Tanzania LNG Talks to Begin in April

Michael Creg Afful
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Tanzania’s Energy Ministry says that talks with foreign operators on the development of its planned LNG facility should conclude in September. Talks are expected to begin early next month.

Construction of an LNG export terminal near huge offshore natural gas discoveries in Tanzania’s deepwater arena have been delayed by regulatory issues for a few years.

“The government has officially decided to begin talks in early April for construction of the LNG project,” Tanzania’s energy ministry said in a statement. “We are keen to implement this key project for the economy and we plan to … conclude the talks in September this year.”

The talks are aimed at negotiating a host government agreement, which is seen as a crucial step towards reaching a FID for the project.

The decision to push talks forward was reached following a meeting on March 22 between the African country’s energy minister, Medard Kalemani, and Mette Ottøy, a senior VP at Equinor.

Equinor, alongside Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Ophir Energy, plan to build a $30 billion onshore LNG plant.

Enel buys GE renewable energy assets to boost capacity

Michael Creg Afful
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Enel buys GE renewable energy assets to boost capacity
General Electric has sold approximately 650MW of renewable energy projects to Italian power giant, Enel.
The assets which have a market value of $900 million, was sold for a comparatively lower $256 million, the company said in a statement. The sale comprises seven projects belonging to joint-venture partners Enel Green Power North America Renewable Energy Partners (EGPNA REP) and General Electric Capital’s Energy Financial Services. The projects involved include assets in Utah, Kansas, Nevada and North Dakota. A small solar facility generating 2.4MW in Vermont was also included in the deal. Enel says the deal will help its consolidated renewable energy capacity in the US as per its strategy. According to Reuters, General Electric was looking to sell its stake in the joint venture to help pay off its $121 billion debt, as of the end of 2018.EGPNA REP could be worth more than $1 billion, sans debt, excluding debt, Reuters said. The EGPNA REP sale means that approximately 1.1 gigawatts of hydroelectric and wind assets are left in the joint venture, as per Enel. If half of this is still owned by General Electric, further disposals may be on the cards. Source:esi-africa.com

Tower Vandalism: Energy Minister suspects sabotage

Michael Creg Afful
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Tower Vandalism: Energy Minister suspects sabotage
Energy Minister, John-Peter Amewu Energy Minister John-Peter Amewu believes the vandalism on the Volta Smelter Transmission tower at the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) may be politically motivated. He said it could be a deliberate attempt to sabotaging government’s efforts of ensuring that there is uninterrupted supply of power to Ghanaians. He described the act as barbaric, uncivilised, unpatriotic and undemocratic on the part of those who did that. Mr Amewu made these remarks when he visited the GRIDCo’s transmission site to inspect the extent of damage of the high tension pylons near the company’s Head Office in Tema. Officials of Ghana Grid Company Limited discovered that one of the pylons near the head office, which transmitted power from Karpower and AKSA to the national grid, had been hacked down. The unfortunate incident is believed to have been carried out in the wee hours of Monday, 25th March, 2019. The Minister noted that some corrosive chemicals had been detected around most of the towers along the lines with the intension of destroying them in future. “It baffles my mind how human beings can do this to our motherland. We can’t be subjecting our own country to this treason. We are working hard just because we want to leave a Ghana that is better for everybody to pride in, so I don’t expect us to be witnessing things of this nature,” he stated. He cautioned persons behind the barbaric act, be it political party members or persons who simply do not want the best for this country and for that matter the government, to get ready to face the full rigors of the law for the unforgivable act. According to him, the police and National Security are investigating the act of lawlessness to ensure that the culprits are brought to book. The Energy Minister assured Ghanaians that the technical team is working to ensure that the impact of the destruction on power supply is minimised. Chief Executive Officer for GRIDCO, Jonathan Amoako-Baah said management would intensify security measures at the site to prevent recurrence of the barbaric acts.

