Senegal: 10 Offshore Blocks To Be Offered In 2020 License Round
The National Oil Company of Senegal, Petrosen, has announced plans to launch the country’s first offshore licensing round, at the MSGBC Basin Summit & Exhibition in Senegal in January 2020.
The round will be open for six months – until the end of July 2020 – and will comprise 10 offshore exploration blocks.
Speaking at the launch during Africa Oil Week Senegal’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy, H.E. Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, commented: “’I would like to state the immense opportunities that exist in Senegal, as well as reassure a stable regulatory and investment framework. Investors should be excited and ready to take on the challenge to take advantage of Senegal’s opportunities within its oil and gas sector.”
TGS holds a range of data across this acreage to support the licensing round, including 2D seismic, 3D seismic, Multibeam and Seafloor Sampling data. The company is also currently acquiring additional 3D seismic data to provide potential bidders with a greater subsurface understanding ahead of bid submissions.
The MSGBC Basin is home to several recent high-profile oil and gas discoveries, set in a variety of play types, both on and off the carbonate shelf.
These include the Albian sandstone shelf edge SNE oil field – the largest global discovery of 2014 – the 25 Tcf Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project – the largest gas discovery of 2015 – and the Lower Cenomanian sandstone basin floor fan Yakaar-1 gas well – the largest global discovery of 2017. All are located offshore Senegal, within ~100 km of the Dakar Peninsula, leaving a vast area yet to be explored.
Beyond these significant discoveries, modern exploration activity has been limited in the region. Two new wells are to be spudded in 2020 in AGC and Guinea-Bissau, south of Senegal and in close proximity to blocks in the upcoming license round.
Wolverine-1 (CNOOC) and the Atum and/or Anchova (Svenska/FAR) prospects will target shelf edge plays and give vital information about similar plays in the open blocks. The majority of the blocks and acreage offered in the licensing round are in ultra-deepwater depths, as operators plan to target the large, clean, well-sorted sands of the unrestricted basin floor.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Dubai: 7th Edition Of Clean Energy Summit Opens (Photos)
The 7th Edition of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Clean Energy Summit has on Tuesday opened at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The two-day summit started with in-depth panel discussions by Women in Clean Energy, an initiative set up under the umbrella of the MENA Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC).
Among the speakers were Clara Back, Legal Director at AMEA Power, Anita Nouri CEO / Business Development Director Green Energy Solutions & Sustainability, Meriem Bellizim Business Development Senior Manager, ACWA Power, Carmen VIDAL, Chief Procurement Officer, ENGIE Middle East, South & Central Asia and Turkey, Tasneem Bakri, Operations Coordinator, Alpin Limited, Huda Shaka, Associate Director, Arup, Dr Boutheina Tlili, Associate Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai and Elen Cross, Head of Legal, NOMAC.
According to energynewsafrica.com’s editor, Michael Creg Afful, who is covering the summit, topics which the participants discussed included ‘Breaking barriers for a seat at the table and overcoming gender inequality and Building a Successful Network’.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Zimbabwe: Ngonyezi Signs Deal With ZNWA For 2000MWh Storage Hydro And Solar PV Project
A Swedish owned Ngonyezi Projects has entered into a non-consumptive water use agreement with Zimbabwe National Water Authority.
The purpose of the agreement is to install a combination of 2,000MWh Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH) and 300MW solar PV.
The location of the installation is Osborne Dam on the Odzi River in Manicaland Province.
Storage is an essential part of a renewable energy strategy and it is recommended that 30% of the installed solar PV should be supported by storage, says Tomas Persson, initiator of the project.
Ngonyezi Projects noted that in Zimbabwe there is average 8.5h peak price per day.
In terms of the design, the project is anticipated that a 300MW solar PV will require 500 ha of surface of dam, for solar panels.
The dam water will cool the panels, which gives higher efficiency and the panels covering the surface water reduces algae growth and evaporation – less 20 million m3/y of evaporation
PSH currently dominates total installed storage power capacity, with 96% of the total of 176GW installed globally in mid-2017.
The other electricity storage technologies already in significant use around the world include thermal storage, with 3.3GW (1.9%); batteries, with 1.9GW (1.1%) and other mechanical storage with 1.6GW (0.9%).
