The newly-appointed Managing Director for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Kwame Agyemang-Budu says his administration will transform the power distribution company by ensuring expenditure reduction, power supply reliability, improved revenue collection and efficient customer service delivery.
He stated that technical and commercial loss reduction will also be of cardinal focus in his administration.
This, he said, would be done through the intensification of bush clearing activities, system maintenance and improvement works, line patrols, capturing of uncaptured meters, measures to significantly reduce illegal connection, among others.
Mr Agyemang-Budu, who was the Deputy Managing Director of ECG in-charge of customer service before his elevation, urged the staff of the company to ensure that the private sector work ethics, which were exhibited during the company’s takeover by the Power Distribution Services (PDS), be sustained and improved to reflect the abilities of staff to transform the company.
Commenting on expenditure reduction, Mr Agyemang-Budu underscored the need to enhance on project assessment, which, according to him, must bring value for money.
He emphasised that this would be achieved only by ensuring due diligence and the pursuance of standard procurement practices.
He bemoaned the sorry state of ECG’s revenue fortunes but promised to institute awards and incentives for staff who work to improve the situation.
He also expressed his commitment to providing logistics needed to realise the company’s revenue targets.
The Managing Director also touched on customer service and stressed that service delivery would be greatly improved in his two-year plan through the introduction of best business practices, continuous penetration of smart meters, amongst others.
Mr Agyemang-Budu said he had rescheduled non-critical planned maintenance works in order to ensure that there is regular supply of power during the Christmas festivities.
He added that fault intervention team has been well-resourced and assured stakeholders and Ghanaians of ECG’s commitment to regular supply of power in the distribution services.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com about his recent tour of ECG’s operation regions, Mr Agyeman-Budu said the tour gave him the opportunity to interact with staff to bring before them his vision for the company.
The tour, which started on November 18, 2019, took the form of regional durbars where staff of the company were afforded the opportunity to raise their concerns and grievances to the MD.
The staff requested logistics and also urged for the reduction of political interference in the day to day activities of the ECG.
They were of the view that the absence of political interference or its minimisation would empower them perform better and propel the company to an enviable level.
To that end, leadership of the Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) pledged their support to the new ECG boss and expressed their commitment to help improve the company’s corporate culture and bottom line.
Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has reversed its earlier directive to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the West African nation to increase the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST) margin on petroleum products by GHp3.00
According to a source at NPA, a Memo to reverse the decision was sent to the Oil Marketing Companies earlier today.
The BOST margin was expected to have been increased from GH¢0.03 to GH¢0.06 per litre while the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) component saw an increase from GH¢0.01 to GH¢0.22 per litre.
But the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) kicked against the move describing it as nonsense and needless.
According to COPEC, the directive will further increase the price of petroleum products.
“This move by the NPA to slap additional levies on fuel prices at this critical point of Christmas makes a complete nonsense of the efforts by the Finance Ministry and the BOG to intervene to ensure availability of dollars at this time for petroleum importation with the view to forestalling any further increases on already neck-breaking fuel prices in the country.”
Per the directive which is expected to take effect on Monday, 16/12/2019, all Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and LPG Marketing Companies (LPG-MCs) are to apply an upward review of a combined GH¢0.04 increase to Ghanaian pump prices.
Per the directive, the controversial BOST margin which currently stands at 3p/litre or some cumulative 10,200,000.00 from consumers is to be increased by 100% to a new rate of 6p/ litre or some cumulative 20,400,000.00 from consumers based on current conservative estimates of some 340 million litres of fuel consumed monthly, the UPPF component also gets increased by 4.7% or 1p from the current 21p/litre to 22p/ litre or some 3,420,000.00 cumulative monthly.
Fuel prices across pumps within the country went up by some 1% just last week following from days of a sharp depreciation of the cedi and is believed could go up further in the next window starting tomorrow as the cedi continues to depreciate.
In a statement reacting to the news of NPA reversing its earlier decision, Mr Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC, said information from official sources indicated that President of the Republic and the Chief of Staff stepped in to direct the NPA to immediately reverse their decision.
“COPEC Ghana will like to use this opportunity to thank the President and his chief of Staff for the swift intervention in averting further hardships on Ghanaian petroleum consumers,” the statement said.
Ghana’s president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has cut the sod for the construction of a Forward Operating Base in Ezilinbo, in Jomoro, in the Western Region, to protect the country’s oil and gas infrastructure
The president revealed that the project is in fulfilment of a pledge he made to the Ghana Armed Forces at this year’s WASSA, on 21st March, 2019.
