Below Is Full Press Statement Issued By Unionised Staff of BOST:Press Statement For Immediate Release Ignore Rumour Mongers Seeking To Destroy BOST Our attention has been drawn to a statement from some faceless individuals circulating on some media platforms that seek to deliberately bring the reputation of the company and that of the Managing Director (MD) and some employees into disrepute in order to satisfy their parochial interest. Inasmuch as we are not in the habit of dignifying every faceless statement with a response, we are moved to respond to this because of the conscious efforts of the faceless people to tarnish the image of the MD. We, Unionised Staff of BOST categorically distance ourselves from the obvious politically orchestrated petitions and statements and also urge Ghanaians to equally treat same with the contempt it deserves. We want to tell Ghanaians that the Managing Director of BOST; George Mensah Okley is one of the most hardworking, result-driven and fair minded Managing Director to have come to BOST and we the Unionized Staff are fully behind him. For starters, it takes a rare breed of individual in Ghana to decide to work with people based on their competence and integrity and not one’s political affiliation. Any right thinking person who has the corporate interest of BOST at heart should applaud Mr. George’s exemplary leadership and not condemn him. Mr. Okley has done his best since he took over as MD of BOST. We believe his achievements deserve mention rather than this desperate attempt by these faceless individuals to tarnish his image. A few of his achievements are as follows: 1. Great advancements in securing funding and technical partners to upgrade BOST depots, restoring integrity in our operations at all BOST depots. We expect that this will raise our HSE to global standards. 2. A better and clearer relationship with the Bulk DISTRIBUTING COMPANIES (BDCs) has been established and this has further business to the company thereby giving the company a competitive edge over competitors. A typical example is the execution of through put agreements with almost all BDCs and collection rate of through put fees has increased from 43% to 96%. 3. Strategically, BOST is currently negotiating the purchase of a Depot in the Western Region with a Ghanaian Bank to free some private interests and to have some presence in that part of the country. 4. The acquisition of the VRA depot as a foundation to the petroleum plans in the Western Region. We are also planning on building an LPG network to support the delivery of government’s cylinder Recirculation Model. The success of the restructuring the company’s debts with the MOF will enable this take off soon. 5. The MD has successfully renegotiated and is at the stage of shipping into the country pipelines to refurbish the existing degraded pipeline between Accra plains depot and our transit depot in Akosombo. The contract has been awarded and the project will start within the next couple of weeks. This is a milestone in the history of the company because these pipelines were locked up in Houston, USA for the past ten years and no previous BOST MD was able to do what he has done within his short stay in office. Under our current MD, BOST seeks to forge strong alliances and build confidence with the Banking and investment community. The good news is that we are well on course to achieve this milestone as well with excellent financial practices and compliance with regulations. Following the above policy direction of the company under the leadership of the MD and his competent Board, it is therefore important that Ghanaians, the government and workers at BOST avoid paying attention to rumour mongers in order to give the hardworking MD the peace of mind to carry out the policy that he has initiated. This will serve BOST and Ghana greatly in the long run. SIGN: Senior Staff Chairman Abdul Rahman Senior Staff Secretary Ekow Sey Local Union Chairman Louis Doe Anku Local Union Secretary Peter Akoma Agyarko
Ignore Rumour Mongers Seeking To Destroy BOST-Workers
The Unionised Workers of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited are urging Ghanaians to disregard what they described as “obvious politically orchestrated petitions and statements” of wrongdoing being issued by some faceless individuals and circulated on media platforms and some print media, to deliberately bring the reputation of the company as well as the Managing Director into disrepute.
According to the unionised workers, those faceless individuals are seeking to satisfy their parochial interest and rather subject the reputation of some of the employees into disgrace.
The vanGuard Newspaper reported on Monday, 2nd April, 2019 that there was uneasy calm at BOST because of certain actions of the Managing Director of BOST George Mensah Okley.
However, a press statement signed by both the Senior Staff and Local Union Staff of BOST insisted that inasmuch as they are not in the habit of dignifying every faceless statement with a response, they are moved to respond to this because of the conscious efforts of the faceless people to tarnish the image of the Managing Director, Mr. George Mensah Okley.