South Africa: Andre De Ruyter Appointed New Eskom CEO
The South African ministry of public enterprises has announced Andre de Ruyter as Eskom’s new Group Chief Executive.
De Ruyter will take up the position as from 15 January 2020 replacing Phakamani Hadebe who left the utility at the end of July 2019. Hadebe was the tenth person to resign from Eskom’s top post in the past 10 years.
According to the ministry, the vacancy attracted 142 potential candidates, including eight Eskom employees. Through a process, the Board eventually interviewed six candidates, of which three were shortlisted.
De Ruyter is currently the CEO at Nampak, the continent’s largest packaging firm. He holds various qualifications, including an LLB and MBA and has experience in creating and managing high-performing businesses.
“I would like to thank Mr de Ruyter for not only accepting this position at a difficult time for Eskom but, given Eskom’s current financial situation, also agreeing to a lower compensation package than the position currently pays,” the minister of public enterprises said in a statement.
In addition to his role at Nampak, de Ruyter spent more than two decades at petrochemical giant Sasol in a number of senior management roles. He has overseen work in the US, Germany, China and African nations including Nigeria and Angola, the department said.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has unveiled plans to split Eskom into generation, transmission and distribution units by the end of 2021, a reorganisation he says will enable the businesses to manage costs more effectively and make it easier for them to raise funding.
A policy paper released last month also envisions the utility being exposed to greater competition, lowering its fuel costs and increasing its renewable-energy output.
A chief restructuring officer has been appointed to consider how to reorganise Eskom’s debt, but the government has yet to reveal its preferred option.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has said debt relief will only be considered after the utility shows progress in improving cash flow management and operations, setting up the three units and ensuring they are run within their means.
While the Treasury suggested that Eskom could settle its entire debt by selling some of its plants, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the utility’s new plants are its “crown jewels” and should be retained, while it would be difficult to find buyers for the older ones.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: NNPC Secures $1.16 Million Grant For 1,350 MW Power Plant
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) have concluded a deal that will see the pair sign a $1.16 million grant which will be used as partial funding for the NNPC-Abuja Independent Power Project (IPP).
The plant, when complete, will generate 1,350 megawatts of electricity and contribute to the alleviation of the chronic power shortages in the West African country.
The announcement was made following a meeting between NNPC and USTDA official in Abuja. The parties have agreed to finalize the deal by December 1.
A statement signed by the Acting Group General Manager, Group
Public Affairs Division stated that the USDTA grant was to complement the ongoing feed project in order to make the Abuja IPP initiative more bankable for strategic investors’ participation.
The power plant would be fed by natural gas, a cleaner alternative to heavy fuel oil or coal.
Ghana: Prioritise Health And Safety Procedures-CEO of GRIDCo To Workers
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s power transmission company, Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Ing. Jonathan Amoako-Baah has charged staff of the company to practise safety in all areas of their life by ensuring the appropriate use of safety tools and equipment.
“Every staff of GRIDCo must be a safety ambassador, who will help build a very sound safety culture, not only at work, but also in our homes, during our visits to the salons, auto mechanics and in fact, everywhere we find ourselves, so that we reduce the spate of various forms of preventable accidents at the work place and in our communities,” he said.
He noted that safety and good health practices are part and parcel of the company’s business practices and processes.
The GRIDCo boss pointed out that promoting safe practices is, therefore, core to his outfit’s mandate to sustain the daily lives and operations of both employees and the company.
He was addressing participants during the occasion of the 2019 Corporate Safety Durbar organised by the company at Takoradi, in the Western Region of the Republic of Ghana, West Africa.
The 10th Annual GRIDCO Safety Week was held under the theme: ‘Cultivating and Sustaining a Safety Culture in GRIDCO’.
He mentioned that compromising on safety would result in accidents, injuries, death and damages to properties running into huge sums of money.
“The costs of accidents to the employee is enormous, including both temporal and permanent injury and disability, physical and psychological pain and sometimes death.”
Accidents, the GRIDCo leader mentioned increase the company’s operational costs in the areas of medical expenses, increase in insurance premiums, loss of productive man hours and damage to properties amongst others.
