According to him, until the current government pumps in the necessary funds to rescue the sector, the intermittent power cuts experienced by customers will persist. Speaking on an Accra based Class FM, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, said “Load shedding can only happen today because we may not have money to buy fuel”. “The energy sector is in financial distress”. “If there were a stronger word than distress, I would use it. Serious distress”. According to the Pru East MP, the solution to the power challenges facing the country, lies in getting and pumping money into the sector. Painting a picture of the debt mesh in the sector, Dr Donkor said: “If you look at the performance of ECG, GRIDCo, NEDCo, VRA, their financial performance is deteriorating with every year”. “In the last quarter of 2018”, he said, “ECG’s losses exceeded GHS1 billion – in a single quarter”. “The sector is bedeviled by debt. As we sit here, Ghana Gas owes GNPC over $500 million for gas supply because VRA is unable to pay, VRA is the major offtaker, they are unable to pay Ghana Gas. They are unable to pay Ghana Gas because ECG is unable to pay VRA for power generated. ECG owes because its current tariff is not commercially competitive and they are also unable to collect even what ought to be coming to them, especially from the government”. Dr Donkor also mentioned that the poor performance of the Ghana cedi against the dollar has had a toll on the energy sector. He explained: “In the power sector, if you take away salaries and wages, about 80 per cent of the payables of the sector is dollar-denominated and yet their receivables are cedi-denominated. So any deterioration in the dollar-cedi relationship impacts negatively on the sector. Since the last tariff adjustment, there’s been massive deterioration of the cedi against the dollar. “So, automatically [ECG gets worse off], particularly so when PURC, for reasons best known to itself and the government, decided to remove tariffs for domestic consumers, probably in the fulfilment of a manifesto promise. I don’t have a problem because the Ghanaian state is the sole shareholder of these state entities, cash flows should come from operating revenues or capital injection by the shareholder. “If for any political reason, manifesto fulfilment there’s been this reduction, then please the shareholder has a responsibility to inject capital in the form of equity. “Last year, GRIDCo had to postpone nearly 80 per cent of all its planned capital expenditure for lack of cash flow and the same goes for all the power sector agencies. “So, as a people, we own these entities, we cannot eat our cake and have it. We have not placed enough emphasis on efficiency gains – both at the supply end and the demand end. The average Ghanaian household can reduce their power consumption in wattage by about 30 per cent. … So my advice to government is that going forward we should spend money on educating people and improving efficiency at the demand side”, he said. Dr Donkor said during the peak of the energy crisis in the Mahama administration, said despite the challenges he faced at the time, he managed to add a substantial generation capacity to Ghana’s power mix. “It was the most difficult portfolio at the time in the country. Indeed, a good friend of the president’s asked me in Twi when I was appointed, to wit, ‘Kwabena, do you truly believe this man likes you?’ Somebody had to carry the can. It was a difficult portfolio, the circumstances were difficult and Ghanaians had become fed up, so, nobody was prepared to even listen to – excused my language – rational explanation. And I can understand why: it was a difficult period, but I thank God we improved generation and improved it so well that today we are even being accused of having created excess”, he said. Source: Class FM
Ghana’s energy sector is in financial distress-Dr. Donkor asserts
Dr. Kwabena Donkor, former Minister for Power
A former Minister of Power under the John Mahama administration has asserted that Ghana’s energy sector is in “serious financial distress”.
Ghana: Aker submits $4billion plan to develop oilfield
The Norwegian oil firm, Aker Energy has submitted to Ghana a $4.4 billion plan for developing the fourth oil producing oil field offshore in the country.
A statement issued on Thursday said the total reserves at the Pecan field development in the Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block are estimated at 334 million barrels of oil, with a plateau production expected at 110,000 barrels per day.
