Zimbabwe: Energy Minister Widens The Pool To Fill Board Vacancies
Zimbabwe’s Energy Minister, Fortune Chasi, has made an open call for applications from members of the public to submit their CVs for possible appointment to boards of State entities.
This appointment aims to do away with mismanagement, nepotism, and corruption in the country’s energy sector.
In an exclusive interview with NewZimbabwe.com, Chasi said the decision was made in order to help him widen his reach before making a choice on the candidate.
“The open call is going to help in the sense that it brings a broader range of people to choose from, not having a small group that is known just by myself. We have more people applying and we will conduct interviews and we can be able to identify skilled people that we need,” he revealed.
The energy minister added that he was also doing this to ensure transparency.
“Just to make sure that the process is open and transparent, and that there is a bigger pool from which to select board members rather than just thinking of people whom I know,” he said.
This development comes after Chasi decided to dissolve the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) board. This decision was taken as Chasi felt that the board was not doing much to address the power challenges.
The Board has failed to “appreciate the urgency of the situation we are in”, he said.
The minister then assured that he will replace the board with people who do not wait for monthly or quarterly meetings to address power challenges confronting the nation.
US Gov’t Shows Appetite To Develop Industrial Dialogue With Africa On LNG
With record-breaking US gas production this year, and the promotion of gas as a ‘cleaner and cheaper’ energy source a continued priority for the current White House, the US Department of Energy is now looking towards Africa to develop opportunities in the exploration, production and monetization of LNG.
In the words of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, “increased amounts of US LNG on the world market benefit the American economy, American workers, and consumers and help make the air cleaner around the globe.”
Appetite for imported gas is growing steadily across the African continent. Just recently, South Africa announced plans to open its first LNG import terminal in 2024.
Meanwhile, US gas production is skyrocketing. Currently at 6 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day, production is forecast to grow to 10 bcf by the end of 2020.
This confluence of circumstance makes Africa a common-sense partner for the US, as it sets out to cement its position as an energy superpower.
As part of this mission, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Steven Winberg, would join 22 Pan-African ministers at the Africa Oil Week Summit in Cape Town this November.
He would use the event to share US energy policy points with the continent and outline a vision for deeper US commitment to Africa in the oil, gas and power sectors.
This vision looks set to encompass increased two-way trade and investment between the US and Africa, with the US making potential capital available on joint-ventures and to part-finance LNG infrastructure for energy-lacking African countries.
The announcement of Secretary Winberg’s attendance to the summit comes alongside several major US private-sector investments into the African energy sector.
ExxonMobil is making progress in Mozambique with its Rovuma LNG project in deepwater Area 4 block, which contains more than 85 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Particularly notable though is Anadarko’s recent announcement of its Final Investment Decision (FID) to construct a $20 billion gas liquefaction and export terminal in Mozambique, the largest single LNG project approved in Africa.
A representative from ExxonMobil would be covering the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique at Africa Oil Week and, there would be strong presence from ENH and INP at the conference.
Africa Oil Week is putting a renewed focus on the place of gas, with 5 dedicated sessions dedicated solely to LNG in the event programme.
Assistant Secretary Winberg would be actively participating in the AOW Programme.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Auditor General’s Report: We Have Honoured All Tax Obligations-GOIL
Indigenous Ghanaian oil company, GOIL, has dismissed claims in the 2018 Auditor General’s Report that it has defaulted in payment of levies to the state.
The Auditor-General, at a press conference, last week, accused some ten oil marketing companies including GOIL, for causing the state to lose about GHc33, 675,044 between 2016 and 2017.
“Our review of petroleum products lifted at TOR between November 2016 and November 2017 showed that 10 OMCs defaulted in the payment of excise duties, taxes and levies amounting to GH¢33,675,044,” a report from the Auditor General stated.
A data from the Auditor General showed that GOIL owed the state to the tune of GH¢27,688,000.
However, GOIL, in a statement signed by its public relations officer, rejected the claims and clarified the issue.
“Sometime in August last year, GOIL received a letter from the Commissioner, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in connection with a recovery of taxes and levies of petroleum liftings, covering the period January 2013 to December 2017 amounting to GHc19, 921, 401, 62.
“GOIL promptly responded by communicating to the GRA, using our analysed schedule to point out errors in declarations submitted to GOIL. GOIL specifically pointed out that all the declarations listed by the GRA had errors which could not be corrected via the GCNet system and therefore new declarations had to be made to replace them.
“Following that, GOIL was reliably informed by the GCNet that the erroneous declarations would be expunged from the records, after a month of the date of declaration,” the statement said.
It added that: “Our records which we have submitted to GRA therefore shows that GOIL has paid all taxes and levies of lifted petroleum products during the period indicated.”
GOIL said it found it strange that despite the clarifications, issues had been raised in Part three of the 2018 Auditor-General’s report under the heading: ‘TOR Default in the Payment of Petroleum Liftings’.
Specifically in item numbers 60 and 65, the report indicated that GOIL defaulted in the payment of excise duties, taxes and levies amounting to GHc 27,688,978.98 and MGO liftings amounting to GHS 497,490.