To this end, Mr Amoako-Bash reminded GRIDCo employees on the need to raise their safety consciousness and be guided by best practices in health and safety.
“Maintaining safe practices is a shared responsibility of both employer and the employee. Management is, therefore, committed to providing facilities that promote safe and healthy working environment and that huge investments have been made by the company to promote the safety of its workers.”
He mentioned amongst other things Safety Handbook (Policy), safety rules book, contractors manual and standard protection code as some of the rule books that have been provided by management to guide the actions and decisions of employees in the performance of their duties.
Protective equipment, clothing and facilities have also been supplied, whilst dangerous facilities and installations and zones are properly demarcated and marked to help guide employees.
He also disclosed that measures have been taken to enhance safety procedures by procuring and distributing twenty non-contact high voltage detectors to eliminate the habit of teasing.
In addition, forty fire blankets were provided to some substations, while plans are underway to furnish all remaining substations with one each in the coming years.
GRIDCo has, over the years, recorded relatively low cases of occupational accidents, which, he described as encouraging and must be collectively improved upon by all workers.
He, however, expressed worry at some employees who failed to report accidents at their work stations to management for fear of being sanctioned.
That, he warned, is not a healthy practice and must be stopped.
Mr Amoako-Baah urged all employees from top management to staff to follow safety rules and procedures while they encourage their subordinates to do same.
“It is a fact that employees will not be safety conscious if they do not see their superiors abide by policies and procedures,” he said.
Management remains committed to the provisions of continuous safety training for all category of staff especially safety representatives and coordinators who would be attending refresher courses before the end of first quarter of 2020.
“I have charged the Director, TSD to ensure that a cross section of staff is involved in the ongoing review of the safety rules and procedures and all other aspects of the fine-tuning Gridco’s safety process going forward,” he stated.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Armah Buah Hails Springfield E&P Oil Find In Deepwater
A former Minister for Energy and Petroleum in the erstwhile John Mahama administration in the Republic of Ghana, under whose tenure Ghanaian firm Springfield Exploration and Production Company was awarded an oil block in the Deepwater to explore, is beaming with smiles following announcement by the company that it had made significant oil discovery.
Mr. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, who is the Member of Parliament for Ellembele in the Western part of the West African nation, believes the decision by the then government to pass local content and participation law LI2204 has paid off.
“Today, the verdict is out. The decision by the then NDC government led by President Mahama to ensure Ghanaian participation by law has paid off,” he said in a piece a statement.
According to the Petroleum Commission, all contracts executed since the passage of LI 2204 between 2014 and quarter 3, 2019 had a minimum of 10% local participation.
“In fact, contracts awarded to indigenous and joint venture companies amounted to US$7. 3 billion (indigenous companies US$1.2 billion JV US$6.2 billion).
“This is clearly a vindication of our local content policy,” he explained.
“If, indeed, it is confirmed as we are picking up that Springfield has made a discovery, then, it will again be a good victory for our belief in the Ghanaian, President Mahama’s decision to pass the local content and participation law and the wisdom of awarding the first oil block to a Ghanaian.”
Springfield Exploration and Production Company in a press statement on Monday said its outfit and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), as well as Government of Ghana, will soon announce details of its maiden Afina-1 well discovery in the West Cape Three Points Block2, offshore Ghana.
Afina-1, which is located at a water depth of 1030 metres, was drilled to a total depth of 4082 metres and encountered light oil with a gross thickness of 65 metres, with 50 metres light net oil pay in good quality cenomanian sandstones.
The secondary target in Turonian age sands was drilled at the edge of the structure and encountered 10 metres of hydrocarbon bearing sands consisting of light oil and gas.
Springfield was awarded the Block in 2016 and has existing oil discoveries of odum, banda and beech.
Springfield is currently the operator and majority interest with 84 percent of West Cape Three Points Block ‘2’, with the Ghana National Petroleum Company and its exploration company, EXPLORCO, holding the remaining interest.
Below is Hon. Kofi Buah’s statement
The story making rounds that Springfield oil has made a huge discovery must make every Ghanaian proud but it gets even more exciting if one takes the trouble to understand the journey that brought us to this place.