According to President Akufo-Addo, considering the enormous potentials of the oil and gas sector, and the need to confront the general maritime security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea, Government, through the Ministry of Defence, initiated plans for the establishment of Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) at selected locations along the country’s coast to augment existing naval port infrastructures.
“These locations include Keta in the Volta Region, Winneba and Elmina in the Central Region, and Ezinlibo in the Western Region. Today, I am delighted to be cutting the sod for the first of these bases here in Ezinlibo,” he said.
The infrastructure, whose construction is to be executed by Messrs Amandi and Vuluxx, will include a breakwater and a jetty with double lane tarred road, berthing facilities, and accommodation for one hundred and fifty (150) military personnel.
“As part of the project, Government has also contracted Hawkmoor Co. Ltd. to supply six (6) Phantom boats, and provide other equipment to enhance operational efficiency of the Base. When completed, the Base will serve as an advance military, operational location from where the security of our offshore oil fields, TEN, SANKOFA and JUBILEE, can be co-ordinated and maintained,” the President added.
Congratulating the Minister for Defence, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul, MP, for bringing this maritime security operational plan, which has been on the drawing board since Ghana commenced the exploration of oil and gas in commercial quantities, to reality, President Akufo-Addo stated that the benefits the benefits of the oil and gas industry to the nation’s economy and citizenry are evident for all to see.
The oil and gas sector, the President explained, has witnessed continuous growth, offering jobs and sustainable livelihoods for many Ghanaians.
With more offshore explorations and discoveries being made, and with the country’s daily production rate rising from eighty thousand (80,000) barrels to over two hundred thousand (200,000) barrels per day, this is expected to double to some four hundred (400,000) in the next four years.
“It is evident that huge capital investments in this nascent offshore oil and gas industry come with attendant security challenges, and should, thus, be jealously protected,” President Akufo-Addo added.
Currently, piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea continue to pose significant threats to national and regional maritime activities, including the operations of the facilities of the offshore oil and gas sector.
“Aside these major threats, incidents of theft, including illegal oil bunkering, kidnapping at sea for ransom, illegal fishing, terrorism and drug trafficking, are common threats across our territorial waters. These transnational crimes do not only affect national and regional peace and stability, but also impose significant costs on our economy and those of our neighbours, he stated.
The President was grateful to Chiefs and people of Ezinlibo for giving their full support to the project, stressing that it holds good prospects for Ezinlibo and surrounding communities, and the oil and gas industry.
“I expect the project to be completed on time, and I urge the contractors and the consultant to ensure the construction is done in accordance with the designs of the project.
The Ministry of Defence, the Ghana Armed Forces, and all implementing agencies must monitor and provide adequate supervision for the smooth completion of the project,” he added.
The decision by Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to increase BOST Margins and Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) has angered Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, a consumer advocacy group in the Republic of Ghana.
According to COPEC, the directive will further increase the price of petroleum products at the pumps.
In a Memo copied to the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the West African nation, the NPA said: “We write to inform you of the review of the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) and BOST margins in the Price Build Up (PBU) of the Petroleum effective 16th December 2019.”
The UPPF Margins have been increased by GHc1.00 while the BOST Margins have been increased by GHc3.00.
However, COPEC, in a statement copied to energynewsafrica.com described the move as complete ‘nonsense and insensitivity’ on the part of NPA.
Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC
“This move by the NPA to slap additional levies on fuel prices at this critical point of Christmas makes a complete nonsense of the efforts by the Finance Ministry and the BOG to intervene to ensure availability of dollars at this time for petroleum importation with the view to forestalling any further increases on already neck breaking fuel prices in the country.”
COPEC challenged the authority in issuing a memo to OMCs asking them increase UPPF and BOST Margins, saying NPA has no such authority to impose new taxes, levies or margins without the appropriate approvals by Parliament.
It called on them to reverse its decision else they would be compelled to use all available means to test the law.
Energynewsafrica.com‘s checks at BOST revealed that the GHc3.00 increase BOST Margins would translate into 0.56 percent, less than one percent.
Read the full statement from COPEC below.WITHDRAW THE INSENSITIVE INCREASES IN BOST MARGINS AT THE TIME THE CEDI DEPRECIATION IS ALREADY TAKING A TOLL ON FUEL PRICES
Our attention has been drawn to a Memo from the National Petroleum Authority ( NPA ) dated Friday 13/12/2019, to all Petroleum Service Providers indicating a decision to further increase some elements on the already high petroleum price build-up and fuel prices.