As further proof of non-liability, the GRA itself awarded GOIL the “2017 OVERALL BEST TAX PAYER (CUSTOMS DIVISION’ last year.
“We have, therefore, communicated to the GRA again and the Auditor-General’s office for the records to be formally corrected to reflect our current tax position and, in particular, clarify any misconceptions raised as a result of the publication of the Auditor-General’s report,” the company noted.
GOIL reiterated that it is a law-abiding corporate entity and has always paid its taxes promptly and regularly and will never renege in its obligations towards the state.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Why the Special Prosecutor (SP) Must Be Interested In PDS Saga
Since March this year, the Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana had been responsible for managing the retail, and distribution business of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), following government’s decision to executed the second Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) with the U.S. government with the objective of, inter alia, increasing private sector investment and the productivity and profitability of micro, small, medium and large scale businesses.
Among the six projects within the second compact is the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project (EFOT), which seeks to introduce a private sector participant in the management and operations of ECG, and key policy and institutional reforms that will provide more reliable and affordable power to Ghana’s businesses and households, through Millennium Challenge Corporation’s US$498 million compact.
As a result the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), the supervising agency of the MCC Compact, embarked upon a competitive procurement process which resulted in the selection of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), a Filipino company and a group of Ghanaian investors to manage, operate and invest in ECG’s operations for 20 years, in the name of PDS as the Concessionaire.
Per the power compact transaction agreement, Meralco and its partners will hold 41 percent stake in ECG while the Ghanaian ownership is 51 percent. The consortium is comprised of Meralco, AEnergia SA, an Angolan company, and four Ghanaian companies, TG Energy solution Ghana Limited, Santa Baron Ventures Ghana, TBK Ghana Limited and GTS Engineering Ghana Limited.
Author
It was expected that the PDS would invest over US$580 million in Ghana’s power sector within the next five years after receiving the Assets and Operations of the ECG on March 1st 2019. ECG becomes an Asset Holding Company in this case, and after the end of the Concession, all assets would be transferred back to it.
Suspension
Everything seem going well for PDS, until on the eve of July 30th 2019, the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the ECG announced the suspension of the concession agreement with the consortium with immediate effect, suggesting that the ECG is back to manage power distribution in the country.
As per the statement signed by the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, government’s decision follows the detection of “fundamental and material breaches of PDS’s obligation in the provision of Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees) for the transaction which have been discovered upon further due diligence.” According to government, the Demand Guarantees were key prerequisites for the lease of assets on 1st March 2019 to secure the assets that were transferred to the Concessionaire.
While assuring the general public and customers that the development will not interfere with the distribution of electricity services, government indicated that it is conducting a full enquiry into the matter, and that the outcome will inform the next line of action.
Government’s statement was further reinforced by various functionaries of the state while they sought to shed more light on the issue.
According to the Minister of Energy Mr. Peter Amewu, an officer who executed the Guarantees (Lease Payment Security and BSA Payment Security) from Al Koot, a commercial insurer and re-insurer, based in Qatar was not authorized and that the guarantees were forged. This according to Mr. Amewu, was detected following series of due diligence tests the guarantees were subjected to by the ECG. Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah also added that the company that issued the guarantee have indicated that the mandate to issue that guarantee was irregular. As a result, a full scale-inquiry has been launched by the government and the other organizations to unravel the extent of the breach and the necessary action to follow. To the extent that the deal will be cancelled if it emerges that there was a deliberate attempt to defraud the country.
And according to Deputy Energy Minister, Mr. William Owuraku Aidoo, initial investigations points to a grand plan to deceive the state, and that government is convinced that PDS misrepresented some of the requirement for the takeover.
Blames and Calls
There have been several calls by Ghanaians from all walk of life, and other development partners following the suspension of the concessionaire agreement, with each blaming the fallout on one person/group or the other.
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has blamed MiDA for what it describes as the gross negligence in the award of the concession agreement. ACEP’s claim is that MiDA bent the procedures to create room for the consortium to win the bid even though they did not meet the conditions. It is also convinced that Government officials who played a role in the agreement signed between PDS and the government of Ghana, have questions to answer.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi-Asokwa and a former Deputy Minister for Energy, Mr. Kobina Tahir Hammond, has called for the prosecution of all those involved in the concession agreement with the PDS if it is proved that there was a fraud. The legislator who is also a Member of the Mines and Energy Committee, contends that the committee raised red flags on the deal but okayed it due to assurances from the government.
A former UN adviser on governance Prof. Agyemang Duah, has also said that the suspension of the deal by government few months down the line is an indication of a shoddy work done. He blames the government and some others officials for not doing thorough due diligence; suggesting that rushing major contracts worth millions of dollars will land the country in loses if care is not taken.
The U.S. Embassy in Ghana have also added their voice to the calls, by urging the government to conduct a thorough forensic audit into claims of fraud regarding its contract with PDS, in order to fully establish the facts of the matter.