“This is a proud day for Aker Energy and our partners. After tremendous teamwork and strong collaboration with partners and Ghanaian authorities, we have submitted a comprehensive plan of development and operation. The plan, will once , ensure an efficient development and production of the Pecan field and further optimisation of the DWT/CTP petroleum resources in a way that will deliver value to the people of Ghana and to us and our partners,” said Jan Arve Haugan, the Chief Executive Officer at Aker Energy.
The plan was submitted and presented to the Minister of Energy, Hon. John Peter Amewu at the Ministry of Energy in Accra, Ghana.
“We are very satisfied to have reached this milestone together with Aker Energy and its partners. The submission of the integrated PDO has been a result of collaboration between the Contractors, GNPC, relevant agencies and the Ministry. The Pecan field will be the fourth producing oil field offshore Ghana and will strongly benefit the people of Ghana,” said Hon. John Peter Amewu, Ghana’s Minister of Energy.
The plan is subject to approval from relevant Ghanaian authorities. Upon approval, Aker will initiate a process to make a final investment decision (FID). First oil from the Pecan field is estimated 35 months after the FID is made.
Aker has a 50 per cent stake in Aker Energy, while Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke owns the rest via his private firm TRG.
Aker Energy and partners expect the Pecan field development and subsequent phases to provide significant proceeds to Ghana. Furthermore, the partners have strong ambitions for developing a national oil and gas industry in Ghana.
“Aker Energy has a long-term ambition to go beyond regulatory requirements to develop the local oil and gas industry, through both investments and transfer of technology, know-how and skills. Therefore, our owner, Aker ASA, has recently initiated plans to establish a separate investment company, Aker Ghana Industrial Corporation, to support the local industry,” Haugan concluded.
Aker Energy Ghana Limited is the operator under the Deepwater Tano / Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) Petroleum Agreement with a 50% participating interest. Its partners are Lukoil Overseas Ghana Tano Limited (38%), the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) (10%) and Fueltrade Limited (2%).
Parliament slashes GNPC’s 2019 budget by $80m
Parliament has slashed the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation’ (GNPC)’s 2019 expenditure budget by 80 million dollars, Ranking Member of the Select Committee on Energy, Adam Mutawakilu has said.
The Ranking Member of the Select Committee on Energy who disclosed this said there was no justification for some of the projects captured in the 2019 budget of the GNPC.
The committee has also questioned the 50 million dollars the Corporation is requesting to use for the building of a refinery, as parts of government’s plans to create a Petroleum hub in the country.
The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation plans to spend some 43 million cedis on various projects as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility in 2019.
Some of the projects include the building of boreholes and educational scholarships for persons within the communities the company operates.
Although the amount represents 8 percent of the corporation’s total budget of about 800 million dollars for 2019, industry watchers say the 43 million dollars for CSR is on the high side compared to the 20 million dollars the company plans to spend on its core operations including the development of the Volt Basin.
In 2018, the corporation spent 28 million dollars on CSR which is more than the 25 million dollars it spent on salaries and 17 million dollars it spent on some operational activities.
“The GNPC must prove beyond every reasonable doubt what the funds are going to be used for. We scrutinized every project. And from here the committee will be going on the field to check and ask all the relevant questions,” Mr. Mutawakilu said at a panel discussion on the management of Petroleum funds which was organised by the Institute of Fiscal Studies(IFS).
But in a sharp response, the GNPC refuted claims it is overspending.
General Manager of Sustainability Development, at GNPC, Dr. Kwame Baah Nuakoh said those projects are long term investments.
“We invest in the community we operate in. We build their capacity to prepare them for the market so that by the next 15 years they can take up key jobs in the Petroleum sector.”
Meanwhile, the Organizers of the forum, the Institute of Fiscal Studies wants Parliament to place a cap on GNPC’ budget for CSR.
Source: citinewsroom.com
PDS gives Kokrobite power, after making them sign a bond of good behaviour
The Power Distribution Services, PDS, has finally restored power to Kokrobite township in the Ga South Municipality after denying them electricity for two weeks following attack on one of the company’s staff by a resident of the area.
