PPA’s have resulted in government backing these developments by the issuance of a GCSA/PCOA since 2008, and each GCSA/PCOA also has been credit enhanced (supported) by a AAA credit development financial organisation such as the World Bank or AfDB (again, at the request of the Government of Ghana).
How then does cancelling a number of PPA’s (with no mention of accompanying GCSA/PCOAs), save the Government of Ghana so much money?
These PPAs which have not reached a financial investment decision to move forward with the IPP investment, cannot be costing the Government of Ghana significantly, let alone $7 billon.
Such references are disturbingly misleading to the public, and can only be alleged either from a strong point of ignorance of the overall process, political maneuvering – or both.
Obtaining a PPA is not the end of the transaction but rather the beginning of the transaction and a long negotiation process.
It is our duty to keep the Citizens of Ghana informed.
Signed,
Akex Mould
Equinor has made an oil discovery at the Sputnik prospect in the Barents Sea offshore Norway.
The exploration well was drilled some 30 kilometers northeast of the Wisting oil discovery and 350 kilometers north of Hammerfest.
According to Equinor, recoverable resources at the Sputnik offshore discovery are preliminarily estimated at 20-65 million barrels of oil.
The well encountered a 15-meter oil column in a Triassic sandstone reservoir. Fluid samples contain light oil and water.
“We are encouraged by this result as it confirms the presence of oil north of the Wisting discovery, where Equinor has acquired a strong acreage position,” said Nick Ashton, Equinor’s senior vice president for exploration in Norway and the UK.
“The geology in the Barents Sea is complex, and more work lies ahead to determine commerciality. But this discovery shows that persistence and our ability to learn from previous well results does pay off,” says Ashton.
“Detailed fluid analysis combined with geological and geophysical mapping will be carried out to fully understand the commercial potential of the Sputnik discovery. If confirmed that the structure comprises volumes that can be recovered in a commercially viable way, the partnership will assess possible development solutions,” Ashton said.
The Sputnik well (7324/6-1) was drilled to a vertical depth of 1569 meters below the seabed by semi-submersible drilling rig West Hercules, which has now moved on to drill the Equinor operated Lanterna well in PL796 in the Norwegian Sea
Equinor is the operator and holds 55% of the PL855 license. Partners are OMV (25%) and Petoro (20%).
Source: offshoreenergytoday.com
Equatorial Guinea’s Minister for Mines and Hydrocarbons has extended invitation to Ministers of Oil and Gas producing countries to attend this year’s 5th Gas Exporting Countries Forum(GECF) Summit.
The 5th GECF Summit will showcase the role and future of gas development on the African continent.
This will be the first time that it is held on the African continent.
Determined to showcase Africa’s gas potential and promote intra-Africa cooperation, Equatorial Guinea’s Minister for Mines and Hydrocarbons, H.E Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, continues his tour of Africa to invite GECF and non-GECF nations to attend the 5th GECF Summit which will be hosted for the first time on the African continent.
Through the 5th GECF Summit, Minister Obiang Lima hopes to promote gas development on the continent as a means to drive economic growth.
In a statement copied to energynewsafrica.com, it said “during his recent visit to Uganda, Minister Obiang Lima met with Minister for Energy, Irene Muloni and invited her to attend the 5th GECF Summit.”
The landmark event will take place in Malabo on November 25-27, 2019.
Speaking about Equatorial Guinea’s interest in supporting the development of Uganda’s oil and gas industry, Minister Obiang Lima encouraged the country to continue with its oil and gas plans which are “the best one can find anywhere in the world,” he said.
He further stated that, should the East African country continue with its plans, Equatorial Guinea may learn from it in the years to come.
This visit follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by both countries in 2017 for cooperation in oil and gas development.
Under the MoU, Equatorial Guinea will provide guidance to Uganda and assist it in achieving its oil and gas production targets, and advise it on the signing of petroleum agreements.