Per the directive which is expected to take effect tomorrow, 16/12/2019, all Oil Marketing Companies ( OMCs ) and LPG Marketing Companies ( LPG-MCs ) are to apply an upward review of a combined 4 pesewas increase to Ghanaian pump prices.
Per the directive, the controversial BOST margin which currently stands at 3p/litre or some cumulative 10,200,000.00 from consumers is to be increased by 100% to a new rate of 6p/ litre or some cumulative 20,400,000.00 from consumers based on current conservative estimates of some 340 million litres of fuel consumed monthly, the UPPF component also gets increased by 4.7% or 1p from the current 21p/litre to 22p/ litre or some 3,420,000.00 cumulative monthly.
Fuel prices across pumps within the country went up by some 1% just last week following from days of a sharp depreciation of the cedi and is believed could go up further in the next window starting tomorrow as the cedi continues to depreciate.
This move by the NPA to slap additional levies on fuel prices at this critical point of Christmas makes a complete nonsense of the efforts by the Finance Ministry and the BOG to intervene to ensure availability of dollars at this time for petroleum importation with the view to forestalling any further increases on already neck-breaking fuel prices in the country.
Whiles admitting BOST needs some capital injection in their operations, it is completely needless to push such needed investments into their operations onto the already high fuel price build-up and affirms our long-held position of the need to properly restructure that institution to cut back on the completely needless waste of resources at the said institution.
Some Past managers of BOST are widely known to have simply fleeced the company for their private gains and till date, not a single one of them has been made to account or refund whatever they probably looted.
The proverbial adage of using a basket to fetch water seems to be case in this instance as we believe other private depots and Tema oil refinery who do not get any margins at all for the maintenance of their tank farms from the price build-up are able to manage their operations and even record profits sometimes but the inverse seems the case with BOST.
It is a widely held contention that what BOST needs currently is restructuring and repositioning to make it sustainable such that it doesn’t become a burden on the already burdened fuel consumer.
Attempts should be made to diversify Bost and where the necessary list on the stock market to ensure the continuous plundering of resources by appointees within this institution is effectively curtailed.
We use this opportunity to further remind the NPA it has no such authority to impose new taxes, levies, or margins without the appropriate approvals by parliament and hence this memo must be withdrawn immediately and reconsidered as we will not hesitate to test the law on this particular move to further burden all of us within the country.
The apparent insensitivity by some functionaries of State must also cease forthwith as it is becoming evident the suffering of the trotro, taxi and ordinary Ghanaians falls on deaf ears anytime we complain of these increases.
Signed.
Duncan Amoah
Executive Secretary
GE Renewable Energy has won a contract from Holmen, a Swedish forestry and paper corporation, to supply 26 of its Cypress class wind turbines for the Blåbergsliden wind farm. The turbines should be installed and ready for operation by the end of 2021.
The total output of those turbines will be 143 MW, enough to power 135,000 homes, according to the Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Bureau of Statistics.
This marks the second time that GE Renewable Energy has been selected to provide onshore wind turbines for use in Sweden. The contract includes a provision making GE Renewables responsible for maintenance for 25 years after the turbines are installed.
A unique feature of the Cypress turbines is their two-piece blade design which allows them to be transported to and erected in places that are usually inaccessible to conventional wind power equipment.
The two-part blades allow for taller pylons that can produce more power which helps lower costs. When operational, the Blåbergsliden wind farm is expected to save more than 13,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to a GE Renewables press release.
“The benefits of the Cypress platform make it the perfect fit for the Nordics region. That’s why we’re confident that this deal with Holmen can be one of many in the market,” Peter Wells, CEO of onshore wind in Europe for GE Renewables, said.
The Cypress onshore wind platform enables significant Annual Energy Production (AEP) improvements, increased efficiency in serviceability, improved logistics and siting potential, and ultimately more value for customers.
The two-piece blade design enables blades to be manufactured at even longer lengths and improves logistics to drive costs down and offer siting options in locations that were previously inaccessible, according to the company.
GE has taken it on the chin lately as its steam generation business, once a staple of the company’s portfolio, collapsed. But the Renewables division is fighting to take up some of the slack in GE’s earnings with cutting edge wind power technology like the two-piece blade design for its Cypress wind turbines.