Osagyefo Barge suicide police officer didn’t steal

Michael Creg Afful
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The police in the Western Region have denied reports that the officer who committed suicide was part of the four persons being investigated for theft at the Osagyefo Power Barge at Efassu near Half-Assini. Marine Police officer Sergeant Fuseini Mohammed was on duty at the Barge Sunday with one other when he allegedly shot himself dead with his AK47 riffle. This was after he sent his colleague to buy him a razor blade. A handwritten note found on him read: “I cannot face this disgrace about something I know nothing about”. The note had three numbers, including that of his wife. Reports emerged Monday that the deceased was one of the four persons recently accused of stealing cables, fridges and other valuables from the Barge, but the Police say that cannot be accurate. Western Regional Police Public Relations officer, DSP Olivia Ewurabena Adiku, said they have not yet established what caused Sgt Mohammed to take his life as she ruled out reports that he was being investigated for theft. “Those who were involved [in the theft] are currently on interdiction,” she said, noting that “he [Sgt Mohammed] is not part of those who were involved in that stealing at the Osagye Barge”. She grounded her statement on the fact that once an officer is interdicted, “you hand over all your police accoutrement; you don’t go to work because we are investigating your case and sometimes the idea is that when you’re post you might interfere with investigations” DSP Adiku said if Sgt Mohammed was a part of the officers in the theft case, which is now before the Attorney General’s officer, he would not have been assigned to go on duty on Sunday. “As at now we don’t really know what made him take his life. Police is investigating that aspect,” she said. Meanwhile, she said the body has been deposited at the Police Hospital for autopsy to be conducted. The 125 MW Osagyefo barge is a mounted gas turbine electric power generating station located at Effasu in the Western Region of Ghana. The 77 metre long barge is designed to burn either natural gas or diesel fuel. Source: 3news.com

Tower Vandalism: CID gathers evidence for investigation

Michael Creg Afful
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Investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service have visited the scene where one of GRIDCo’s transmission towers in Tema has been hacked down, to gather evidence. The evidence they picked included a hacksaw the suspects left behind. The incident, which is believed to have occurred around 1am resulted in power interruptions in Greater Accra and Ashanti Region. According to GRIDCo, the damaged tower transmitted power from Karpower, VRA plants and AKSA to the national grid. The incident happened Monday dawn and officials of the Ghana Grid Company discovered it when they reported to work. The incident is likely to affect power supply in most areas in and around Tema. CEO of GRIDCo, Jonathan Amoako-Baah, who confirmed the incident to this portal, said they are shocked as to why someone could do that to the country. He wondered whether those who did that did it so that there would be power outages for the public to talk about it. Mr Amoako-Baah, who expressed worry about the incident, however, said they are reviewing the situation to determine the impact of power supply.

Electrification of vehicles is crucial to fuel economy

Michael Creg Afful
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A new study has found that electrification of light-duty vehicles (LDVs) is going to be crucial to ensure that fuel economy can be effectively improved, especially if diesel shares keep falling. The global average fuel consumption of newly registered LDVs reached 7.2 litres of gasoline-equivalent per 100 kilometres (Lge/100 km) in 2017 within an LDV market where sales have grown by around 10% between 2015 and 2017. This is according to a report issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which builds on a series of Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) working papers investigating the fuel economy of newly registered LDVs across the world from 2005 to 2017. The GFEI is a partnership of the IEA, United Nations Environment Programme, International Transport Forum of the OECD, International Council on Clean Transportation, Institute for Transportation Studies at University of California Davis, and the FIA Foundation. The results are tracked relative to established GFEI targets, which are an intermediate target of 30% improvement of new LDV fuel economy, weighted globally, by 2020, and 50% by 2030. Read more: Who will win the eco-transportation race?
Electrification of vehicles
Electrified vehicles are already contributing positively to improve the country-weighted average fuel consumption by up to 3.5%. Japan experienced the largest gains due having to the largest market share globally for hybrids, followed by the United States with a mix of electrified vehicle types (HEV, BEV, and PHEV). Electrification in China was also very relevant to improve the average fuel economy, thanks to a fast-growing market share for BEVs and PHEVs. Countries that currently have high average fuel consumption values (which typically go hand-in-hand with high shares of large and heavy vehicles) can benefit the most from electrification since electrified vehicle efficiency is less dependent on size and weight.
Policy recommendations
Meeting the 2030 GFEI target at the global level requires a widespread adoption of regulatory policies setting requirements for the improvement of fuel economies over time, combined with fiscal instruments to stimulate consumer demand for the vehicle technologies that offer the best performance. Long-term commitments are important to ensure that the investments necessary to deploy electrification technologies, which are crucial to meeting the GFEI targets in a phase where consumers are losing confidence in diesel, can take place. Tightening the rules governing the measurement of fuel consumption during tests, combined with measures capable of safeguarding on-road compliance, are essential to ensure that all stakeholders take effective action to meet the policy goals.