The Place of Due Diligence
A former Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA) Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby has accused government for rushing to meet the deadline of the second MCC Compact. He believes the government should have done due diligence before signing the contract, instead of now trying to do the due diligent after the fact. To him, the country was forced to take the decision without necessarily satisfying certain preconditions.
On his part, Dr. Kwabena Donkor who is also a member of Mines and Energy Committee in Parliament and MP for the Pru East Constituency, accused the Finance Minister for not doing proper due diligence before bringing finality to the agreement with the PDS.
And in the view of ACEP, apart from Meralco the other parties in the consortium were not known, which was enough basis for MiDA to be meticulous in checking the background of the companies to ensure that they, at least, have the financial capacity to assume the business with a cash flow of US$4billion.
But both government and MiDA are fighting off the accusation that they were negligent in the exercise of their duties to thoroughly follow procedures and scrutinize documents presented by PDS before a final agreement was signed.
According to the Information Minister, it was rather Ghana’s diligence over the agreement that revealed the breach by PDS, arguing that the principle of due diligence has always been an ongoing process, and not an event. And that, the nature of the breach was such that it was difficult to detect at the initial stage.
MiDA also maintains it followed due diligence throughout the handing-over process, and that they did not massage the process. That, even though the parties agreed to waive some of the conditions precedent (which is allowed) and commit them as conditions subsequent, MiDA and the rest of the stakeholders suggested to government that “as for the guarantees until they have been issued, the transfer shouldn’t take place.”
Call on SP
The Special Prosecutor (SP) Mr. Martin Amidu may have turned down calls for his office to probe the PDS saga, with an excuse that the office of the SP has no mandate to investigate financial and economic crimes. However, there enough reasons for the SP to be interested in the entire concessionaire agreement which today is in total mess.
There is a case of circumvention of process for PDS to win the bid and take over the operation and management of the ECG, to the extent that “conditions precedent” were relaxed and made “condition subsequent. I am sure this may interest the SP to interrogate the extent to which due process was followed in the award of the contract. It may confirm or otherwise the considered opinion of some section of Ghanaians that the agreement was cooked from the very onset for someone, judging from the manner things were done in a rush.
That if the country paid $50 million in services, in advice – hiring lawyers, advisors, consultants to help with the takeover process, yet the country ends up with a suspended deal; it may be of concern to the SP, at least for purposes of “value for money.”
And to the extent that the PDS has so far not injected the needed financial capital as stipulated under the concession agreement, but rather been depending on ECG’s existing funds (including expected payments) for their operations and to shore up their capital requirements, amounts to a clear breach of the transaction. Wouldn’t this also interest the Special Prosecutor to call for the file on PDS concession agreement?
Source: Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, Institute for Energy Security (IES) © 2019
Author
It was expected that the PDS would invest over US$580 million in Ghana’s power sector within the next five years after receiving the Assets and Operations of the ECG on March 1st 2019. ECG becomes an Asset Holding Company in this case, and after the end of the Concession, all assets would be transferred back to it.
Suspension
Everything seem going well for PDS, until on the eve of July 30th 2019, the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the ECG announced the suspension of the concession agreement with the consortium with immediate effect, suggesting that the ECG is back to manage power distribution in the country.
As per the statement signed by the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, government’s decision follows the detection of “fundamental and material breaches of PDS’s obligation in the provision of Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees) for the transaction which have been discovered upon further due diligence.” According to government, the Demand Guarantees were key prerequisites for the lease of assets on 1st March 2019 to secure the assets that were transferred to the Concessionaire.
While assuring the general public and customers that the development will not interfere with the distribution of electricity services, government indicated that it is conducting a full enquiry into the matter, and that the outcome will inform the next line of action.
Government’s statement was further reinforced by various functionaries of the state while they sought to shed more light on the issue.
According to the Minister of Energy Mr. Peter Amewu, an officer who executed the Guarantees (Lease Payment Security and BSA Payment Security) from Al Koot, a commercial insurer and re-insurer, based in Qatar was not authorized and that the guarantees were forged. This according to Mr. Amewu, was detected following series of due diligence tests the guarantees were subjected to by the ECG. Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah also added that the company that issued the guarantee have indicated that the mandate to issue that guarantee was irregular. As a result, a full scale-inquiry has been launched by the government and the other organizations to unravel the extent of the breach and the necessary action to follow. To the extent that the deal will be cancelled if it emerges that there was a deliberate attempt to defraud the country.
And according to Deputy Energy Minister, Mr. William Owuraku Aidoo, initial investigations points to a grand plan to deceive the state, and that government is convinced that PDS misrepresented some of the requirement for the takeover.
Blames and Calls
There have been several calls by Ghanaians from all walk of life, and other development partners following the suspension of the concessionaire agreement, with each blaming the fallout on one person/group or the other.
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has blamed MiDA for what it describes as the gross negligence in the award of the concession agreement. ACEP’s claim is that MiDA bent the procedures to create room for the consortium to win the bid even though they did not meet the conditions. It is also convinced that Government officials who played a role in the agreement signed between PDS and the government of Ghana, have questions to answer.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi-Asokwa and a former Deputy Minister for Energy, Mr. Kobina Tahir Hammond, has called for the prosecution of all those involved in the concession agreement with the PDS if it is proved that there was a fraud. The legislator who is also a Member of the Mines and Energy Committee, contends that the committee raised red flags on the deal but okayed it due to assurances from the government.