PDS’s decision to restore power to the area follows the signing of a bond of good behaviour by Kobrobite Traditional Council, opinion leaders and Assembly member of the area to ensure that such attack would not happen to any PDS staff anymore.
The Public Relations Officer of PDS for Accra West District, Fred Baimbill Johnson, who confirmed this to energynewsafrica.com, said there was a meeting between management of PDS and a delegation from Kokrobite on Wednesday when the latter committed themselves by signing a bond of good behaviour.
He said after the meeting yesterday, management deployed staff to visit the area to work on the company’s transformers in the area in order to restore power.
“As at this morning, power has been fully restored,” Fred Johnson revealed.
Thirty-nine-year-old, Gershon Asiedu, a staff of PDS who was among a team working to restore power to Kokrobite township, was inflicted with cutlass wounds by one Amedeka.
This compelled the team to flee the area for their lives.
He was sent to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to undergo surgery and receive additional treatment.
Since then, the area has been without power, thus making life very unbearable for the residents and businesses operating there.
Speaking to the issue on an Accra-based Citi FM, Chief of Kokrobite, Nii Ayinsah Sasraku III, who condemned the attack, said the Traditional Council and opinion leaders in the town are assisting the police to trace the whereabouts of the perpetrator.
“It’s almost two weeks now and the people in my neighbourhood are suffering. One person should not create a problem for the community to suffer. So, we are very serious in getting this [gentleman who committed the offence] to be dealt with according to the law.
“My subjects and the assemblyman are working hand in hand to commit ourselves that such a thing like that will never happen again so that we have the problem solved once and for all. That is the request from PDS and we have signed a bond of good behaviour. So, we are expecting a reply from them. So we are appealing to the authorities to get our power resolved,” he added.
Despite the unrest in Algeria the country’s main export funds generator, its oil and gas production has been unaffected, according to Neil Atkinson, head of the IEA oil industry and market division, cited in a Reuters report
“There are as yet no signs that (Algeria’s) actual production and exports have been affected, but it’s a situation that we will watch and see how it develops,” Atkinson said.
Protesters have been calling on oil and gas workers to join them in the streets. Sonatrach CEO, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour in a statement in the company newsletter said that the employees at Sonatrach have the right to join street protests like the country’s other citizens, but their first duty should be to keep working. In the newsletter, Kaddour said he understood some staff wanted to join the historic protests and he was not restricting them from doing so. However, he appealed to employees to keep working. Source: petroleumafrica.com
Gabon’s Crude Slips Out Of Favor With Oil Giants
An oil terminal in tiny oil-rich Gabon has been shuttered following a union strike action on Tuesday, according to union statement carried by Reuters, in a move that may further sour foreign oil companies on its current offshore oil licensing round.
The strike at VAALCO Energy’s terminal, which took offline 14,000 barrels per day, is expected to last five days, according to ONEP, the union responsible for organizing the workers’ strike. ONEP has organized other strikes in Gabon’s oil sector as recently as December, over six workers who were fired from French Total.
This time around, the strike has been called over the issue of annual leave for its represented workers.
Gabon, which lies on the Atlantic Coast in Central Africa, though small, is a member of OPEC. Gabon first became a full member of the organization back in 1975, but terminated its membership in 1995. On July 1, 2016, Gabon re-joined the OPEC group of the oil exporting nations.
Gabon’s oil production stands at 203,000 bpd as of OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report—a marked decline from the days of 300,000+ bpd decades ago. Still, Gabon is Africa’s fifth largest oil producer. Oil accounts for 80 percent of all Gabonese exports, 45 percent of Gabon’s GDP, and 60 percent of its fiscal revenue in recent years, according to the World Bank. It remains a vital component of Gabon’s economy.