Ghana’s leading oil marketing company, GOIL, has, begun rewarding 920 customers nationwide who patronise the company’s products since the launching of ‘Efie Ne Fie’ promotion to reward.
Sixty customers are expected to receive GHc1, 000 worth of fuel, three hundred customers would receive GHc500 worth of fuel while five hundred and sixty customers would receive GHc300 worth of fuel.
The commencement of the rewards, which began at the Burma Camp Goil Service, Accra, last Thursday, saw 19 people in the West African country’s capital city receiving their rewards.
Some of the customers who received GHc1,000 worth of fuel coupon were Forgive Amoah and Danjumah Musah, both from Kasoa, Samuel Ofusuhene of West Hills Mall and Emmanuel Antwi from Amasaman.
Other customers who also received GHc500 cedis worth of fuel coupons were Frederick Aduful from Liberia Camp, Yaw Sarpong from Madina, and Eric Oduro from Tema who received GHc300 worth of fuel.
‘Efie Ne Fie’ in the Ghanaian parlance means ‘home is home’ and the promo, according to the company, is to appreciate their customers for their continuous loyalty to the brand.
The promotion is running in all the 390 GOIL service stations across the West African nation and will end in January 2020.
Patrons of GOIL, who buy a product worth GHc100, GH¢50 and GH¢30 will automatically receive a reward.
According to GOIL, 645,812 drivers are expected to benefit from this promotion while 2,500 tantalising rewards are also on offer for ultimate reward throughout the period of the promotion.
Speaking at the presentation of the rewards, Managing Director and Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of GOIL Company Limited, Kwame Osei-Prempeh said: “At GOIL, we appreciate our customers so every year, we use ‘Efie ne fie’ promotion to reward our loyal customers.
“You’re all witnesses to what has happened here. You saw what we have given to our customers,” Mr Osei Prempeh told reporters at the event.
He stressed that the promotion was not a raffle, saying every customer who bought GH¢100, GH¢50 or GH¢30 worth of fuel or more from GOIL would get instant reward made up of thousands of cedis of airtime credited on mobile phones, dusters, face towels, tissue boxes, T- shirts and other gifts.
He urged Ghanaians to be patriotic and patronise from GOIL since it is a wholly Ghanaian-owned in order to help grow the Ghanaian economy.
“If you buy from GOIL, the money will stay in the country unlike our competitors who will repatriate the money home,” he said.
Benjamin Okyere, a tipper truck driver, who received GHc1000 worth of fuel coupon, said he received similar reward last year.
He called on drivers to buy from GOIL, saying “when you buy from GOIL, because the fuel is of quality, you won’t have any problem with your engine and pump.”
Chief Operating Officer for GOIL, Josiah Adzew told energynewsafrica.com that GOIL was recently named as the third most respected company at the Ghana Club 100.
Mr Adzew, who described GOIL as the biggest Oil Marketing Company (OMC) which is supporting the country’s economy, urged Ghanaians to patronise the company’s products.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed, a Framework Agreement with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to explore development of an Ethylene Dichloride facility in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
The signing of the agreement was witnessed by His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, and Mr. Mukesh D. Ambani, RIL Chairman and Managing Director.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Abdulaziz Alhajri, Executive Director of ADNOC’s Downstream Directorate, and Mr. Nikhil R. Meswani, RIL Executive Director.
Under the terms of the agreement, ADNOC and RIL will evaluate the potential creation of a facility that manufactures EDC adjacent to ADNOC’s integrated refining and petrochemical site in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi and strengthen the companies’ existing relationship supporting future collaboration in petrochemicals.
ADNOC would supply ethylene to the potential joint venture and provide access to world-class infrastructure at Ruwais, while RIL will deliver operational expertise and entry to the large and growing Indian vinyls market, in which it is a key participant.
EDC is a basic building-block for manufacture of PVC, a polymer product in increasingly higher demand globally. PVC plays a critical role in the housing and agriculture sectors, and demand for PVC, particularly in the Indian vinyls market, is expected to grow significantly.
“The agreement with Reliance Industries Limited is a product of our strong relationship, spanning over two decades, and a testament to ADNOC’s continued ability to cultivate smart and mutually beneficial international partnerships. We look forward to working closely with RIL to identify opportunities to capitalize on the strengths of the Ruwais ecosystem, while delivering a compelling new commercial platform for satisfying the large Indian PVC market, as well as demand for other fast-growing segments in the region, ”Mr. Abdulaziz Alhajri.