A former UN adviser on governance Prof. Agyemang Duah, has also said that the suspension of the deal by government few months down the line is an indication of a shoddy work done. He blames the government and some others officials for not doing thorough due diligence; suggesting that rushing major contracts worth millions of dollars will land the country in loses if care is not taken.
The U.S. Embassy in Ghana have also added their voice to the calls, by urging the government to conduct a thorough forensic audit into claims of fraud regarding its contract with PDS, in order to fully establish the facts of the matter.
The Place of Due Diligence
A former Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA) Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby has accused government for rushing to meet the deadline of the second MCC Compact. He believes the government should have done due diligence before signing the contract, instead of now trying to do the due diligent after the fact. To him, the country was forced to take the decision without necessarily satisfying certain preconditions.
On his part, Dr. Kwabena Donkor who is also a member of Mines and Energy Committee in Parliament and MP for the Pru East Constituency, accused the Finance Minister for not doing proper due diligence before bringing finality to the agreement with the PDS.
And in the view of ACEP, apart from Meralco the other parties in the consortium were not known, which was enough basis for MiDA to be meticulous in checking the background of the companies to ensure that they, at least, have the financial capacity to assume the business with a cash flow of US$4billion.
But both government and MiDA are fighting off the accusation that they were negligent in the exercise of their duties to thoroughly follow procedures and scrutinize documents presented by PDS before a final agreement was signed.
According to the Information Minister, it was rather Ghana’s diligence over the agreement that revealed the breach by PDS, arguing that the principle of due diligence has always been an ongoing process, and not an event. And that, the nature of the breach was such that it was difficult to detect at the initial stage.
MiDA also maintains it followed due diligence throughout the handing-over process, and that they did not massage the process. That, even though the parties agreed to waive some of the conditions precedent (which is allowed) and commit them as conditions subsequent, MiDA and the rest of the stakeholders suggested to government that “as for the guarantees until they have been issued, the transfer shouldn’t take place.”
Call on SP
The Special Prosecutor (SP) Mr. Martin Amidu may have turned down calls for his office to probe the PDS saga, with an excuse that the office of the SP has no mandate to investigate financial and economic crimes. However, there enough reasons for the SP to be interested in the entire concessionaire agreement which today is in total mess.
There is a case of circumvention of process for PDS to win the bid and take over the operation and management of the ECG, to the extent that “conditions precedent” were relaxed and made “condition subsequent. I am sure this may interest the SP to interrogate the extent to which due process was followed in the award of the contract. It may confirm or otherwise the considered opinion of some section of Ghanaians that the agreement was cooked from the very onset for someone, judging from the manner things were done in a rush.
That if the country paid $50 million in services, in advice – hiring lawyers, advisors, consultants to help with the takeover process, yet the country ends up with a suspended deal; it may be of concern to the SP, at least for purposes of “value for money.”
And to the extent that the PDS has so far not injected the needed financial capital as stipulated under the concession agreement, but rather been depending on ECG’s existing funds (including expected payments) for their operations and to shore up their capital requirements, amounts to a clear breach of the transaction. Wouldn’t this also interest the Special Prosecutor to call for the file on PDS concession agreement?
Source: Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, Institute for Energy Security (IES) © 2019
PDS Saga: We’re Awaiting MiDA’s Forensic Audit Before A Decision Will Be Taken-US Embassy In Ghana
The US Embassy in the Republic of Ghana says it is awaiting an independent forensic audit of the Power Distribution Services (PDS) concession deal authorised by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) Board of Directors before it makes a decision on the matter.
According to the US Embassy, “U.S. Government strongly supports the decision” which it says is needed before any action is taken on the alleged fundamental and material breaches of PDS’ obligations to Ghana.
“Only then can all relevant parties make a transparent and evidence-based decision that is in the best interest of the citizens of Ghana,” the Embassy said in response to queries by Accra based Citi FM.
The queries, among others, concerned the role of the embassy and the Millennium Challenge Compact in possibly resolving the matter, potential actions if the government cancelled the deal and thoughts on alleged fraud in the deal.
The Embassy also assured that the US favoured a “transparent, well-run transaction that meets international standards for private sector participation, investment, and operations.”
“The U.S. Government expects that MiDA, PDS, and the Government of Ghana will continue to work together to implement the bold solutions and partnership of the MCC compact that have been fostered to enhance the reliability of the country’s power network and improve the lives of millions of Ghanaians.”
PDS took over the power distribution business from the ECG in March 2019 after winning a bid to run the power distribution in Ghana as part of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) compact which was signed in 2014.
However, barely five months of operations, the Government of Ghana, through the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, announced the suspension of PDS.
In a statement, government said the suspension was as a result of what it described as ‘fundamental and material breaches of PDS’ obligation in the provision of Payment Securities for the transaction’ which had been discovered upon further due diligence.