Gabon has substantial oil reserves, but efforts to attract foreign investments have been slow going, mired by regulatory uncertainties, stiff corporation taxes, and political instability, and it has moved its closing date twice for the current offshore licensing round, which is now set to end in September versus the original closing date of April.
A failed coup in January may have further spooked foreign oil companies that may otherwise be interested in its lucrative oil industry.
ONEP said that today’s strike may be extended beyond the promised five days if its demands go unanswered. Source: Oilprice.com
Kokrobite residents promise safety for PDS officers following assault
Gershon Asiedu
Residents of Kokrobite, in the Ga South Municipal area, have vehemently condemned an attack on Gershon Asiedu, a staff of Power Distribution Services (PDS).
Mr Asiedu was assaulted when he and a team of field officers of the company were on duty in the community last week ago.
A statement jointly issued on Wednesday by traditional authorities, residents and the Assemblyman of Kokrobite and presented to the Management of PDS described the incident as “dastardly and criminal” and pledged to assist the local Police to smoke out the culprit.
On Saturday, March 16, one Alfred Amedeka alias ‘Pablo’ a resident of Kokrobite now on the run, attacked a team of PDS field workers who were pruning tree branches off an overhead electric cable with a cutlass, inflicting serious facial and body wounds on Mr Asiedu.
Amedeka fled the town before he could be apprehended by authorities and has since remained at large, although the Police and residents are confident that he will be brought to book sooner than later.
“We hasten to render our unreserved apology for the dastardly act and hereby convey our deepest sympathies to the victim, his family, his colleagues and indeed to the entire Management body of Power Distribution Services (PDS),” the statement said.
The statement further said residents of Kokrobite are mindful of the status of their town as a popular tourist destination and a recreational enclave for many Ghanaians and foreigners.
Residents say they see the assault as “scandalous and an objectionable blot” on the image of their community.
“Ultimately, we do understand that the only way to redeem our image and restore confidence among service providers in the safety of our community, is to assist in ensuring that this heinous crime does not go unpunished,” it said.
The statement was issued after a special delegation of opinion leaders, led by the President of the Kokrobite Residents Association, Mr Simon Ampadu and the local Assemblyman, Mr Rockson Saka Allotey, met with the Management of PDS on Monday.
The statement disclosed that, since the incident occurred, the community, led by the Assemblyman, the President of our Residents’ Association, the Chiefs and some opinion leaders, has worked closely with the Kokrobite District Police in efforts to locate and apprehend Mr Amedeka.
‘We have gathered and passed on to our local Police, useful information which led to the interrogation of suspected accomplices of the culprit and are still working with the Police to identify and engage close relations who may possibly know the hideout or movements of the culprit. We are confident that with this level of community collaboration with the Police, it will not be long before the fugitive is cornered and brought to book,’ the statement said.
The statement further assured the Management and staff of PDS that with the combined effort and vigilance of the residents, the traditional authorities and the Kokrobite District Police Command, substantial public education has already begun in a bid to ensure and guarantee the personal safety and well-being of every PDS field officer assigned to work within our community.
Originally a small fishing town, Kokrobite, now with a population of about 7,000, has grown into a busy residential community whose shoreline is ranked among the most fancied and patronized beaches in the country.
Source: myjoyonline.com
Ivory Coast: Electricity regulators index report gains support
The African Development Bank and German’s KfW Development Bank will be partnering to accelerate implementation of recommendations contained in the 2018 Electricity Regulators Index (ERI) report for Ivory Coast’s energy sector.
This partnership arrangement between both institutions was announced during a technical workshop hosted by the African Development Bank in Abidjan this month.
The workshop brought together key stakeholders in Ivory Coast’s energy sector to review institutional and regulatory developments and assess implementation of recommendations in the inaugural 2018 ERI report.
“Developing robust regulatory frameworks is required to ensure an enabling environment for investments in the electricity sector and to pave the path to universal access to energy in Africa,” noted Wale Shonibare, AfDB’s director of energy financial solutions, policy and regulations.