In a bid to transform its oil and gas sector, Uganda is developing its infrastructure in key sectors as a means to drive investment into the country.
Although Equatorial Guinea has a thriving oil sector with 1.1 billion proven oil reserves, the country – which is also a GECF member – holds great potential in its gas industry, boasting an estimated 145 billion cubic meters of proven gas reserves.
Further, Equatorial Guinea has set ambitious goals for its gas sector development including Alen Gas and Condensate Field on Bioko Island, which is said to be 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent and the construction of a natural gas mega-hub project, which has resulted in it, leading the LNG2Africa initiative which aims to create a continental gas market.
Upcoming stops on the tour include Egypt and Algeria.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Norwegian oil and gas operator Aker BP has failed to find oil at the 6608/6-1 exploration well in the North Sea.
The well is located in the production license 762, 170 kilometers west of Sandnessjøen. The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Permian Age.
According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the well 6608/6-1 encountered about 285 meters of carbonate rocks in the Zechstein group in the Permian.
These are partially tight and partially with poor reservoir quality, but with four meters of moderate reservoir quality. The well is dry.
This is the first exploration well in production license 762, which was awarded in APA 2013.
The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 2724 meters below the sea surface, in a water depth of 288 meters. The well has now been permanently plugged and abandoned.
The Deepsea Stavanger semi-submersible drilling rig was used for the operation. The rig has now started drilling of wildcat well 30/12-2 in production license 986 in the North Sea, where Aker BP ASA is the operator.
Norwegian oil and gas company Aker Energy has announced plans to increase the number of beneficiaries for its scholarship package for JHS graduates who are entering SHS from 150 to 200 this year.
Aker Energy’s scholars programme, which is in partnership with GNPC, was introduced in 2012 and it is presently the flagship social investment project of the company.
So far, about 721 students have been selected from 10 coastal communities in the western part of the West African country.
The programme started with six partner secondary schools, but, presently, has 10 partner SHSs and a nursing and vocational schools where beneficiaries are placed.
As a result of the free Senior High School policy being implemented by the government of the West African country, Ghana, Aker Energy’s scholarship package covers school materials such as trunk, chop box and books.
Other important elements of the scholarship package are counselling and mentoring, career seminars, frequent visits to check on beneficiaries’ well-being and their academic performance.
Speaking at the Aker Energy-GNPC Schorlars Programme Class of 2019 in Takoradi, in the Western part of the Republic of Ghana, Aker Energy’s External Relations Manager Officer Bernice Sam, said the selection of beneficiaries for this year’s scholarship programme is expected to commence as soon as the BECE results are released.
“Our preparations towards this exercise includes broad awareness raising activities in junior high schools and in communities so that students and parents alike have prior knowledge of the criteria, selection process and venues,” she said.
Scholars come from so many communities including Jomoro District-Bonyere, Allengenzule, New Nzulenzu, Ellembelle District-Anokye, Atuabo, Basake, Takinta, Teleku Bokazo Nzema East District-Axim, Nsein, Kegyina Ahanta West District-Akwidaa, Lower Dixcove, Gyabenkrom, STMA-Fijai, New Takoradi Ntankoful, Shama, Inchaban, Abuesi and Supomo Dunkwa
The event saw the celebration of Aker Energy’s Class of 2019 WASSCE graduands.
In all, 125 graduated and out of this number, 30 were from GSTS, 20 from Archbishop Porter School, 13 from Nkroful Agric School, six from Half Assini Sec. School, 51 from Nseim Secondary School while five will be graduating from nursing and vocational schools.
According to Mrs Bernice Sam, 40 outstanding scholars who had 5As were taken on a field trip to the University of Cape Coast and Takoradi Technical University to have a feel of the ‘campus’ and to interact with faculty.
She said Aker Energy is in the process of developing a tertiary level scholarship programme which “we expect to roll-out soon to be able to support SHS scholars who want to continue to the tertiary level.