This block is a subject of a Petroleum Agreement by and among GoG/GNPC/GNPC Exploration/ Springfield Exploration in respect of West Cape Three Points Block 2 Offshore Ghana
History
In furtherance of clause 4 (10) of the West Cape Three Points (WCTP) Petroleum Agreement, Kosmos Energy Ghana Limited relinquished approximately 1,370 square kilometres of its contact area to the State. Kosmos now holds the discovery area for Mahogany, Teak and Akasa (MTA).
The relinquished area was then divided into two blocks, that is, blocks 1 and 2 and declared open for petroleum operations by the Minister for Petroleum in December 2013.
In all, twelve (12) companies expressed interest in the blocks and were subsequently invited to review geological and geophysical data in respect of the area.
Springfield Exploration and Production Company Limited was among the companies that visited the GNPC Data room to review data over the area in April, 2014.
Following this, Springfield E&P and Talervas Limited (Taleveras) submitted a joint application for exploration and production rights over blocks 1 and 2 comprising 1,370 square kilometres in June, 2014.
The Block Application Evaluation Committee evaluated the joint application for application between July and August, 2014 and thereafter informed the applicants that they would be considered for only Block 2 which is approximately 673 square kilometres.
Taleveras, the proposed operator, however, did not meet the required technical and financial criteria. In view of this, the Minister directed that Taleveras be replaced with a technical partner with requisite technical and financial capabilities.
Accordingly Vaalco Energy Inc. replaced Taleveras in October, 2014 as a joint applicant and proposed an operator for the Block.
Vaalco Energy was evaluated and found to possess the required capabilities by the Block Evaluation committee and approved by the Minister. However, in the course of negotiations, Vaalco Energy withdrew from the partnership, citing the continuous slump in oil prices and its corporate decision to cut down on exploration budget, as reasons for its withdrawal.
In view of this late withdrawal, and considering Springfield’s well established credentials in the downstream petroleum sector, and President Mahama’s strong conviction that Ghanaian businesses must assume the commanding heights of the Petroleum sector, clearance was given for negotiations to continue. Springfield Exploration and Production Company however, shall be required to bring on board a technical partner with requisite financial and technical capabilities, who will be a joint operator of the block within three hundred and sixty-five (365) days, after the effective date of the Petroleum
Some of the key provisions in the Agreement are: Duration of the Agreement
Per article 23 of the Petroleum Agreement, the term of the Agreement is 28 years.
The Agreement would however expire after five and a half(5½) years if no commercial discovery is made within the term of the Agreement.
Exploration period and work programme
This exploration period is five and a half (5½) and divided into three phases as follows:
i Initial exploration period
The initial exploration period has been agreed to last for two and a half (2½) years. During the period, the contractor shall conduct geological and geophysical studies and drill one (1) exploration well.
The contractor has undertaken to expend at least thirty million United States dollars (US$30,000,000) as its minimum expenditure obligation.
- First extension period The first extension period is one and half (1½) years. During this period, the contractor shall conduct geological and geophysical studies and drill one exploration well.
Ghana: Springfield Strikes 1.2bn Barrels Of Oil In Deepwater
Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), an independent Ghanaian upstream company, has made a discovery of more than 1.2 billion barrels of oil in its deepwater drilling off the coast in the Western Region of the Republic of Ghana.
The company last month commenced its drilling activity in the West Cape Three Points Block 2 and a little over a month later made a discovery that was set to be announced publicly last week but was called off at the last hour.
Chief Executive Officer of Springfield, Mr. Kevin Okyere, says the historic achievement chalked by his company was symbolic of what determination and perseverance could do for any individual or group of people.
He noted that from the onset, there were many who doubted the ability of Springfield to go beyond obtaining the Block from the Government, adding that even when the company brought in the world’s largest seismic vessel to Ghana to undertake research, there were ‘doubting Thomases’.
Mr. Okyere expressed hope that Springfield’s successes offshore and the numerous experience it had gathered reaching this far, would become a lesson to other Ghanaian and African companies to learn from.Springfield had drilled two wells in the past 40 days and made discoveries in both.