The statement said a full-scale enquiry into the power concession agreement with PDS Ghana Limited had begun and was expected to last for 30 days.
World’s Largest Tanker Starts 12,400-Mile Journey To Meet IMO Regulations
The world’s biggest oil tanker has begun a 12,400-mile voyage to a fuel-storage zone in Asia, the latest movement of a vessel that’s intrigued the shipping market and fuel traders for months.
More than 1,200 feet long, 16 years old, and able to hold roughly a day of France’s and Britain’s combined oil consumption, Oceania will arrive at Sungai Linggi in Malaysia at the end of September, according to recent signals from the vessel. Its depth in the water and previous movements indicate the so-called ultra-large crude carrier, owned by Antwerp-based Euronav NV, has cargo on board.
Oceania, currently sailing past West Africa, has been accumulating cargoes in the Mediterranean Sea since about March. Euronav’s original plan was to use a supertanker to store fuel to help its fleet meet rules known as IMO 2020, which will force merchant ships to cut sulfur emissions. The company has declined to comment further on the matter multiple times. The vessel is Oceania, according to tanker-tracking data from Vortexa. When the ship arrives in East Asia, it will join an armada of carriers also storing products that will meet the regulations.
“This is unusual and certainly an interesting way of dealing with the IMO 2020 story,” said Eirik Haavaldsen, a shipping analyst at Pareto Securities AS in Oslo. “It is not without risk. But it’s interesting, and it’s also a bit more sophisticated than the rest of the shipping companies.”
IMO 2020 Strategy
It’s hard to gauge Euronav’s exposure to price fluctuations since the company may have locked in future prices for the fuel, Haavaldsen said. The tanker owner said during an earnings call last week that it has borrowed an additional $100 million in relation to its IMO 2020 fueling strategy, adding that there would be a further briefing on Sept. 5.
Starting in January, the vast majority of ships will have to consume fuel containing less sulfur under the rules mandated by the International Maritime Organization in London.
IMO-compliant fuels will probably cost significantly more than the type that ships mostly use today, prompting some owners to invest billions of dollars in equipment allowing them to keep burning the current product. A majority though — including Euronav — have opted to switch to low-sulfur fuels.
The new rules will require vessels to limit sulfur content to 0.5%, down from 3.5% in most parts of the world today. The pollutant is blamed for causing acid rain and contributing to human health conditions such as asthma and even lung cancer.
Fuel Storage
By storing compliant fuel on its giant ship, Euronav could be able to ensure its own requirements are covered when the new rules kick in. Alongside its sister ship, the Europe — currently off the coast of Malaysia — Oceania has a bigger cargo capacity than any other vessel in the world, IHS Maritime data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Some of the world’s top trading houses earlier this year began to gather a fleet of tankers in Southeast Asia to receive, store and resell millions of barrels of products such as low-sulfur fuel oil, diesel and light-cycle oil in what would effectively be a mini supply-and-distribution hub out at sea.
More conventional sea-storage trades normally happen when oil markets are weak, driving down immediate prices below future ones. When that price gap grows so wide that it exceeds the cost of hiring a tanker, traders can park cargoes at sea and sell them later at fixed profit.
It’s harder to say how easily Euronav would be able to lock in any profit on Oceania because the exact specification of fuel on board remains unclear. Not everything on Oceania is an oil product, either. The most recent cargo loaded onto the ship was low-sulfur crude from a field in the North Sea. It’s unclear how that fits in with the fuel the vessel previously loaded.
“With this IMO stuff everyone is going into uncharted territory, and I mean everyone,” said Steve Sawyer, director of refining at Facts Global Energy.
Source: offshoreenergytoday.com
Ghana: Your Support Is Key To Success Of Cylinder Recirculation Model- Deputy Minister Tells Residents Of Tamale
Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Energy in charge of Petroleum, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has appealed to consumers of LPG products in the northern part of the country to support the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) policy, being implemented by petroleum downstream regulator, NPA, to address the issue of petroleum fires in the industry.
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) had a stakeholder’s meeting with residents in the Tamale metropolis to interact with them about the policy and also take their questions, suggestions and feedback, as part of a long period to roll out the policy.
The Authority is expected to undertake a pilot exercise in Obuasi, Kweibibirem and Kade in the Eastern Region, before the entire programme is rolled out across the country.
So far, LPG consumers in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western and Central regions of the West African country have been engaged on the policy.
Those in the Upper East Region also had their turn on Tuesday, August 13, 2019.
Interacting with residents in the Tamale Metropolis in the Northern Region, Dr. Amin Adam indicated that the policy is not necessarily new, since it has been done some years ago, stating that “this is why Ghanaians must embrace it, despite the fears being expressed by a section of the public.”
“This policy will not succeed without you (consumers), the citizens of Ghana, who are primary users of LPG products,” he said.
The NPA, he said, is well positioned to carry the policy acknowledging that the contributions at such forums, means we would “succeed as a country.”
Dr. Amin assured industry players that the policy would not result in any job losses, as it is being speculated.
