Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Exclusive Photos From Ghana Energy Sector Annual Ball
Energynewsafrica.com brings you exclusive pictures from the 2019 Ghana Energy Sector Annual Ball (GESAB).
GESAB is a memorable end of year gala dinner that brings players in the energy sector in the Republic of Ghana under one roof to, among other things, foster and strengthen interpersonal relationships, build loyalty, and celebrate work done by all stakeholders within the year.
The maiden edition was organized last year in partnership with the Ghana Oil and Gas Service Providers Association (GOGSPA) and Blackpool Entertainment Limited at the Accra Marriott Hotel.
In 2018, dignitaries including Hon. Joseph Cudjoe, Deputy Minister for Energy in charge of Finance and Infrastructure, representatives of Petroleum Commission and representatives of local oil service companies graced the event.
Unlike 2018, event which hosted stakeholders in only the petroleum sector, this year’s event was opened to players in the Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution as well as Petroleum Upstream, Midstream and Downstream subsectors.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Aramco Welcomes New Agreement Between Saudi Arabia And Kuwait For Resumption Of Oil Production
Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco, has welcomed the new agreement signed between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait regarding the Saudi-Kuwaiti Partitioned Zone, which paves the way for the resumption of oil production at two fields.
Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser commented: “Today is a remarkable day within the framework of economic and oil cooperation and integration between both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait. With the signing of this new accord, both parties have reached consensus that now is the right time to resume production in this zone. Both sides will work to ensure production resumption at the earliest opportunity.”
The historic agreement was signed in Kuwait City by HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, Saudi Minister of Energy and HE Khaled al-Fadhel, Kuwaiti Oil Minister and Minister of Electricity and Water.
Halliburton Appoints Robb Voyles As Chief Legal Officer
Oil and gas services provider, Halliburton Company, has announce the appointment of Robb Voyles as executive vice president, secretary and chief legal officer effective January 1, 2020.
“We congratulate Robb on his well-earned appointment to chief legal officer,” Jeff Miller, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Halliburton said in a press release posted on the company’s website.
“He has built an outstanding legal team who provides sound legal guidance for our entire organization, and we are very fortunate to have him leading our corporate legal strategy.”
Van Beckwith, currently chair of the Litigation Department at Baker Botts LLP and member of its Executive Committee, will join Halliburton in January and assume the role of senior vice president and general counsel, reporting to Voyles.
Beckwith has almost 30 years of experience trying large and complex cases and arbitrations across the U.S.
During his tenure, he maintained a robust, nationwide trial practice for many of Baker Botts’ key clients while also serving in a wide range of leadership roles.
South Africa: New Oil And Gas Law Proposes 20% Carried Interest
South Africa has published a long-anticipated draft of oil and gas legislation that will give the state a 20% carried interest in exploration and production rights, with the aim of increasing development of the industry.
The policy also calls for at least a 10% participating interest by black partners and the establishment of a Petroleum Agency, according to a draft published Tuesday by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in the Government Gazette.
The bill separates rules for the petroleum resources sector from laws that apply to mining exploration. Companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc have slowed activity in recent years, citing legislative uncertainty.
Finalizing the oil law has also become more urgent since Total SA announced the first significant deep-water discovery off the coast of South Africa in February.
South Africa will have a right to a 20% carried interest that “shall not be recoverable at exploration and appraisal stage,” according to the draft.
“The holder of a production right shall recover development and production costs from the proceeds generated from production operations as prescribed.”
Interested parties have until Feb. 21 to submit comment on the draft bill.
Guyana: ExxonMobil, Partners Discover More Oil In Starbroek Block Offshore
ExxonMobil and its partners have made an oil discovery offshore Guyana at the Mako-1 well southeast of the Liza field, marking the 15th discovery on the Stabroek Block.
The discovery adds to the previously announced estimated recoverable resource of more than 6 billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block.
Mako-1 encountered approximately 164 feet of a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. Mako-1, drilled in 5,315 feet of water, is located approximately six miles southeast of the Liza field, which began producing oil in December 2019.