According to the company, out of the 1.2bn in proven reserves, 30-35 percent would be recoverable in addition to commercially viable quantities of gas.
The company is expected in the coming days to announce the findings.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: GOIL Launches ‘Efie Ne Fie’ Promo To Reward Drivers
Ghana’s leading oil marketing company, GOIL, has launched GOIL ‘Efie Ne Fie’ promotion to reward its customers.
‘Efie Ne Fie’ in the Ghanaian parlance means ‘home is home’ and the aim of the promo, according to the company, is to appreciate their customers for their continuous loyalty to the brand.
The promotion, which begins in all the 390 service stations nationwide, will run throughout the Christmas period and end in January 2020.
Patrons of Goil, who buy a product worth GHc100, will automatically receive a reward.
According to Goil, 645, 812 drivers are expected to benefit from the ‘Goil Efie Ne Fie’ promotion while 2,500 tantalizlsing rewards are also on offer for ultimate reward throughout the period of the promotion.
Speaking at the launching of the ‘Goil Efie Ne Fie’ promotion, Managing Director and Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of GOIL, Kwame Osei-Prempeh emphasised that the promotion is not a raffle and noted that every customer who buys GHc100 worth of fuel or more from GOIL gets instant rewards made up of thousand of cedis of airtime credited on mobile phones, dusters, face towels, tissue boxes, T- shirts and other gifts.
“Some will also get thousands of cedis worth of free fuel on the GoCard,” he said.
In a related development, GOIL has opened its largest and ultra-modern one-stop service station at North Legon near the Botanical Garden, Accra, the capital of Ghana.
The multi-purpose centre has six pump islands with 12 nozzles serving quality Super XP fuel and another 12 serving diesel XP.
The centre has GO Café, a GO lube bay and an auto-service centre to take care of all vehicles.
Additionally, the service centre has ATM farm, pharmacy and fast food joint.
“We wish to assure customers that GOIL will continue to provide quality services that meet the approval of Ghanaians. These services indeed will make the North Legon centre one of the best in the city. We, therefore, appeal to drivers to patronise the services,” Mr Osei-Prempeh stressed.
He continued that “as the biggest indigenous oil marketing company, we believe that the profit we make should be ploughed back into the economy to benefit our people.”
Board Chairman of GOIL, Mr Kwamena Bartels said, “We are looking forward to all drivers taking advantage of the ‘GOIL Efie Ne Fie’ promotion and the new service station.”
The industry coordinator for the OMCs in the Republic of Ghana, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Duah commended GOIL for the feat and noted that the North Legon Service Centre is possibly the largest service station in West Africa.
Ghana: Fishermen At Salakope ‘Starved’ Of Premix Fuel For Over Two Years
Premix fuel, a commodity which is used by fishermen in the West African country, Ghana, is said to be in short supply at Salakope, a fishing community in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region.
The situation has slowed down fishing and other economic activities in the area.
According to the Ghana News Agency, fishermen in the area alleged that the premix fuel pump in the area had not had deliveries for over two and a half years and that the situation was impacting negatively on their livelihood.
The report said due to shortages at places where the fishermen bought premix from, they were compelled to go for petrol and engine oil from filling stations at high cost, resulting in their inability to embark on regular fishing expeditions.
“Our canoe is most of the time, berthed at the landing beach site here because our operation cost is far outweighing our gains. If we get the premix fuel, better but without it, we run at a loss. I don’t want to talk about the women. They complain about the price of fish lately,” one opinion leader said.
Premix fuel is a blue-dyed, highly subsidised blend of fuel made for use by fishermen as government’s intervention in the fisheries sector.
National Premix Committee (NPC) established in July 2009 oversees the administration and distribution of the petroleum product to pumps at the various landing beaches across the country.
The report said the Chief Fisherman and Chairman for Salakope Landing Beach Committee in charge of running the premix fuel station, Torgbui Emmanuel Anomoo Tettey confirmed that the pump had been empty for about 30 months.
According to him, the Salakope Premix Fuel Station had been owing five oil marketing companies (OMCs); G & G, Frimps Oil, Infin, Plus Energy and Rural Energy in excess of GH¢80,000 since 2017.