On his part, Executive Director for Reliance Industries Limited Mr Nikhil Meswani said: “This is a significant step towards Reliance’s commitment to pursue backward integration and will pave the way for enhancing PVC capacity in India to cater to the fast growing domestic market. This co-operation ideally combines advantaged feedstock and energy from the UAE with Reliance’s execution capabilities and the growing Indian market.”
ADNOC’s expansion and new investment in downstream will accelerate the delivery of its 2030 strategy, powered by a $45 billion investment, and create a more flexible, resilient and diverse energy business, optimizing its performance and stretching the dollar from every barrel of oil it produces. Ruwais’ appeal as a unique feedstock engine, capable of producing the full range of essential building blocks along the petrochemical value chain will see the Ruwais Derivatives and Conversion Parks become a global destination of choice for investors and manufacturers wishing to establish a strategic presence in the UAE. Such investments have the potential to generate numerous specialized local career opportunities, while significantly boosting ADNOC’s in-country value creation.
About ADNOC
ADNOC is one of the world’s leading diversified energy and petrochemicals groups with a daily output of about 3 million barrels of oil and 10.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas. With 14 specialist subsidiary and joint venture companies, ADNOC is a primary catalyst for the UAE’s growth and diversification.
US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, has presented $50,000 to CitySquare to help advance the organization’s efforts to fight poverty in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
The contribution marks the 14th annual ExxonMobil Chairman’s Holiday Gift, which benefits and highlights a deserving nonprofit organization in the North Texas region.
CitySquare’s programs help lift low-income individuals and families out of poverty
ExxonMobil’s $50,000 contribution will support services that address hunger, health and housing
Annual holiday gift program highlights and benefits a local nonprofit organization in North Texas
“ExxonMobil is committed to investing in the communities around the world where we live and work,” Darren Woods, who is ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil said.
“We chose to support CitySquare this year because of its dedication to combatting the causes and effects of poverty through programs that address focus areas such as hunger, housing, health and hope.”
Since its creation in 1988, CitySquare has grown into a broad community development organization that today provides 22 social service programs, including health care and housing assistance, workforce readiness, legal aid, a food pantry, crisis intervention and financial coaching. Its social service programs reach more than 50,000 individuals annually.
“On behalf of all of us at CitySquare and our neighbors who will benefit from this generosity, I want to thank Chairman Woods and ExxonMobil,” Larry James, chief executive officer of CitySquare said.
“ExxonMobil’s support will make a meaningful difference in the lives of those struggling to lift themselves out of poverty every day.”
ExxonMobil established the Chairman’s Holiday Gift in 2006 to help fund the work of nonprofit organizations in North Texas, home to the company’s corporate headquarters. Recent recipients have included Family Compass, Promise House, The Gatehouse and Jonathan’s Place.
About ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world.
About CitySquare
CitySquare is the largest public housing provider in North Texas, providing more than 700 housing units in Dallas. It operates a food pantry and child nutrition program, offering free meals to children after school and during summer, and its clinic provides medical services for uninsured children and adults. CitySquare also offers pre-employment training programs and legal services to help build financial stability to help individuals break the cycle of poverty.
Executive Vice President of Tullow Ghana, Kweku Andoh Awotwi, has explained what caused the company’s inability to meet its production target for the year 2019 in the Republic of Ghana, West Africa.
According to him, the lower than forecast full-year outcome is predominantly due to topside issues that constrained water injection and gas handling during the year.
He said at TEN, production was impacted by the delayed start-up of one of its wells, that is, the EN10-P well and the suspension of the EN14-P well and production drawing on fewer wells than planned.
“In Jubilee, one of the most important reasons for why we did not meet the target we set of about 170,000 is that we had a significantly reduced offtake of gas by Ghana Gas and that meant that we had to re-inject significant volumes of gas back into the reservoir,” Mr Andoh Awotwi at a media soiree organized by his outfit in Accra, capital of Ghana and reported by Myjoyonline.com.
“The fact of the matter is that the Jubilee partners have been re-injecting gas from day 1 because remember we didn’t have a gas plant at first and then more recently with the advent of ENI, Ghana Gas has been taking the ENI gas over the Jubilee gas,” Mr. Awotwi added.
According to the Tullow Ghana Executive Vice President, discussions on increasing gas offtake are ongoing.
The company has attributed the lower export of gas to a lack of demand from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
The lack of demand is due to the Sankofa gas taking priority. If less Sankofa gas is offered and GNPC nominates more of Jubilee’s gas, the current plant capacity could max out.