Energy players call for renewable finance restructure

Michael Creg Afful
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Energy players call for renewable finance restructure
“Meeting the universal electricity access objective within the next decade will require the roll-out of off-grid and mini-grid solutions at scale,” said Daniel Schroth, acting director of renewable energy & energy efficiency at the African Development Bank. Schroth was speaking at the recent Energy Access Investment Forum, which took place from mid-March in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Energy industry stakeholders that attend the forum have called for a restructuring of the financing mechanisms enabling the development of off-grid and mini-grid connectivity in Africa. The event had support from the Alliance for Rural Electrification, GET. invest (formerly the Africa-EU Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme), the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEEE) and UNIDO. Despite Africa’s significant energy resources endowments, over 500 million people on the continent are still without access to electricity. “This forum is certainly an opportunity for investors, project developers and other stakeholders to learn more about upcoming support schemes, innovative products and new business models to accelerate rural electrification and advance the market for decentralised renewable energies,” said Marcus Wiemann, executive director of ARE and the 2019 conference chair. Meanwhile, Mahama Kappiah, executive director of ECREEE, said that lack of adequate project management in Africa’s energy sector is a major drawback to private investments. “The money is not the problem. The way projects in the energy sector are prepared for financing is the problem…we need to address the institutional and regulatory issues in the energy sector so that Africa can attract more private investments,” said Kappiah. Joao Cunha, manager of the renewable energy initiatives division at the AfDB highlighted that the bank has been a strong supporter of Africa’s energy sector. “It’s a top priority…we can see that the sector is evolving as decentralised energy systems are fast expanding with the proliferation of off-grid technologies…so, de-risking investment upfront is key to attracting more investment.”

Breaking News: GRIDCo’s Transmission Tower in Tema hacked down

Michael Creg Afful
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Breaking News: GRIDCo’s Transmission Tower in Tema hacked down
The vandalised tower Reports reaching energynewsafrica.com has it that one of the pylons near the Head office of Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), which is transmitting power from Karpower and AKSA to the national grid, has been hacked down. The incident happened Monday dawn and officials of the Ghana Grid Company discovered it when they reported to work. The incident is likely to affect power supply in most areas in and around Tema. CEO of GRIDCo, Jonathan Amoako-Baah, who confirmed the incident to this portal, said they are shocked as to why someone could do that to the country. He wondered whether those who did that did it so that there would be power outages for the public to talk about it. Mr Amoako-Baah, who expressed worry about the situation, however, said they are reviewing the situation to determine the impact of power supply. Items retrieved from the scene included a hacksaw. Director for Systems Control at GRIDCo Mark Baah is stunned about the incident, said: “A human being deliberately cut it. It’s unbelievable. I haven’t seen anything like this.”

Marine police officer shoots himself at Osagyefo Power Barge

Michael Creg Afful
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Marine police officer shoots himself at Osagyefo Power Barge
The deceased A Marine Police officer has reportedly shot himself dead at Osagyefo Power Barge at Efassu near Half-Assini in the Western Region. The police officer whose name is not immediately known, is said to have left a note before taking his own life. “I can’t take this disgrace, something I don’t know anything about”, the note read. The note, according to sources, contain the contact of his ‘wife’ and other two phone numbers. The cause of his death is not immediately known, but it is believed to be linked to a case in which four police officers have been interdicted for stealing cables, fridges and other valuables from the Osagyefo Power Barge. The Osagyefo Barge is a 125 MW barge-mounted gas turbine electric power generating station located at Effasu in the Western Region of Ghana. The 77m long barge is equipped with a pair of single-cycle heavy-duty gas turbine units built by Ansaldo that have a combined generating capacity of 125 MW. It is designed to burn either natural gas or diesel fuel. The 125 MW power barge was ordered by the Ghanaian government in 1995 with financial assistance from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan. It was intended to generate electricity from natural gas obtained from offshore production fields. The project development called for 450 MW of combined cycle power barges to belated in a man-made lagoon. The barge was built in Italy at Navalmare Yard, completed in 1999, and delivered to Ghana in October 2002. It was then moored at the Sekondi Naval Base in Sekondi until 2005, when it was moved to Effasu after the completion of dredging necessary to allow it to enter the harbour there.