He said the situation came about when members of the committee responsible for keeping proceeds from the sale of the product failed to render account and to pay for deliveries received.
He said attempts were made to get Mr Innocent Lartey, Secretary to the Committee (now at large), believed to be in charge of the proceeds to pay but unsuccessful. Mr Elliot Edem Agbenorwu, Ketu South Municipal Chief Executive, implored the committee to find means to settle the debt owed the OMCs for them to resume receiving deliveries for their fishing activities.
Mr Agbenorwu said though he felt the pains of Salakope fishermen, the Assembly was not in the position to defray the outstanding debt.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Kosmos Energy, GOIL, Sunon Asogli & Total Petroleum Ghana Ltd Shines At 2019 Ghana Club 100 Awards
Ghana’ leading oil marketing company, GOIL, has been adjudged the third company at the 2019 Ghana Club 100 list while Total Petroleum Ghana Limited placed the seventh position on the list at an awards night last Friday, November 15 at the Kempinski Hotel, Accra.
Ghana’s upstream oil and gas player, Kosmos Energy Ghana secured the second company position while independent power producer, Sunon Asogli Power Plant Ltd. also placed fourth on the list.
The event organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) was on the theme “Sustainable Agriculture; The Bedrock of Ghana’s Industrialisation Drive”.
The Ghana Club 100 (GC100) is an annual compilation of the top 100 companies in Ghana to give due recognition to successful enterprise building.
The GC100 is about corporate excellence hence companies making it into the list are to serve as role models for the private sector and provide a forum for corporate Ghana to interact with the government at a high level.
MTN Ghana was adjudged the number one company at the awards ceremony.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was the special guest of honour presented the award to MTN Ghana.
See the full list below:
1. Scancom Plc. (MTN)
2. Kosmos Energy Ghana
3. GOIL
4. Sunon Asogli Power Plant Ltd.
5. IT Consortium
6. ASA Savings and Loans
7. Total Petroleum Ghana Ltd.
8. Goldfields Ghana Ltd.
9. Olam Ghana Ltd.
10.Agro ECOM Ghana Ltd.
11.Anglogold Ashanti Aduapriem
12.Newmont Goldenrich Ghana Ltd.
13.Unilever Ghana Ltd.
14.GCNet
15.Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd.
16.GCB Bank Ltd.
17.Enterprise Trustees
18.Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd. subsidiary of ABSA
19.Metropolitan Health Insurance Ghana Ltd.
20.Ecobank Ghana Ltd.
21.B5 Plus Ltd.
22.Enterprise Life Company Ltd.
23.Poly Kraft Ghana Ltd.
24.Letshego Ghana Savings and Loans
25.Nexans Cable Metals Ltd.
26.Kiteko Ghana Ltd.
27.Maphlix Trust Ghana Ltd.
28.Afcott Ghana Ltd.
29.Stanbic Bank Ghana Ltd.
30.Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Ltd.
31.Fiaseman Rural Bank
32.Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd.
33.Cal Bank
34.KEK Insurance Brokers
35.Melcom Ltd.
36.GTBank Ghana Ltd.
37.Microfin Rural Bank Ltd.
38.Papaye Ghana Ltd.
39.Landtours
40.Starlife Assurance
41.Nutrifoods
42.Goldfields Tarkwa and Damang mine
43.TekSol Ltd.
44.Niche Cocoa
45.Izwe Savings and Loans
46.Kane-Em Industries Ltd.
47.Glico Life Insurance Company Ltd.
48.Tobinco Pharmacy Ltd.
49.Sefwiman Rural Bank Ltd.
50.Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank Ltd.
51.Amenfiman Rural Bank
52.Enterprise Insurance Company Ltd.
53.Societe Generale Ghana
54.L’aine services Ltd.
55.Bayport Savings and Loans
56.Fanmilk Ltd.
57.GHL Bank Ltd.
58.Poly Tanks
59.Ahantaman Rural Bank Ltd.
60.Manya Krobo Rural Bank Ltd.
61.Bosomtwe Rural Bank Ltd.
62.Sunu Assurances Ghana Ltd.
63.New Crystal Health Services Ltd.