“New discoveries in this world-class basin have the potential to support additional developments,” Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil said. “Our proprietary full-wave seismic inversion technology continues to help us better define our discovered resource and move rapidly to the development phase.”
The Liza Phase 1 development achieved first oil on Dec. 20, 2019 and will produce up to 120,000 boepd utilizing the Liza Destiny FPSO.
The Liza Unity FPSO, which will be employed for the second phase of Liza development and will have a production capacity of 220,000 boepd, is under construction and expected to start production by mid-2022.
Pending government approvals and project sanctioning of a third development, production from the Payara field north of the Liza discoveries could start as early as 2023, reaching an estimated 220,000 boepd.
Drilling activities in Guyana continue with four drillships to further explore and appraise new resources as well as develop the resources within approved projects.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres.
ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45% interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25% interest.
Egypt: Russian Oil Company Enters Two Blocks Offshore
Russian state-controlled oil company Zarubezhneft has entered into a production sharing agreement for two offshore blocks in Egypt.
On December 24, 2019, in Cairo, Zarubezhneft JSC, the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources of Egypt, the Egyptian state holding oil company GANOPE, and Pacific Oil Limited, signed a production sharing agreement for the South East Ras El Ush and East Gebel El Zeit blocks.
The blocks are located in the Gulf of Suez at a distance of 10 km from each other.
Estimated geological resources at both blocks amount to more than 200 million barrels, the Russian company said.
In the South East Ras El Ush blocks, Zarubezhneft plans to drill a prospecting well with the construction of a pilot, main and sidetracks, as well as to re-process and comprehensively re-interpret previously conducted 2D and 3D seismic surveys.
Also, to work on the block, the company is considering the possibility of attracting its own production capacities.
In the East Gebel El Zeit block, Zarubezhneft plans to implement work in the exploration and production areas, including the drilling of an exploration well in 2020.
Ghana: ECG, GRIDCo & NEDco Assure Of Reliable Power Supply During Festivities
Power utility companies in the Republic of Ghana have assured consumers in the West African nation of reliable power supply during the Christmas and the New Year festivities.
The three utility companies gave the assurance in a statement signed by the CEO of GRIDCo, Ing. Jonathan Amoako-Baah, Managing Director of ECG, Kwame Agyeman-Budu and CEO of NEDco Osmani A. Ayuba.
“As companies responsible for the transmission and distribution of power in Ghana, we recognise our critical importance to the sustenance of the country’s socio-economic development. We have, therefore, put in place a comprehensive business continuity plan and programme to ensure our engineers are on call to attend to emergencies when they occur across the country,” the statement said.
“We take our mandate to our key stakeholders seriously and resolve to execute it to the best of our ability. We wish our customers and the general public a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year,” it added.
Algeria: Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation Supports Development Of Algeria’s Energy Sector With US$250 Million Loan Facility
The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), a multilateral development financial institution, has approved two loan facilities worth a combined USD 250 million for Sonatrach Petroleum Investment Corporation (SPIC), a subsidiary of Sonatrach International Holding Corporation owned by Sonatrach, the Algerian state-owned national oil company.
The first loan, a USD 100 million bilateral pre-financing facility, will be used to fund the maintenance of the Sonatrach Raffineria Italiana complex in Sicily, Italy, which Sonatrach acquired from ExxonMobil in December 2018.
The second loan, a USD 150 million unfunded and syndicated letter of credit, is for the purchase Saudi Aramco crude oil by Sonatrach Raffineria Italiana.
“APICORP is committed to supporting and financing Sonatrach in its first overseas acquisition. This is part of our mission to continue playing an active role in the development of our member countries’ broader energy sector and contribute to diversification and geographic expansion. As a trusted financial partner to the region’s energy sector, we remain steadfast in our mission to continue exploring opportunities in Algeria and other member states and provide solutions that drive innovation and bolster the sustainability of this vital industry,” Dr. Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO of APICORP, said.
On his part, Nordine Bouteldja, Managing Director of SPIC commented, “Our strategic investment in international refining through Sonatrach Raffinera Italiana will contribute to meeting local energy demand and address imbalances in petroleum supplies. This is of key importance to our efforts to diversify our energy assets and secure reliable supplies of crude oil, as part of our drive to meet local energy demand and address imbalances in petroleum supplies to the domestic market.”