Background
Tullow Oil Plc earlier announced the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer Paul McDade and also scrapped its dividends, as it continued to face issues at its main producing assets in Ghana.
The company faced problems at its operations in Ghana because of mechanical issues at the Jubilee field and a delay in completing a well at the TEN offshore field, which led Tullow to cut its estimates for 2019 oil output last month.
Tullow Ghana says it’s in discussion with GNPC to increase gas export and anticipates increased offtake. The company says it is optimistic more gas demand will occur allowing for increased export. It says the government of Ghana is creating more demand by the relocation of the power barge to the Western Region and switching it to gas. It also revealed plans to export gas from the West to Tema through the West African Gas Pipeline.
Tullow Ghana says it’s Jubilee planned shutdown for maintenance is scheduled for the first quarter of the year 2020.
The nine-day period with four days full shutdown, according to the company, will prioritise the gas handling modifications to increase gas capacity and maintenance on the water injection and cooling system.
The Chief Executive Officer of SandRidge Energy Inc. the oil and natural gas producer based in Oklahoma, USA, Paul McKinney is set to resign as the company evaluates its 2020 spending plan.
McKinney became CEO in January, after serving previously as COO of Yuma Energy Inc.
The company in a statement that announced the decision of the CEO said John Suter, SandRidge’s chief operating officer, will service as interim president and CEO.
“In light of the current challenging price environment, we are reevaluating our 2020 capital plans with an emphasis on cost control and free cash flow generation,” Jonathan Frates, SandRidge’s Icahn-backed chairman of the board, said in the statement. “Our goal is to maintain our strong balance sheet and pursue only high return opportunities.”
SandRidge shares slumped last year after saying “multiple” potential bids for the company undervalued the producer and its resources. Instead, following a strategic review, SandRidge said it would pursue a plan to develop its holdings in Oklahoma and Colorado.
Icahn, who held about 13% of the company as of Sept. 30, won control of five of eight board seats last year following a proxy fight in which he argued the company couldn’t be trusted to get the best value for shareholders.
SandRidge was the second act of Tom Ward, who co-founded Chesapeake Energy Corp. with Aubrey McClendon. Oklahoma City-based SandRidge was once worth $11 billion and now has a market capitalization of about $141 million.
Shale drillers, pummeled by volatile oil and gas prices, have been pressured by shareholders to cut spending and boost free cash flow. Public equity and debt markets are increasingly shunning all but the largest producers.
SandRidge operates primarily in Oklahoma’s Stack play and in Colorado. Shale drillers outside the Permian Basin, the most prolific U.S. oil play, have struggled amid lower prices for crude and gas.
The shares were little-changed in pre-market trading in New York. SandRidge had tumbled about 48% this year through Thursday.
Chevron has revealed that it had approved the development of a deepwater high-pressure oil project in the Gulf of Mexico, which will require US$5.7 billion investment for the initial development, in the industry’s first such deepwater high-pressure project to have reached a final investment decision (FID).
Chevron sanctioned the development of the Anchor field in the Green Canyon area, some 140 miles off the coast of Louisiana, in water depths of approximately 5,000 feet.
During the first development stage, the project will consist of a seven-well subsea development and a semi-submersible floating production unit. First oil from Anchor is expected in 2024.
The facility at Anchor is designed to have capacity of 75,000 barrels of crude oil and 28 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. According to Chevron, the total potentially recoverable oil-equivalent resources at Anchor are estimated to top 440 million barrels.
Chevron is the operator of the Anchor field with a 62.86-percent working interest, while Total’s U.S. unit holds the remaining 37.14-percent working interest.
“For new projects in the Gulf of Mexico, we have reduced development costs by nearly a third, compared to our last generation of Greenfield Deepwater investments,” Steve Green, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production said.
“This decision reinforces Chevron’s commitment to the deepwater asset class,” said Jay Johnson, executive vice president, Upstream, Chevron Corporation.
Chevron’s new project sanction comes a day after the U.S. supermajor announced that it would write down US$11billion in cases in the fourth quarter, following a downward revision of its long-term forecast for oil and gas prices. Much of the write down is connected to natural gas assets in the Appalachia basin, due to the low natural gas prices.
Chevron—like the other U.S. supermajor Exxon—is heavily investing in the Permian basin, looking to significantly boost oil production, but it has yet to turn a positive free cash flow there.