64.South Akyem Rural Bank Ltd.
65.Builsa Community Bank Ltd.
66.Interplast Ltd.
67.Otuasekan Rural Bank Ltd.
68.Star Assurance Company Ltd.
69.Kaaseman Rural Bank Ltd.
70.Olam Cocoa Processing Ghana
71.G4S Security Services Ltd.
72.Upper Amenfi Rural Bank Ltd.
73.Activa International Insurance Company Ltd.
74.SIC Insurance Company Ltd.
75.Glico Healthcare Ltd.
76.Leasafric Ghana Ltd.
77.Juaben Rural Bank Ltd.
78.Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank Ltd.
79.Crocodile Matchets Ghana Ltd.
80.Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd.
81.Prudential Life Insurance Ghana Ltd.
82.Amansie West Rural Bank Ltd.
83.Amanano Rural Bank Ltd.
84.Tropical Cables and Conductors Ltd.
85.Odotobri Rural Bank Ltd.
86.Kintampo Rural Bank Ltd.
87.Bawjiase Area Rural Bank Ltd.
88.M&G Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
89.Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd.
90.Kasapreko Company Ltd.
91.Asokori Rural Bank Ltd.
92.Anum Rural Bank
93.Access Bank
94.Akuapim Rural Bank Ltd.
95.Asante Akyem Rural Bank Ltd.
96.ADB Bank
97.Starwin Products Ltd.
98.Glico General Insurance Company Ltd.
99.Acacia Health Insurance
100. Japan Motors Trading Company Ltd.
Discretionary Awards
Largest Taxpayer – Scancom Ghana Plc., MTN
Fastest Growing Company – Sunon Asogli Power Plant Ltd.
Most Profitable Company – GCNet
Largest Company in Ghana – GOIL
Best New Entrant Company – Agro ECOM Ghana Ltd.
Best CSR Organization – Newmont Ahafo Mine
Best Listed Company – Cal Bank
Ghana: Vantage Exits Its Genser Investment
Vantage Capital, Africa’s largest independent fund, has announced that it has successfully exited its $18.5million investment in Genser Energy, a management-owned, independent power producer.
Genser provides distributed power generation solutions in Ghana to multinational industrial and mining companies including Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Kinross Gold Corporation, and more recently, Perseus Mining Limited and Golden Star Resources.
Vantage’s exit was financed by a consortium of South African banks including Standard Bank, Nedbank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa which, alongside the Barak Fund and Africa 50, have committed over $230 million of facilities to the company for debt refinancing and further expansion.
Vantage’s funding enabled Genser to almost double its capacity, by constructing a 30 MW power plant contracted by Kinross Gold Corporation’s mine at Chirano. With the support of local Ghanaian banks, Genser went on to complete two additional power plants at Gold Fields Ghana’s Tarkwa and Damang mines, adding substantial capacity to the company’s portfolio. The additional debt now being provided by the incoming South African banks will enable Genser to further expand the total capacity of its existing plants from 100 MW to 190 MW. Genser also intends to build an additional 190km of natural gas pipeline to connect the rest of its power plants, and once completed Genser will have increased the onshore natural gas pipeline infrastructure in Ghana by nearly 160%.
“Vantage has realised an excellent return on its investment in Genser. The company has quickly scaled up to address the energy shortages in the country, and Vantage provided support to help bring about this vision. Genser’s ‘in-the-fence’ business model, whereby plants are constructed on the site of major clients underpinned by ten-year power purchasing agreements, has proved to be very successful,” Luc Albinski, Vantage’s co-Managing Partner, commented.
Johnny Jones, a Partner at Vantage, stated: “The Genser investment is a good example of the productive use of mezzanine to assist companies in achieving their growth objectives when banks have limited appetite to lend, without requiring significant equity dilution by the owners. Since Genser is a family owned business, the owners appreciated the fact that mezzanine provided them with growth capital which did not materially dilute their shareholding.”
Warren van der Merwe, Vantage’s co-Managing Partner concluded: “2019 has been a year of significant realisations for Vantage. This year we have exited Timrite, a mining supplies business, Austell, a pharmaceutical company, and now we have achieved a third significant exit with Genser. In aggregate we have returned $318 million to investors across 11 exits.”