Located in Augusta, Sicily, Sonatrach Raffineria Italiana is Sonatrach’s first overseas acquisition. The integrated refinery complex, which has access to the major global shipping routes through the Mediterranean Sea, boasts a conversion rate of 200,000 bpd and can produce a wide range of downstream products, including gasoline, distillates, fuel oils, lubricants, asphalts and chemicals.
Earlier this year, Sonatrach designated APICORP as one of a select group of financial institutions to provide advisory on project management and financing-related matters.
Sudan: AfDB Approves $21.783Million Grant For Roll Out Of Solar-powered Irrigation
The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a grant to the government of Sudan to accelerate the adoption of solar-powered irrigation pumps in the country’s West Kordofan and North Kordofan states.
The project will enable farmers’ adoption of renewable energy technology through the installation of 1,170 photovoltaic (PV) irrigation pumps, the establishment of maintenance and repair workshops for the pumps, and the supply of equipment for a pump testing laboratory to provide certification and training.
Agriculture is an important economic sector in Sudan. In 2016, nearly 40% of the country’s GDP came from farming. For the sector, and for the wider economy, the project offers significant and numerous knock-on benefits.
As a result of the expected phasing out of diesel-fueled pumps, participating farmers will realise cost savings from no longer needing to purchase diesel, which is scarce in rural areas. Productivity also would increase: diesel generators require time consuming maintenance and repair.
Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, the country’s largest contributor, would fall.
Mr. Paul Baldeh, the Bank’s Director for Power Systems Development, noted that “by extending farmers a grant covering 75% of installation costs, the government, with Bank support, will overcome the most significant hurdle of adopting clean PV technology: high upfront costs.”
The remaining 25% will be payable in installments over three years. He added that the project will conduct a ground water survey and sustainability assessment that will inform the development of subsequent projects in Sudan.
The project meets the Sudanese government’s renewable energy and poverty reduction objectives as well as the Bank’s High Five and Energy Sector Policy. Moreover, the project has strong potential to be replicated and scaled up in other parts of the country.
Ghana: BOST, TOR Will Be Managed By A Single CEO If I Return To Power- Ex-President Mahama
Ghana’s former president, John Dramani Mahama believes a single Chief Executive Officer should manage the West African nation’s only refinery, TOR, and the strategic oil company, BOST.
The two oil companies were managed by Mr Kwame Awuah Darko during the tenure of Mr John Dramani Mahama.
The former political leader, who is seeking a come back on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said he would reverse the current situation where two persons are managing the companies if he is given the nod in Ghana’s upcoming general elections slated for December 7, 2020.
He attributed Ghana’s struggles with petroleum pricing to “a lot of inefficiencies in the distribution chain of petroleum products.
“Due to the improved efficiency between the two of them [BOST and TOR] in handling petroleum products, we were able to keep petroleum products at a much lower price than they would have been if we had left it the way it was. And so when I come as president again, I am going to appoint one chief executive to be in charge of both BOST and TOR and we will rebuild BOST’s capacity as a state-owned enterprise,” he promised.
Again, Mr Mahama said the NDC plans to, once again, turn around the fortunes of BOST and return it to its glorious days.
“We took BOST from the worst-performing state-owned enterprise and by the time we left office, BOST was the best-performing state-owned enterprise.
“We will rebuild BOST again to claim its glory and we will let it work together with the Tema Oil Refinery so that we can ensure that efficiency of distribution in the system will bring down prices and inure to the benefit our people.”
Ghana: COPEC Urges Road Users To Adhere To Road Safety Regulations To Avoid Accidents
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC-GH), a petroleum consumer advocacy group in the Republic of Ghana, has joined calls for greater safety of all motorists, as well as other road users to observe road safety regulations in order to avert any unfortunate road accidents during the yuletide.
Arguably, road traffic fatalities and their accompanying wreckages are becoming a growing public health concern nationwide.