Despite the OPEC+ cuts, the oil market is still facing a supply surplus in 2020, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
OPEC+ announced additional cuts of 500,000 bpd, which sounds more impressive than it is because the group was already producing under its limit. In November, for instance, OPEC was producing 440,000 bpd below the agreed upon ceiling.
Saudi Arabia agreed to shoulder an additional 400,000 bpd of voluntary cuts. But the deal also exempts 1.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) of Russia’s condensate production, allowing Russia to actually increase condensate output by 0.8 mb/d.
Still, the deal should take supply off the market. “If all the countries comply with their new allocations and Saudi Arabia delivers the rest of its voluntary cut of 0.4 mb/d, the fall in production volume versus today will be about 0.5 mb/d,” the IEA said.
OPEC said in its own report that the oil market would be largely in balance in 2020, albeit with a temporary glut in the early part of the year. The IEA sees inventories building at a rate of 0.7 mb/d in the first quarter.
The IEA cut its forecast for non-OPEC supply growth from 2.3 mb/d to 2.1 mb/d, due to weaker growth from Brazil, Ghana and the United States. The U.S. typically gets all of the attention, but disappointing news from Brazil and Ghana also led the IEA to revise forecasts lower.
Notably, Tullow Oil revealed a major disappointment from its Ghana operations, causing a complete meltdown in its share price this week. Its stock fell nearly 70 percent in a single day as investors overhauled their valuation of the company. Tullow admitted that its production from Ghana would decline in the years ahead.
But even the combined effect of slower non-OPEC production growth and the OPEC+ cuts is not enough to erase the glut entirely. “With our demand outlook unchanged, there could still be a surplus of 0.7 mb/d in the market in 1Q20,” IEA said.
“Even if they adhere strictly to the cut, there is still likely to be a strong build in inventories during the first half of next year,” the IEA warned.
But the forecasted glut largely depends on ongoing production growth from U.S. shale drillers. The IEA admits that there will be a slowdown, but is still optimistic on production growth, with gains of 1.1 mb/d in 2020, compared to 1.6 mb/d this year.
The agency has consistently been at the optimistic end of the spectrum regarding shale growth, even as major investment banks long ago slashed their forecasts. The IEA cut its U.S. supply forecast by 110,000 bpd from last month’s report, but at 1.1 mb/d, its figure still seems generous. The IEA is betting that the oil majors, who are less responsive to lower prices and problems with cash flow, will continue to scale up drilling.
Meanwhile, a new report from IHS Markit highlights the accelerating rate of decline among the U.S. shale complex, a decline rate that grows in tandem with production increases. “Oil and gas operators in the Permian Basin, the most prolific hydrocarbon resource basin in North America, will have to drill substantially more wells just to maintain current production levels and even more to grow production, owing to the high level of recent growth,” IHS said in a statement. The base decline rate in the Permian has “increased dramatically” since 2010.
“Base decline is the volume that oil and gas producers need to add from new wells just to stay where they are—it is the speed of the treadmill,” said Raoul LeBlanc, vice president of Unconventional Oil and Gas at IHS Markit. “Because of the large increases of recent years, the base decline production rate for the Permian Basin has increased dramatically, and we expect those declines to continue to accelerate. As a result, it is going to be challenging, especially for some companies with cash constraints, just to keep production flat.”
The firm sees U.S. production growth of only 440,000 bpd in 2020, before flattening out in 2021. If this proves accurate, OPEC+ might not need to worry as much.
Source: Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com
Energynewsafrica.com can report that the striking workers of Ghana’s power transmission company, GRIDCo, have suspended their sit-down industrial action.
The information was contained in a joint press statement signed by the management and staff of GRIDCo after a joint standing committee meeting in Tema, Ghana’s industrial city, Thursday, December 12.
Three decisions that were agreed on by the two bodies were that the intended strike action had been called off, management is committed to closer and regular engagements with the staff groups and stakeholders with the view to resolving all outstanding issues and regular work including other services to proceed as normal.
On Wednesday, December 11, a meeting between management of GRIDCo and workers ended inconclusively after the management of GRIDCo had agreed to sit at a table with the striking workers to resolve their concerns for them to return to work.
According to energynewsafrica.com’s sources, the meeting was adjourned to Thursday, December 12, 2019, because both management and workers failed to reach a consensus.
Workers of GRIDCo in the West African state hinted of embarking on a sit down strike action on 1st May, 2019, when they marched at the Black Star Square during the workers’ day celebration.