Frances Rogoz, Vice President of Project Development for Genser, acknowledges Vantage’s role in the growth of the company: “With Vantage as an early-stage mezzanine investor, Genser was able to access capital that allowed us to kick start a period of rapid growth. The strong return we are able to provide to Vantage is a testament to that growth and to the robust energy sector in West Africa in which we operate
South Africa: Total Discovers Gas Condesate Offshore Well In South Africa
Total S.A., a French multinational integrated oil and gas company, has made a gas condensate discovery on the Brulpadda prospects, located on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin.
The exploration well encountered 57 metres of net gas condensate play in Lower Cretaceous reservoirs. Following the success of the main objective, the well was deepened to a final depth of 3,633 metres and has also been successful in the Brulpadda-deep prospect.
Speaking at Africa Oil Week, Dr Enzo Insalaco, Vice President Exploration Africa at Total explained that South Africa has become an interesting area for exploration.
That interest has been illustrated by the recent activity by the industry, which has seen a significant amount of seismic capture and blocks being taken in Namibia and South Africa.
“Much of that activity is early stage, so 2D or 3D,” Insalaco said.
“What we will see in the next few years is an uptick in reservoir drilling and exploration. We have a strong position in the oil basin, so we have a couple of blocks in the Orange Basin and in South Africa the 11B/12B block where this discovery was made.”
For Total, Brulpadda was certainly a high impact well for opening up a significant petroleum basin.
“It was a very bold technical well,” Insalaco continued.
“Many people may not realise that the well was actually drilled on 2D. It is a deep offshore well, so drilling on 2D was a very bold move. But given our understanding of the basin and the innovations we did on the operations, this well could be drilled safely and successfully on 2D.”
“As we know, it was an operational success just as much as a technical success; we drilled the well within budget, within time and in terms of NPT we have about 3% of NPT and 3% waiting on weather.
“If you consider the conditions, that is fantastic operational performance. We drilled the well to the main reservoir log and then we went down to a deeper reservoir.
Insalaco added that they were ready for 3D and were already negotiating contracts.
With the initial phase of the 3D seismic acquisition programme over the basin completed, the Brulpadda well results will be integrated with the 3D seismic data ahead of the drilling programme in 2020, which will include up to three exploration wells.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Oil Proceeds Hit $668m In Nine Months
Oil proceeds from Ghana’s oil fields in the western part of the country for the period January-September 2019 amounted to $668.5m, energynewsafrica.com can report.
The figure is, however, lower than what the West African country raked in as revenue compared to the same period in 2018, representing a shortfall of about $55.1m.
Presenting the 2020 budget statement in Parliament, Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta blamed the revenue shortfall on the fall in crude oil prices on the international market.
“Speaker, actual receipts of $668.41m for the period up to September 2019 is lower than the realised receipts of $723.55m for the same period in 2018, due mainly lower than programmed crude price released for the period ($63.72 per barrel compared to $70.34 per barrel in 2028),” he read.
The Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) requires that not more than 70 percent of the government’s net petroleum receipts is designated as Annual Budget Funding Allocation (ABFA) and not less than 30 percent designated as GPFs.
“Out of the amount transferred into the GPFs, the GHF received not less than 30 percent, with the rest transferred into the GSF.
“Mr. Speaker, the 2019 petroleum receipts were distributed based on the provisions of the PRMA (as amended). Out of the total revenue of US$668.41 million, the national oil company, GNPC, was allocated a total of US$148.19million, made up of Equity Financing Cost (US$95.66 million) and its share of the net Carried and Participating Interest (US$52.54 million),” Mr Ofori-Atta said.
The Finance Minister also gave details of how the oil proceeds were spent:
Agriculture- 70,273,236.75; Physical Infrastructure and Service Delivery in Education 570,865,917.58; Physical Infrastructure and Service Delivery in Health- 43,646,794.46; Road, Rail and Other Critical Infrastructure Development- 300,258,670.79 Sub-Total- 985,044,619.58 Public Interest and Accountability Committee- 2,900,000.00 Grand Total- 987,944,619.58; Public Debt Developments For 2019.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com