“There are many people who say we are going to create unemployment through this policy…I want to assure you that this government will be the last to kick people out of their jobs,” he said.
The Northern Regional Minister Salifu Sa-eed, who was also at the programme, admonished the residents to embrace the policy, since it would help address the health challenges associated with the use of wood fuels in the region.
On his part, Chief Executive of the NPA, Hassan Tampuli, reiterated his outfit’s commitment to continue soliciting the views of consumers in the country, before the policy is fully implemented.
Gabriel Kumi of the LPG Marketers Association, who indicated his outfit’s preparedness to work with the NPA, appealed to the government to have a look at the tax components on LPG products, as it would help open up the market and boost consumption.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Those in the Upper East Region also had their turn on Tuesday, August 13, 2019.
Interacting with residents in the Tamale Metropolis in the Northern Region, Dr. Amin Adam indicated that the policy is not necessarily new, since it has been done some years ago, stating that “this is why Ghanaians must embrace it, despite the fears being expressed by a section of the public.”“This policy will not succeed without you (consumers), the citizens of Ghana, who are primary users of LPG products,” he said.
The NPA, he said, is well positioned to carry the policy acknowledging that the contributions at such forums, means we would “succeed as a country.”
Dr. Amin assured industry players that the policy would not result in any job losses, as it is being speculated.
“There are many people who say we are going to create unemployment through this policy…I want to assure you that this government will be the last to kick people out of their jobs,” he said.
The Northern Regional Minister Salifu Sa-eed, who was also at the programme, admonished the residents to embrace the policy, since it would help address the health challenges associated with the use of wood fuels in the region.
On his part, Chief Executive of the NPA, Hassan Tampuli, reiterated his outfit’s commitment to continue soliciting the views of consumers in the country, before the policy is fully implemented.
Gabriel Kumi of the LPG Marketers Association, who indicated his outfit’s preparedness to work with the NPA, appealed to the government to have a look at the tax components on LPG products, as it would help open up the market and boost consumption.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Guyana Oil Discovery Means More Opportunities For Ghanaians – Kweku Awotwi
Executive Vice President of Tullow Oil PLC, Kweku Andoh Awotwi, has said that the latest oil discovery in Guyana will be beneficial to Ghanaians.
According to him, the discovery does not only extend the radar of Tullow PLC but broadens the employment horizon of citizens as most of the people on the Stena Forth drillship in Guyana are Ghanaians.
“We already have some of our own Ghanaian geo-scientists that were in London last week who are going to be part of that exercise, doing the exploration, doing the engineering… The company moved the rig of Ghana to Guyana but kept the workforce from Ghana.”
Tullow, on Monday, announced a large discovery in South America’s Guyana which shot the shared London-based oil company to 20% moments after the discovery. This made them the top gainer in the FTSE 250 mid-cap index.
Kweku Awotwi who was speaking at a media capacity training organized for the media by Tullow Oil PLC and Rigworld revealed that the initial discovery from the Jethro-1 well, shows commercial quantities.
“We’ve seen a minimum of a hundred million (100,000,000) barrels… we have to drill more wells to really see what’s there but the initial discovery suggests that it’s commercial so that means that we’ll be doing more work,” he noted.
According to Tullow, “the Jethro-1 was drilled by the Stena Forth drillship to a Total Depth of 4,400m metres in approximately 1,350 metres of water. Evaluation of logging data confirms that Jethro-1 is the first discovery on the Orinduik license and comprises high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs of Lower Tertiary age.
The well encountered 55m of net oil pay which supports a recoverable oil resource estimate which exceeds Tullow’s pre-drill forecast. Tullow will now evaluate the data from the Jethro discovery and determine appropriate appraisal activity”.
Dispute Payments From Petrobras Lift Vantage Back To Profit
Offshore drilling contractor Vantage Drilling returned to quarterly profit on the back of drilling contract termination revenue received from Petrobras.
Vantage Drilling on Wednesday reported net income attributable to controlling interest of approximately $590.7 million for the second quarter of 2019 compared to a net loss attributable to controlling interest of $31.1 million for the second quarter of 2018.
The company said that the net income stems from the recent payments by Petrobras Venezuela of approximately $690.8million to Vantage Deepwater Company, one of Vantage’s subsidiaries (VDEEP), and by Petrobras America, Inc. of approximately $10.1 million to Vantage Deepwater Drilling, Inc., also one of Vantage’s subsidiaries (VDDI).
The payments were made pursuant to an agreement between the parties and in satisfaction of the previously rendered arbitration award and related U.S. judgment confirming the award.
The dispute arose following the Petrobras’s parties’ termination of the agreement for the provision of drilling services for the Titanium Explorer dated February 4, 2009 between PVIS and VDEEP and which had been novated to PAI and VDDI.
The Petrobras parties claimed the Vantage parties had breached their obligations under the drilling contract. The Vantage parties immediately filed the international arbitration claim against PAI, PVIS, and Petrobras, claiming wrongful termination of the drilling contract.