The workers had been agitating over the inability of the ECG, VALCO and NEDCo to pay their over GHc1.2 billion indebtedness, which they claimed, had crippled their operations.
The workers announced a series of industrial action last month and served notice to embark on a sit down strike by December 10, 2019, should the three companies fail to settle their debts.
This action, the workers carried out on Tuesday to press home their demands.
However, the joint press statement, which energynewsafrica.com has a copy , assures the general public the GRIDCo workers are committed to delivering on their mandate of transmitting reliable and uninterrupted power supply to them.
“Management is committed to closer and regular engagements with the staff groups and stakeholders with the view to resolve all outstanding issues.
“GRIDCo wants to assure the general public and its cherished customers that it is committed to delivering on its mandate of transmitting reliable and uninterrupted power supply,” the statement assured.
In an interview with energynewsafrica.com Raphael Kornor, Chairman of Senior Staff Association, he said their decision to call of the strike was based on assurances management gave including showing them a letter ECG had written to the company indicating their commitment to pay their debts.
He, however, said on the issue of emergency services workers would still treat them as normal and would not attend to them outside working hours.
“The suspension was as a result of some conditions we wanted to fulfill in the labour law,” he said.
He justified the action of the workers saying “if we sit down and the company collapses we will be people who will suffer directly.”
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says it is taking measures to address the menace of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in the nation’s Oil and Gas industry.
The Group Managing. Director, Mele Kyari disclosed this at the inaugural Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Policy Dialogue in Abuja last Tuesday.
He said that oil theft had remained a challenge in the industry in spite of some strong interventions in the past.
The NNPC boss noted that the gradual reduction in pipelines vandalism would be sustained through improved collaboration, implementation of Global Memoranda of Understanding (GMoU), and deployment of appropriate technologies.
Kyari, represented by the NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Roland Ewubare listed other measures to curb the menace to include a security architecture with single accountability for national critical infrastructure.
He listed others as industry and regulatory commitment to transparent crude oil and products accounting, realistic expectation by host communities, and emplacement of sustainable social investment mechanism.
Kyari emphasised the need to inculcate shared values of integrity and transparency across every level of the governance structure for pipeline security, policy refill and enforcement of legal actions on economic saboteurs.He harped on the need to prioritise and instill in the nation’s teeming youth a sense of patriotism and national orientation.
Other customers who also received GHc500 cedis worth of fuel coupons were Frederick Aduful from Liberia Camp, Yaw Sarpong from Madina, and Eric Oduro from Tema who received GHc300 worth of fuel.
‘Efie Ne Fie’ in the Ghanaian parlance means ‘home is home’ and the promo, according to the company, is to appreciate their customers for their continuous loyalty to the brand.
The promotion is running in all the 390 GOIL service stations across the West African nation and will end in January 2020.
Patrons of GOIL, who buy a product worth GHc100, GH¢50 and GH¢30 will automatically receive a reward.
According to GOIL, 645,812 drivers are expected to benefit from this promotion while 2,500 tantalising rewards are also on offer for ultimate reward throughout the period of the promotion.
Speaking at the presentation of the rewards, Managing Director and Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of GOIL Company Limited, Kwame Osei-Prempeh said: “At GOIL, we appreciate our customers so every year, we use ‘Efie ne fie’ promotion to reward our loyal customers.
“You’re all witnesses to what has happened here. You saw what we have given to our customers,” Mr Osei Prempeh told reporters at the event.
He stressed that the promotion was not a raffle, saying every customer who bought GH¢100, GH¢50 or GH¢30 worth of fuel or more from GOIL would get instant reward made up of thousands of cedis of airtime credited on mobile phones, dusters, face towels, tissue boxes, T- shirts and other gifts.
He urged Ghanaians to be patriotic and patronise from GOIL since it is a wholly Ghanaian-owned in order to help grow the Ghanaian economy.
“If you buy from GOIL, the money will stay in the country unlike our competitors who will repatriate the money home,” he said.
Benjamin Okyere, a tipper truck driver, who received GHc1000 worth of fuel coupon, said he received similar reward last year.
He called on drivers to buy from GOIL, saying “when you buy from GOIL, because the fuel is of quality, you won’t have any problem with your engine and pump.”
Chief Operating Officer for GOIL, Josiah Adzew told energynewsafrica.com that GOIL was recently named as the third most respected company at the Ghana Club 100.
Mr Adzew, who described GOIL as the biggest Oil Marketing Company (OMC) which is supporting the country’s economy, urged Ghanaians to patronise the company’s products.