Venezuela National Assembly Votes For Ban On Oil Shipments to Cuba

Michael Creg Afful
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Venezuela National Assembly Votes For Ban On Oil Shipments to Cuba
The opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela this week voted to suspend crude oil shipments to Cuba after its president, Juan Guaido, slammed these exports as “funding dark purposes” in a tweet from Sunday. The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that Guaido’s proposal was voted for unanimously and took immediate effect. However, it remains to be seen whether it will take actual effect as the Maduro government still seems to be in charge of PDVSA, the troubled national oil company. Last week, Guaido tweeted that Venezuela was sending around 47,000 bpd of crude to Cuba and these were worth US$2.58 million that would be better used at home. “Venezuela needs more than ever to leverage its resources, rather than fund dark purposes. For years, Cuba’s interference was allowed, justifying with an ideological brotherhood that was nothing more than giving away our oil,” the self-declared interim president of Venezuela said when Venezuela was struck by a large-scale power outage. Venezuela is Cuba’s largest oil supplier under a barter deal sealed by the late leaders of the two countries, Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. The deal envisaged Cuba getting regular shipments of crude in exchange for its highly trained doctors and other professionals to work in Venezuela. At one point during this partnership, Cuba was receiving more than 100,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude, an analysis by Oliver Pieper for Deutsche Welle said. Now, however, this is probably down by a half as Venezuela struggles to keep its fields producing. Even so, Venezuelan crude is an important part of Cuba’s energy mix and its elimination from this mix would almost certainly lead to power outages for Cuba as well. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Guaido’s National Assembly cannot stop Venezuelan shipments of crude to Cuba unless the U.S., which was quick to recognize the opposition leader as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, imposed more sanctions, targeting shipping and insurance companies involved in Venezuela crude oil exports to the island.

Baru Reveals Algeria Pipeline Plans

Michael Creg Afful
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Nigeria is considering taking its planned northern corridor gas supply pipeline further north. Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), the state-run oil and gas firm, plans to amend its pipeline plans to extend it into Algeria.

Maikanti Baru, head of NNPC, told members of PETAN that in furtherance of NNPC’s African integration drive, it was considering extending the ongoing Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline system across the Sahara to Algeria. NNPC indicated more than six months ago that it was working with a Chinese consortium to finalize the term sheet for financing of the 614-km, AKK pipeline project estimated to cost $2.8 billion.

Baru also revealed that the government plans to extend the WAGP to Morocco, reaffirming the government’s plan to the WAGP to Morocco, and commended PETAN for its contribution to the development of the Nigerian petroleum industry.

The NNPC chief confirmed the company was making progress in its search for oil in the northern part of the country, adding that the Kolmani River-II well, which spud last month, has recorded a drilling progress of 6,700 ft. According to a statement, Baru made the disclosures when he received an award from executives of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN). The statement signed by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, quoted Baru as saying that the target of the corporation for the Kolmani River drill was 14,200 ft, even as he added that the depth could be longer, depending on findings

Zuma says nuclear could’ve solved load shedding

Michael Creg Afful
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South Africa’s former President Mr. Jacob Zuma, whose administration has been blamed for the power outages his country is experiencing, has said the power crisis could have been averted if only the country had built nuclear reactors. In an interview with Business Day on Friday, Zuma said the costly nuclear build programme he supported during his presidency could have “solved our problems, once and for all”. Zuma, who resigned as president in mid-February 2018, said the Russians would have been the most trustworthy country to carry out the project, because of their support in the struggle against apartheid. Proposals to build a second nuclear power station, with an estimated cost to the economy of around R1trn, were criticised as unaffordable during Zuma’s term. The DA Public Enterprises spokesperson, Natasha Mazzone, said on Friday that a nuclear build would be an “impossibility” given the current state of the economy. “Our country is in a much worse economic position that we were a few years ago, we simply cannot afford nuclear. Instead, we need to diversify our energy mix by bringing renewable energy to the grid,” said Mazzone. Zuma’s spokesperson Vukile Mathabela did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday. ‘If we went for nuclear’ The president, however, told Business Day he is convinced nuclear is the right way to go. “We are going to pay trillions of rand because of the problems of energy….but if we went for nuclear, we will be out of spending trillions for a shorter amount of time and we’ll make more trillions,” he told the newspaper. South Africans has been experiencing rolling blackouts for the past week as Eskom grapples with a shortage of available capacity. According to Eskom, the shortages have been caused by a lack of diesel supplies, scheduled and unscheduled outages at generation units, and the devastating effect of a cyclone that hit Mozambique on transmission lines. “The fact of the matter is nuclear could solve our problems, once and for all.” “Now we are in deep [trouble], we are therefore increasing the debt of the country with no hope to bring it down. That is the problem,” said Zuma. A High Court in 2017 halted the country’s nuclear ambition, ruling that the procurement processes was unlawful, following an application by environmental activists. The court quashed the government’s attempts to secure 9.6 GW of nuclear power, including the initial determination to procure nuclear energy in 2013, the cooperation agreements signed with Russia, the US and South Korea, as well as former energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson’s decision to hand over the procurement of nuclear energy to Eskom in 2016. “Russia carried the biggest load in supporting us. So we cannot, when we are now free, forget about people who were our friends at the time of need,” Zuma told Business Day. While nuclear still forms part of SA’s energy mix, there are currently no plans to move forward with procuring new nuclear-powered reactors. In July 2018, at a BRICS meeting in Johannesburg, President Cyril Ramaphosa told Russian President Vladimir Putin that South Africa could not afford new nuclear reactors.