In July 2018, the international arbitration panel ruled in favor of the Vantage entities, rendering an arbitration award of $622 million plus interest against PVIS, PAI and Petrobras. In May 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas confirmed the arbitration award and denied the Petrobras parties’ petition to vacate the award.
The Petrobras parties filed their notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit seeking the reversal of the U.S. judgment. The Vantage parties believe there is no basis for reversal and intend to vigorously contest the appeal.
The second quarter of 2019 includes drilling contract termination revenue of approximately $594 million and interest income of approximately $106.9 million associated with the payments, together with related legal contingency fee and income taxes.
Adjusting for these items, pro-forma net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2019 was approximately $37.4 million or $7.41 per share.
The company recorded revenues of $636.4 million in 2Q 2019 compared to $60.5 million in the same period last year.
When it comes to Vantage’s drilling rigs utilization, deepwater rigs saw a decrease in utilization from 63.2% in 2Q 2018 to 49.2% in 2Q 2019 while the jack-up rigs’ utilization increased from 88.5% in 2Q 2018 to 93.7% in 2Q 2019.
Source: offshoreenergytoday.com
PDS Saga: Don’t Destroy Energy Commission’s Hard-won Image-Dr Ampofo Advises
A former Board Chairman of Ghana’s Energy Commission Dr Kwame Ampofo, has criticised the role the Commission played in appointing Electricity Company of Ghana as the interim operator to take charge of the management of electricity sales in the West African country.
On July 31, this year, the country’s energy regulator withdrew EC/ESL/ 02-19-001 license, which it issued to PDS following the transfer.
According to the Commission, its decision was based on the validity of the said license becoming impaired due to the suspension of the operation of Power Distribution Services (Ghana) Limited over what government described as ‘fundamental and material breaches’ in the concession agreement signed with the Electricity Company of Ghana on behalf of government.
However, a statement issued by Dr Kwame Ampofo, who is also a former Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery, raised objection to the Commission’s decision to hand over the electricity retail business to ECG.
He argued that the Commission did not have the power to do so, stressing that it should have advised the sector Minister to use the powers of his good office to have appointed ECG as interim operator of the suspended PDS concession.
“As the immediate past chairman of the Energy Commission, I find it difficult to accept the recent announcement by the Commission that it (the Energy Commission) had ‘appointed’ ECG as the interim operator to take charge of the management and operation of electricity sales in the country, ostensibly, to ensure continuity of power supplies to consumers. This is a strange and undesirable development, as the Energy Commission has no mandate or powers to make any such appointment,” he argued.
According to him, “The functions of the Energy Commission is only to regulate and manage the utilisation of energy resources of the country. In the performance of these functions assigned to it by the Energy Commission Act of 1997 (Act 541), the Commission is enjoined to “advise the Minister for Energy on national policies for the efficient, economical and safe supply of electricity, having due regard to the national economy” (Article 2(b)). So, at best, the Energy Commission should have advised the sector Minister to use the powers of his good office to appoint ECG as the interim operator of the suspended PDS concession.
“Over the years, we have worked so hard (since its inception if 1997) to establish the Energy Commission of Ghana as one of the very best regulators in Africa and we must all be proud of this feat and the many enviable achievements and successes it continues to chalk as one of the best regulators on the continent.
“It is in this regard that I wish to entreat the government to strive to protect the sanctity of the Commission (as a regulator) by resisting the temptation to parry its problems onto the Commission and, thereby, place that respectable institution in a conflict of interest situation,” he stated.
Meanwhile, energynewafrica.com has contacted the Commission and would keep readers updated if they respond to Dr Ampofo’s statement.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: We Won’t Allow Lives To Be Lost At The Expense Of Financial Gains–NPA CEO
Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) says it is not perturbed by the attempts by some industry players in kicking against the implementation of the Cylinder Recirculation Model aimed at the safe handling of LPG in the country.
According to the regulator, government is committed to ensuring that the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) is fully implemented.
The Authority, led by the CEO Alhassan Tampuli, had had held series of engagements with stakeholders and interested parties and he expressed confident consumers could no longer tolerate any fires relating to petroleum.
Speaking at a regional stakeholder engagement in Bolgatanga, in the Upper East Region, Tuesday, Mr Tampuli urged those opposing the new model to take a second look at their stance.
“We have had a number of consultations with members of the Council of State, members of the National House of Chiefs, the Asantehene, Parliament Select Committee on Mines and Energy, Regional House of Chiefs, residents of Nima, Kotobaabi, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Western region respectively, as well as the media in Volta, Eastern, Northern and Brong-Ahafo,” he said.
Mr Tampuli said too many lives have been lost in gas explosions and the situation has to change for the better.
“Indeed we cannot forget the unfortunate incident of June 3, 2015, in which a number of lives were lost. Neither can we forget the infamous Atomic Junction gas explosion which shook the country in the last quarter of 2017.
“Another avoidable gas explosion occurred at the Trinity Gas Station in Krofrom, in the Ashanti Region, killing two people, injuring several others and properties worth millions of cedis destroyed,” he said.
He said lives cannot be lost at the expense of financial gains.
Some participants encouraged NPA not to give in to persons deliberately frustrating its efforts to address challenges regarding customers’ safety.