Launched in June 2018 during the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) in Mauritius, the ERI is a diagnostic tool that highlights key areas in regulatory design and practice in Africa’s energy sector. Read more: Ivory Coast to invest in smart grid infrastructure
“The index provides a simple but powerful roadmap for policy makers and regulators to take actions to improve their regulatory frameworks and the attractiveness of the sector,” Shonibare said.
He observed that the 2018 Electricity Regulatory Index identified 13 key regulatory gaps across the 15 ERI participating countries, including Ivory Coast.
The report recommended specific interventions to address the gaps, which will be done through tailored technical assistance programmes in participating countries.
Mobilising private investments
Andreas Fikre-Mariam, regional director at KfW’s Abidjan office remarked that the KfW was mobilising private investment in Ivory Coast’s renewable energy sector and deepening cooperation between Germany and the government of Ivory Coast in the spirit of the G20 Compact for Africa.
“There are many projects underway that we are financing, including the Boundiali in Bouake, in collaboration with the African Development Bank… there is also a €10 million grant from Germany to Ivory Coast to promote the energy sector through sector reforms. This is to help achieve a major impact,” Fikre-Mariam explained.
Angaman Anoh from the Planning and Engineering department of Côte d’Ivoire Energies (CI-Energies) said energy industry stakeholders in the country now better understand the implications of the ERI report.
However, Anoh emphasised how critical it is that “regulators and utilities are consulted and involved at the early stage of the preparation of the index”.
Source: esi-africa.com
Minister Radebe remarks on IRP and Eskom unbundling
South Africa’s energy minister Jeff Radebe.
South Africa’s energy minister Jeff Radebe reflected on the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai, which affected Eskom’s ability to guarantee electricity supply to consumers.
Speaking at the recent DLO Africa Power Roundtable 2019, the minister noted that South Africans endured extended load shedding because one of the exacerbating circumstances related to damaged power lines from Cahora Bassa hydropower plant in Mozambique, as a consequence of Cyclone Idai.
Radebe pointed out that the “new reality is that adverse climatic conditions will become a recurring feature of our existence, and as Africans we must prepare our systems to be resilient in the face of the risks posed by this reality.”
Giving an update on the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), Radebe assured attendees that the energy department is currently engaging with the social partners at National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC).
“Cabinet approval of the IRP for South Africa will define a tangible plan for energy security that also secures the participation of Independent Power Producers (IPP) side by side with Eskom and municipalities,” he said.
He added: “It is clear that Eskom alone cannot meet our power capacity requirements, because we estimate that the capacity extension under the IRP will cost in excess of R1 trillion in the period up to 2030, including the new power plants, plus the requisite transmission and distribution infrastructure.”
Unbundling of EskomMinister Radebe reflected that President Cyril Ramaphosa previously pronounced the need to unbundle Eskom into the generation, transmission and distribution functions. He said work is unfolding in that regard. “This matter has been in the making for years, yet it didn’t get anywhere and created a lot of uncertainty regarding the future electricity supply industry structure. It is a fact that the financing of new power infrastructure has become very challenging given Eskom’s current structure.” According to Radebe, financial institutions have become increasingly averse to pumping funds into an Eskom that is based on the vertically integrated utility model. He further noted that the difficulty of financing power infrastructure projects in Africa generally, and in South Africa specifically, has some of its reasons anchored in policy uncertainty and poor regulatory environment. “I have to be very clear as well, and indicate that we are not talking about the privatisation of Eskom, but rather it’s unbundling into the functional areas of generation, transmission and distribution,” Minister Radebe stated. In the meantime, the minister called for increased energy efficiency practices in hopes of balancing electricity supply and demand. “It is a fact that a successful energy efficiency programme results in the reduction of municipal revenues and we would be doing municipalities a disservice if we did not confront this problem,” he added.