Records show that, the first half of 2019 recorded 6,844 road crashes which have resulted in some 1,252 fatalities. These figures are, indeed, devastating, unfortunate and alarming.
“The safety of public transport operators, private drivers and the general public with respect to the safe use of our roads is an issue of concern to us during this Christmas season. It is evident that transportation activities will be on the rise during this festive season as individuals are expected to travel across the length and breadth of the country to celebrate with family and loved ones,” COPEC noted in a statement copied to energynewsafrica.com.
COPEC entreated motorists and pedestrians to observe every necessary road safety regulation for the avoidance of road traffic fatalities.
COPEC is of the firm belief that state agencies including the Police MTTD, the National Road Safety Commission and other relevant state institutions engaged in road safety management would intensify awareness creation and preventive efforts towards reducing the risk of road accidents and unexpected carnages during this season.
The statement called on the general public to adhere to safety measures such as maintenance of their vehicles, observing appropriate speed limits, obeying road signs and avoidance of driving under duress/stress, alcoholic influences and/or other hard drug substances.
COPEC used the opportunity to wish drivers, pedestrians, business entities and the general public a Merry Christmas and an incident-free festive celebration.
Karpowership Ghana Puts Christmas Smiles On The Faces Of Inmates Of New Horizon Special School
As part of its programme of activities for the 2019 Christmas season, Karpowership Ghana, one of the independent power producers in the Republic of Ghana has extended its benevolence to New Horizon Special School in Accra, capital of the West African nation.
The company donated food items ranging from bags of rice, oil, tomatoes puree, toiletries, drinks, biscuits among others.
The donation, which is a part of the company’s corporate social responsibility activities, has become an annual tradition to support the less privileged during the Yuletide.
The Corporate Communications Specialist of Karpowership Ghana, Ms. Sandra Amarquaye explained that the purpose of the donation was to give back to society.
“For us at Karpowership we are filled with joy when we put smiles on the faces of these young ones especially around this time of the year to spread the good cheer. As we are all aware Christmas is season of giving and we hope these items donated will help bridge some needs of the children in this home”.
Ms Sandra Amarquaye added that the company’s passion is to impact lives in every area it can. ‘Our philosophy as a company is that we believe we live in one world therefore wherever we find ourselves we need to support the society.
‘We always want to impact lives and improve the well-being of the less-privileged in society through meaningful interventions such as this”
The Principal of the New Horizon Special School Mrs. Vanessa Adu-Akorsah expressed her gratitude to Karpowership and said the School was privileged to have Karpowership Ghana remember the children during this festive season.
“The children here would also have something to celebrate with during this season.
She also admonished parents and the general public to welcome and relate well with children with special needs rather than making unsavory comments about them as this negatively affects their self-worth and human dignity.
Apache, Total Form Venture To Explore Offshore Suriname Block 58
U.S. oil and gas producer Apache Corp said on Sunday it entered into a joint venture agreement with France’s Total S.A. to explore and develop an offshore block off Suriname.
Reuters reported that the deal gives Apache a cash injection for continued work in Suriname
Apache’s Suriname prospect, near the border with South America’s newest oil giant, Guyana, is a long-shot for the struggling U.S. oil and gas producer.
Earlier this month, Apache reported it had reached the target depth at its first and closely watched Suriname well. But the company said only that it would drill deeper, causing its shares to drop 17% over two days as investors took the news as a sign results would show the well had no commercial oil quantities.
Suriname draws attention because it just over the border from Exxon Mobil’s and Hess Corp.’s giant fields off the coast of Guyana.
Apache has largely pulled back internationally to focus on its much-hyped Alpine High field in a remote corner of the Permian Shale basin, the top U.S. shale formation.
However, Alpine High has been a disappointment, requiring enormous investment in pipeline infrastructure and delivering mostly natural gas at a time when prices are at a more than two-decade low.
Apache posted a $577 million loss in the first nine months this year compared with a $421 million profit in the same period a year earlier, as it pulled back at Alpine High due to low gas prices.
Under the deal, Apache and Total will each hold a 50% working interest in Block 58 in Suriname.