PURC Gets New Office In Sunyani

Michael Creg Afful
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The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has opened its seventh regional office in Sunyani, capital of the Bono region which is also expected to serve Ahafo and the Bono East regions. This forms part of the corporate policy of PURC to get closer to consumers and utility providers; and offer swift and effective services to the public. The new regional office will also monitor the activities and services of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) and the Ghana Water Company Limited at their various District and Areas offices to ensure that they provide high-quality services to their consumers. Until the opening of the office in Sunyani, the Ashanti regional office of the commission was in charge of the then Brong Ahafo region, which is now made up three regions namely; Bono, Bono East, and the Ahafo. PURC was set up as a multi-sectorial regulator by the Government of Ghana in October 1997 under the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act, 1997 (Act 538) as part of the utility sector reform to regulate the provision of utility services in the electricity and water sectors. By virtue of the Energy Commission Act, 1997 (Act 541) PURC also has regulatory responsibility overcharges for transportation of natural gas services. Inaugurating the Sunyani office, the Director for Regional Operations at the PURC, Alhaji Abukari Jabaru said the new office will be responsible for handling consumer complaints, adding that “seeking redress for unresolved complaints made to utility providers will now be a thing of the past.” He gave the assurance that the Commission’s staff would be ever ready to welcome concerns and grievances of consumers and make conscious efforts at resolving them amicably and also at no cost to the complainant. “The Commission’s able staff would gladly listen to your issues brought before them and resolve your electricity and water complaints together with the utilities amicably and free of charge”, he stated. Alhaji Jabaru also announced plans by the PURC to undertake public education campaigns to sensitize members of the public about their right and responsibilities with regards to the provision of electricity and water as well as the other services of the commission. According to him, “this will enable consumers to demand the right services from the utilities and also understand the need for consumers to pay their bills promptly.” The Executive Secretary of PURC, Mrs. Mami Dufie Ofori assured the public of the Commission’s resolve and commitment to always put the interest of the consumer at heart in the discharge of their duties. She called on the public to develop a good relationship with the staff of the commission and also have faith in them because they are there to serve their interest. The Sunyani Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr. Samuel Gyimah noted that it was heart-warming to have a PURC office in Sunyani, adding that this would give consumers easy access to their services.

Premix fuel diversion has ceased in Volta Region – Deputy Regional Minister-Designate

Michael Creg Afful
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Deputy Minister-Designate for Volta Region, Johnson Avuletey, has stated that his region, for some time now, records zero incidence of Premix fuel diversion. Prior to this development, fishermen across the country have been complaining over the lack of access to premix fuel which generated public uproar. This resulted in a joint action by stakeholders to review all premix fuel outlets in the country as well as shut down those that fall short of standard requirements Meanwhile, Mr Avuletey told Parliament’s Appointment committee on Wednesday that the steady supply of premix fuel to landing beach committees has gone great lengths to reverse the perennial challenge of shortages and diversion of the fuel, which has been a lively threat to the fisheries sector. ‘’I can say that diversion is no more going on. I don’t think so. The landing beach members are members of the regional monitoring committee at the same time. They serve as watch men on each other so the minister sometimes goes on field to check whether the right things are been put in place’’, he asserted He added, when given the mandate to serve as Deputy Minister, he would strive to propel the fisheries sector to greater heights in the region. The Deputy Minister-Designate went on further to note that patrons should not be complacent with the level of sanity achieved so far as there is more work to be done in bringing President Akufo-Addo’s dream of a sanitized premix fuel distribution system to fruition in the Volta region. Mr. Avuletey appeared before the appointments committee Wednesday March 20, 2019 to be vetted for the position of Deputy Regional Minister.
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