Kpando court jails electrician 7 years for posing as PDS worker
Convict, Maxwell
The Kpando Circuit Court has sentenced Maxwell Boateng, an electrician, to a seven-year hard labour jail term, for posing as a worker of the Power Distribution Services (PDS), and installing fake electricity meters for defaulting customers of the service.
He pleaded guilty to fraudulent breach of trust.
The court presided by Nana Brew, was told that Boateng, 35, who claimed to be a meter reader of the PDS, succeeded in defrauding at least 16 households of exorbitant amounts.
According to the prosecution, accused was assigned by a private contractor to replace faulty meters in Kpando, but he decided to sell them to unsuspecting customers.
The court was told after his arrest, Boateng conducted the police round the various locations where he installed the meters for fees.
The prosecution stated that the fake meters were discovered by personnel of the PDS on their routine monitoring exercise.
The PDS officials found that the meters were “alien” to the system and, therefore, reported the matter to the police who acted swiftly and arrested the suspect, the court heard.
Meanwhile the Kpando District Manager of the PDS, Mrs PhanneyAdiko, has warned that the service would deal swiftly and ruthlessly with fake meter readers, whose criminal conducts were undermining the smooth operations of the service.
She entreated the public to assist the service to get rid of such criminals by reporting their misconduct to the police or PDS without delay.
Mrs Adiko cautioned customers of PDS not to entertain any meter reader, who did not hold a valid identity from the service.
The Volta Regional Manager of the PDS, Mr Delali Oklu, has said that there were growing reports of “strange” meter installations in other parts of the region, adding that the service had embarked on an exercise to nab the culprits and prosecute them.
Source: Ghanaian Times
GRIDCo to spend GHS500,000 to replace damaged pylons
The damaged pylons
The Director for System Operations at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Mark Baah, has revealed to energynewsafrica.com that it will cost the company about GHS500,000 (US$100,000) to replace its towers which had been vandalized.
One of the towers transmitting power from Karpower, Volta River Authority’s plants and AKSA to the national grid collapsed and fell on an adjacent tower, after it was hacked down by an unidentified persons on Monday dawn.
The incident, which is said to have occurred at about 1am, led to interruptions in power supply in some parts of Accra, Takoradi and Kumasi.
Investigators from the Criminal Investigations Department(CID) of the Ghana Police Service had visited the site to gather evidence for investigation.
According to him, the company would conduct an assessment to establish the integrity of the adjoining tower which the hacked tower collapsed on.
But even before the assessment is carried out, Mr Baah explained that they have already despatched some staff to go to the company’s warehouses all over the country to search if they could get the same parts for them to construct new towers to replace the vandalised ones.
He said in the event that they are not able to get the parts, then, they would have to import new parts, adding that each tower is going to cost about US$50,000 (GHS250,000).
“The towers are different. They are unique and so we have sent our staff to go to our warehouses to search if we can get the same parts. But if we can’t find the parts, then it will cost us some US$100,000 to procure parts for the two towers,” he said.
Energy sector business is not galamsey fight – Jinapor cautions Amewu
John Jinapor
A former Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor has cautioned Energy Minister, John Peter Amewu against adopting what he described as galamsey fight approach in managing the sector.
He says the Energy sector is very critical, sensitive, key to investor behavior in Ghana’s economy and that propaganda to misled the public will fail.
Mr Jinapor who is also the MP for Yapei Kusawgu was responding to claims by John Peter Amewu that the hacking down of a transmission tower close to the GRIDCo offices within the Tema enclave, is a clear sabotage on the Akufo-Addo Administration.
A virtually frustrated Minister, who inspected the damage caused at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) transmission tower sites at Tema assured that the perpetrators if found, will not go unpunished.
“How can human beings do this to our motherland? Any political party that will have some element of association with such activity is not worth being in our country? We have already detected that chemicals are being put on all the towers along this line. The intention is to destroy them in the future. What will merit someone to do this, we cannot be subjecting our own country to this,” he lamented.