About Aker Energy
Aker Energy is an upstream petroleum company operating the Deepwater Tano / Cape Three Points oil block that is located offshore Ghana.
The parties to the Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) Petroleum Agreement are Aker Energy Ghana Limited (50% interest), Lukoil Overseas Ghana Tano Limited (38% interest), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (10% interest) and Fueltrade Limited (2%interest).
The mission of Aker Energy is building the oil and gas operator of choice offshore Ghana by maturing resources in a safe, efficient and reliable manner to the mutual benefit of company partners and the people of Ghana.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
It has brought together academicians, engineers, researchers, scientists and students from several countries including India, Uganda, Cameroon, USA, Ghana and other parts of Africa.
Power Africa conference provides forum for researchers, engineers and practitioners to present and discuss latest research findings, ideas and emerging technologies and applications in the area of power systems integrations, business models, technological advances, policies and regulatory framework for the African continent.
Opening the conference, IEEE Nigeria Section Chair Engr. Raphael Onokshakpor said: “We at IEEE and PES Nigeria Section are pleased to now formally validate our capacity and zeal to host international events of this scale in our dear nation, which is a developing country that has a lot of potential in terms of human capital and resources.
He stressed the need for the resource persons present to try and make an impact by sharing their experiences and ideas to ensure tangible results by the time the conference ends.
“The Nigerian Electricity System clearly needs solutions and interventions which can help bring the Nigerian Electricity power industry to the state where it would be capable of not only serving the country’s basic needs but also to drive industrialisation for Nigeria and also for other part of sub-Saharan Africa.”
On her part, Chair of IEEE Africa Council Prof. Gloria Chukwudebe noted that the 5th edition of IEEE power Africa conference would be unique, as there would be interesting keynote addresses, presentations by distinguished scientists and engineers on smart energy regulation and policy, smart grid designs, smart technology applications, electrical safety and industry standards, renewable energy solutions and opportunities for private sector investment.
“Access to clean energy is still a big challenge to the sub-Saharan Africa. This conference is a very good opportunity for research scientists, engineers and practitioners to deliberate on latest research findings, ideas, emerging technologies and applications that will proffer solutions for the African continent to fast track achievement of the sustainable development goals,” she said.
Meanwhile, General Chair and Co-Chair of the Organising Committee of 2019 Power Africa, Chief Tunde Y. Salihu, has said that the growing importance of this conference towards getting African nations to meet up with their counterparts worldwide is the major reason the IEEE, Industrial Application and Power and Energy Societies have continued to sponsor this conference.
He commended all the organising committee members for their commitment towards the successful organisation of the conference.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
“There have been some few problems of little delays in terms of having the first gas. Now that the Karpowership is available here, we need to quickly connect with the first gas. It is currently going to feed on heavy fuel for some short period, but the quicker you are able to supply it with gas, the better it would be for us. The pipelines for the gas has been completed, the transmission lines are in place, but at the OTS, there are certain things that need to be done where the gas would have to be retreated in terms of heating and bringing the pressure down.
“So all these would be investigated to know exactly where the cause is coming from. You realise that it has to do with just the access. Ghana Gas is of the view that certain things must be done before they can take possession, but we think that this is not the final completion but a practical completion, which gives allowance for deferred liability period.
“So during those different liability periods, any differed liability that occurs can be corrected so they (Ghana Gas) can go ahead and then take over at that period while other issues are dealt with. So these are the issues were are looking at,” he added.
The General Manager of Amandi, David-Ben Ayun, who is supervising the construction of the Onshore Terminal Station and the gas pipeline, said they are committed to the schedule.
“We are putting effort, even though, we have a lot of delays from third parties not from our side. We are expected to give first gas by the close of September,” he said.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Karpowership Ghana Company Limited, Volkan Buyikbicer says it would resume power generation with Heavy Fuel Oil to the national grid by August ending, even before first gas in September.