Apache said it will receive $5 billion of cash carry on its first $7.5 billion of appraisal and development capital along with other considerations, including reimbursement for 50% of its spending on block 58 so far.
Apache will operate the first three exploration wells in the block, including the Maka Central-1 well, and subsequently transfer operatorship to Total.
Ghana: GRIDCo Hopes To Be Best Utility In Africa
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s power transmission company (GRIDCo), Ing. Jonathan Amoako-Baah has revealed that the company wants to be the best company in Africa.
Jonathan who assumed the reins of leadership in 2017 and together with a Board led by Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere, said he is focused on delivering value and projecting the image of the company as the backbone to power delivery in Ghana.
In an article written by the company and published on Ghanaweb.com, GRIDCo chronicled a number of incidents and achievements that occurred in 2019 as far as the company is concerned.
“A few topsy-turvy moments, like the recent staff unrest that has been resolved due to a great display of unity between the Management and the Staff groups. Then there were spots of outages as a result of power swings on the tie line between Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire in late November, which captured news headlines more for the immediate manner in which the engineers fixed the problem.”
As the major power transmission company in Ghana, GRIDCo’s responsibility is at the heart of the country’s power needs. What it does is integral to everyday life – by serving as the main referee in harnessing power from the Generating companies like VRA, Bui Power Authorities and the IPPs and passing it on to its Bulk Customers and Distribution companies such as Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Northern Electricity Company (NEDCo), VALCo and the Mines. It is an interesting power value chain that exists in the West African country but it is efficient and has for a very long time now not encountered major problems.
In April this year, the company won the Power Service Provider of the Year at the African Power, Energy and Water Industry Awards in Cape Town, South Africa. The award was a clear indication of the company’s continued dominance in the power sector in West Africa and its strides across the continent. At the recent Ghana Energy Awards 2019, the company came up for recognition in the power sector for Industry Leadership. These are two of the many accolades showered on the company in 2019 to highlight its efficiency. Jonathan is excited by them but is more focused on the prospects for the company in the coming year.
“Our business requires expediency; a unique sense of urgency and a determination to stay ahead of the game. We oversee a utility that is an integral part of everyday life and we need to be effective and proactive custodians”, he says with a look of determination in his eyes. Other projects were also undertaken which highlighted the operational excellence of the company in 2019, including a 225KV connection line that now supplies about 100MW of power to Burkina from Ghana; and the first-ever 161KV gas-insulated sub-station in Ghana.
In recent times GRIDCo has diversified its business portfolio by providing consultancy services to other energy players within the sub-region in order to generate additional revenue. Some of its recent customers include the transmission and distribution companies of Togo and Benin and the transmission company of Nigeria. GRIDCo has also offered services to several Grid participants in Ghana including Bridge Power, Enclave Power and Takoradi International Company Limited (TICO).
This complementary approach to its business is shaping up as the next frontier of growth and progress for the sub-regional power sector. The company is certain that these steps will make it very viable in the short to medium term while positioning it as a market leader.
Jonathan says, “our appreciation of the power of technology to enhance what we do is also crucial to our ability to compete at the high level on the continental, and even, global stage. In line with this, we have, over the last four (4) years, commercialized our telecommunication assets and now provide the most reliable form of fiber communication for telecommunication networks and IT support systems across the country. We will continue to use these approaches to hedge against reductions in our annual revenue, going forward.”
Technology continues to dictate the pace of growth in the sector. Complete digitization, a paperless structure and the adoption of machine learning are all features that will soon become mainstay in the industry. GRIDCo seems to be a step ahead in this regard. “Our business model is changing; we are going paperless and rolling out newly digitalized projects. We are building a resilience backbone that reduces power cuts, popularly known as “Dumsor” in Ghana.”
Looking ahead, Jonathan believes the sector has enormous potential to become a major revenue line for government.
“Our focus areas within the next 12 – 18 months are basically around the promotion of electricity integration on the Grid; and ensuring Financial and Technical Sustainability of the Business. I have no doubts in my mind that these attainable areas will inure to the benefit of our company. We are supporting Ghana to achieve Goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals – Affordable, Reliable and Sustainable Energy for all. These will surely set us apart from the competition.