He told reporters security at all GRIDCo installation sites across the country is being beefed up to forestall similar occurrences.
But in a sharp response, former deputy Power Minister, who was speaking on an Accra based Radio XYZ, said, first the claims made are mischievous and questionable.
He said: “The Minister must be advised that the Energy Sector is not for ad hoc decisions or loose comments. So if you are privileged to be appointed to head the sector, you must remain level headed, weigh what you say in public and be mindful of the signal it sends to key stakeholders in the economy.
He added, ”You must exhibit high level of moral and intellectual judgement”
Mr Jinapor explained that pylons are heavily built masts for carrying high transmission cables that cannot be easily pulled down. He also questioned why the so called saboteurs targeted the one close to the GRIDCo facility in Tema and not several ones in the bushes.
The former Deputy Power Minister, noted with concern conflicting claims by the Minister that those involved sprayed aerosol, a chemical to loosen bolts and nuts to easily dismantle the pylons yet ended up using hacksaw to pull down the heavy structure.
He asked, “was the pylon cut with hacksaw blade before the bolts and knots were loosened or vice versa?. When you want to cut the metals, you don’t need to loosen the knots. So the critical question. What is the Minister really saying?”
Mr Jinapor said there is a need for thorough investigations especially because the heavy investment by government into GRIDCo operations cannot be put under such threats and falsehood.
He noted that government’s admission that the destruction of the pylon seriously affected power distribution to parts of Accra, Kumasi and the North.
“Don’t they have cameras at GRIDCo’s backyard. But the major issue that has exposed the NPP big time is that just recently, the Minister came to Parliament and told the House that Karpower is a waste of money. We don’t need them and that Ghana is paying for nothing produced. But yesterday he admitted the damage is affecting evacuation from the facility John Mahama invested in and has resulted in massive load shedding, Mr Jinapor added.
The former Minister said any attempt to bring the galamsey style into solving the Energy sector problems will expose Mr Amewu and he will fail.
“I advise that he stays focus and be truthful,” he concluded.
Meanwhile GRIDCo has since restored power supply to all the areas that were plunged into darkness following the destruction of some pylons.
The Chief Executive Officer of power transmitter Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Mr Jonathan Kwaku Amoako Baah, has also confirmed this.
Source: RadioXYZ
Oil Workers At Libya’s Largest Field Want Salary Hikes
Oil workers at Sharara, the largest field in Libya which has recently re-opened after a three-month hiatus, have demanded a salary increase of 67 percent as they try to return oil production at the site to its normal 315,000-bpd production rate, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a video that the workers have posted.
The government decided to raise the salaries by 67 percent back in 2013, but the raise never materialized, while Sharara continues to suffer from frequent closures due to armed groups occupying it.
According to Reuters, workers at two other oil fields in Libya are also demanding a salary increase by two thirds.
Libya’s internationally recognized National Oil Corporation (NOC) supports the salary hike demands, saying that oil workers continue to work under extremely difficult circumstances, adding that it was disappointing that a salary increase has not been included in Libyan government’s budget for this year.
In early March, the Sharara oil field returned to operations after being closed for production in December, when clashes between militant groups forced NOC to institute a force majeure.
Sharara has been one of the main reasons the North African country is widely seen as a wild card in global oil price forecasts.
Since it accounts for around a third of the country’s total oil output, Sharara, like the export terminals in the Oil Crescent, has become a natural target for various groups vying for power and control over Libya’s oil wealth.As of last week, Libya’s oil production was 1.2 billion pbd according to Tripoli-based finance minister Faraj Bomtar, and a further increase is expected in the coming days.
Sharara was said to be pumping 270,000 bpd as of March 19.While rising production at Sharara could boost Libyan oil production and revenues, security issues and frequent outages at the field and at other Libyan facilities and ports make market observers and OPEC cautious about predicting supply from the country.
Source: Oilprice.com