The Karpowership would be adding 470 megawatts at full capacity and would help to reduce power generation with complete operation with gas.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com 
Currently, there is a customer growth of 0.58%, reflecting the addition of more than 20,000 new customers since PDS took over.
Furthermore, PDS inherited an accumulated debt of GHS3.365billion, which has been reduced to GHS2.6billion.
You can easily deduce from the table below that system reliability has also improved significantly. PDS has reduced the frequency of weekly outages which was in the region of 1000 outages per week when they took over, to around 300 outages per week. For example, from March to June 2018, System average interruption frequency index was 23.17hours, but within the same period of March to June 2019, the interruption frequency has been reduced to 18.43hours.
In the same vein, system average interruption duration index between March and June 2018 was 24.87hours but reduced to 17.26hours from March to June 2019. That is about 30.6% improvement as compared to the same period last year, where a customer experienced additional 8 hours of power outage.
Without further elaboration, the general productivity and efficiency of the Company has improved, even though staff strength has reduced by 0.39%. This high performance can be attributed to the introduction of electricity distribution best standards and practices like the enhancement of work ethics and systems, re-alignment, employee performance measurement, etc.
This has created a high morale among staff due to timely payment of salaries, better conditions of service and the general clarity of organizational focus and strategies.
Source: Kofi Brako
The programme started with six partner secondary schools, but, presently, has 10 partner SHSs and a nursing and vocational schools where beneficiaries are placed.
As a result of the free Senior High School policy being implemented by the government of the West African country, Ghana, Aker Energy’s scholarship package covers school materials such as trunk, chop box and books.
Other important elements of the scholarship package are counselling and mentoring, career seminars, frequent visits to check on beneficiaries’ well-being and their academic performance.
Speaking at the Aker Energy-GNPC Schorlars Programme Class of 2019 in Takoradi, in the Western part of the Republic of Ghana, Aker Energy’s External Relations Manager Officer Bernice Sam, said the selection of beneficiaries for this year’s scholarship programme is expected to commence as soon as the BECE results are released.
“Our preparations towards this exercise includes broad awareness raising activities in junior high schools and in communities so that students and parents alike have prior knowledge of the criteria, selection process and venues,” she said.
Scholars come from so many communities including Jomoro District-Bonyere, Allengenzule, New Nzulenzu, Ellembelle District-Anokye, Atuabo, Basake, Takinta, Teleku Bokazo Nzema East District-Axim, Nsein, Kegyina Ahanta West District-Akwidaa, Lower Dixcove, Gyabenkrom, STMA-Fijai, New Takoradi Ntankoful, Shama, Inchaban, Abuesi and Supomo Dunkwa
The event saw the celebration of Aker Energy’s Class of 2019 WASSCE graduands.
In all, 125 graduated and out of this number, 30 were from GSTS, 20 from Archbishop Porter School, 13 from Nkroful Agric School, six from Half Assini Sec. School, 51 from Nseim Secondary School while five will be graduating from nursing and vocational schools.
According to Mrs Bernice Sam, 40 outstanding scholars who had 5As were taken on a field trip to the University of Cape Coast and Takoradi Technical University to have a feel of the ‘campus’ and to interact with faculty.
She said Aker Energy is in the process of developing a tertiary level scholarship programme which “we expect to roll-out soon to be able to support SHS scholars who want to continue to the tertiary level.
About Aker Energy
Aker Energy is an upstream petroleum company operating the Deepwater Tano / Cape Three Points oil block that is located offshore Ghana.
The parties to the Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) Petroleum Agreement are Aker Energy Ghana Limited (50% interest), Lukoil Overseas Ghana Tano Limited (38% interest), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (10% interest) and Fueltrade Limited (2%interest).
The mission of Aker Energy is building the oil and gas operator of choice offshore Ghana by maturing resources in a safe, efficient and reliable manner to the mutual benefit of company partners and the people of Ghana.
Source: energynewsafrica.com