The participants said the Authority needs to step up its public education because not many people are aware of the issues articulated at the engagement.
“There are too many lives that have already been lost…we cannot wait for another disaster to befall others,” a participant with the Police Wives’ Association said.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Speaking at a regional stakeholder engagement in Bolgatanga, in the Upper East Region, Tuesday, Mr Tampuli urged those opposing the new model to take a second look at their stance.
“We have had a number of consultations with members of the Council of State, members of the National House of Chiefs, the Asantehene, Parliament Select Committee on Mines and Energy, Regional House of Chiefs, residents of Nima, Kotobaabi, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Western region respectively, as well as the media in Volta, Eastern, Northern and Brong-Ahafo,” he said.Mr Tampuli said too many lives have been lost in gas explosions and the situation has to change for the better.
“Indeed we cannot forget the unfortunate incident of June 3, 2015, in which a number of lives were lost. Neither can we forget the infamous Atomic Junction gas explosion which shook the country in the last quarter of 2017.
“Another avoidable gas explosion occurred at the Trinity Gas Station in Krofrom, in the Ashanti Region, killing two people, injuring several others and properties worth millions of cedis destroyed,” he said.
He said lives cannot be lost at the expense of financial gains.
Some participants encouraged NPA not to give in to persons deliberately frustrating its efforts to address challenges regarding customers’ safety.
The participants said the Authority needs to step up its public education because not many people are aware of the issues articulated at the engagement.
“There are too many lives that have already been lost…we cannot wait for another disaster to befall others,” a participant with the Police Wives’ Association said.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Auditor General’s Report: Telenergy Has Not Defaulted In Tax Payment-Management
Telenergy, one of the companies in the Republic of Ghana cited in the Auditor General’s report to have defaulted in tax payment has refuted the claims made against it.
The report claimed that Telenergy defaulted in the payment of taxes and other levies, after lifting fuel from Tema Oil Refinery, to the tune of GHc1, 303,540.00.
But the company claimed that every tax amount has been paid hence it is tax compliant.
The company explained that the tax amount of GHc1, 303,540 cited by the Auditor-General in relation to Residual Fuel Oil (RFO), which was loaded from TOR between the said period have been duly paid.
Niger Redraws Preserve Borders To Allow Exploration
The government of Niger is shrinking the borders on one of its nature preserves to allow oil and gas exploration.
The government will partially declassify its Termit and Tin-Toumma Nature Reserve to allow China’s CNPC to operate three oil blocks in the area.
The blocks were awarded to the company in June 2008, four years prior to the 100,000 sq km preserve being created.
The CNPC expansion project in this area is part of Niger’s policy to increase national oil production to 110,000 bpd in the coming years.
The Termit and Tin-Toumma Nature Reserve is considered by UNESCO as one of the last bastions of the Saharan fauna because of its low human presence.
Halliburton Wins Drilling And Completion Job On Woodside’s Senegal Project
Australian energy giant Woodside has awarded US oil services provider, Halliburton nine conditional contracts for drilling and completion services for SNE Field Development Phase 1 offshore Senegal.
The drilling campaign, which is due to start in late 2020 or early 2021, is for drilling and completing 18 wells with up to eight optional wells over an estimated 3-4 year term, Halliburton said on Monday.
The contracts awarded include drilling, logging, cementing, lower completions, e-line/slick line, coiled tubing and well testing services.
“We are excited to win this work and to provide services from our multiple product service lines on what is likely to be the first deepwater oil development in Senegal,” Shannon Slocum, senior vice president of the Eurasia, Europe and Sub-Sahara Africa region for Halliburton said.
“In addition to our services, Halliburton will invest in Senegal through constructing facilities, hiring local staff and potentially utilizing local vendors/suppliers.”
Initial engineering work will begin in Perth, Australia, later this year, and then will transfer to Dakar, Senegal in 2020.
This multi-contract award follows an earlier conditional award to Halliburton in December 2018 for drilling and completion fluids services.
Woodside is the operator of the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) joint venture, which contains the SNE field.
The Phase 1 development concept for the SNE field is a stand-alone FPSO facility with subsea infrastructure. It will be designed to allow subsequent SNE development phases, including options for potential gas export to shore and for future subsea tiebacks from other reservoirs and fields.
The contract for front-end engineering design (FEED) for the SNE field development
Phase 1 FPSO vessel was awarded last February to Japan’s MODEC. The FPSO will be designed to produce around 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, with the first oil production targeted in 2022. The FPSO will be moored in water depth of approximately 800 meters.
The Phase 1 development concept for the SNE field is a stand-alone FPSO facility with subsea infrastructure. It will be designed to allow subsequent SNE development phases, including options for potential gas export to shore and for future subsea tiebacks from other reservoirs and fields.
The contract for front-end engineering design (FEED) for the SNE field development
Phase 1 FPSO vessel was awarded last February to Japan’s MODEC. The FPSO will be designed to produce around 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, with the first oil production targeted in 2022. The FPSO will be moored in water depth of approximately 800 meters.