“We want to tell Ghanaians that the Managing Director of BOST; George Mensah Okley is one of the most hardworking, result-driven and fair minded Managing Director to have come to BOST and we the Unionised Staff are fully behind him”, the statement read.
Maduro Fires Electricity Minister After Devastating Blackouts
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro announced that he had replaced the country’s electricity minister amid a string of three nationwide blackouts that sparked protests against the lack of basic services including water supply.
Reuters quoted Maduro as saying the new minister is an electrical engineer.
This, however, is unlikely to help much with the root causes of the crisis, which some observers have attributed to years of underinvestment in power plants and the grid.
Maduro himself blamed the first blackout on the United States, calling it sabotage.
The news about the new appointment follows an announcement from earlier this week that electricity will be rationed for at least a month following the third blackout in a month.
The rationing, Maduro said, will help the authorities deal with the consequences of the power outages.
The blackouts are the latest in a host of woes for the sanction-stricken country.
The first one crippled the already ailing economy and paralyzed Venezuela’s oil industry. So did the second one, which shut down the country’s most important oil export terminal, the port of Jose, temporarily suspending vital shipments of oil amid a shrinking client base.
This may shrink further as reports emerged last week that Washington was pressuring commodity traders to stop buying Venezuelan crude even if the deals were not in violation of the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela.
The country’s oil industry has also suffered from the power outages just when Venezuela needs to export more of its falling production.
The blackouts extended from the port of Jose to the four upgraders that process Venezuela’s super heavy crude into a liquid making it fit for exporting.
According to a recent Reuters survey , Venezuela’s production fell by 150,000 bpd as a result of the blackouts, adding to an ongoing decline resulting from a lack of maintenance and seriously aggravated by the U.S. sanctions targeting Venezuela’s oil industry specifically as the main revenue generator for the Maduro government.
Source: Oilprice.com
(Photos) Peter Amewu tours power projects in Takoradi with journalists
The Ministry of Energy has organized a fact finding trip, to Takoradi in the Western Region with some selected journalists for them to see the ongoing Takoradi -Tema Interconnectivity Gas Project as well as some other projects in the western power enclave.
The trip to the project sites follows the shut down of Atuabo Gas Processing Plant for tie-in works for 12 days, which has resulted in a loss of about 300MW of power from the national grid.
The completion of the tie-in works would pave way for reverse flow of gas from Ghana Gas to Tema.
Critics of the government say the recent power outages are as a result of government’s inability to honour its financial obligation to the Independent Power Producers(IPPs), hence the IPPs inability to procure fuel to keep the plants running.
The sector Minister John-Peter Amewu, who led officials of the Ministry first visited the Amandi power at Aboadze, where 192MW power plant is under construction.
They also visited Takoradi Regulating and Metering Station, where the tie-in works is ongoing and also the Western Naval Base, where preparation work is underway for the relocation of Karpowership.
The team included deputy minister of power Hon. William Owuraku Aidoo, CEO of Ghana Gas Company Dr Ben Asante, CEO of GRIDCo Jonathan Amoako-Baah and CEO of VRA Emmanuel Antwi Darkwa.
Hon. John-Peter Amewu who expressed satisfaction about the progress of work noted that the completion of the tie in would ensure stability in power supply.
CEO of Ghana Gas Dr Ben Asante in a group picture with ENI Engineers
Boaz Lavi, General Manager of Amandi Power
CEO of Ghana Gas, Dr Ben Asante
This is where Karpowership will be situated
CEO of Ghana Gas Dr Ben Asante in a group picture with ENI Engineers
Boaz Lavi, General Manager of Amandi Power
CEO of Ghana Gas, Dr Ben Asante
This is where Karpowership will be situated Eskom bags $180m loan from New Development Bank
New Development Bank (NDB) and Eskom signed a loan agreement for renewable energy integration and transmission augmentation project.
Under the agreement, the NDB will provide a loan with sovereign guarantee to Eskom with an amount of $180 million.
The loan agreement was signed by Xian Zhu, NDB Vice President and Eskom’s Chief Financial Officer Calib Cassim during the 4th Annual Meeting of the New Development Bank in Cape Town, South Africa.
The New Development Bank’s Project Finance Facility (PFF) will be used to support the development of grid connection infrastructure, which is vital for the development of renewable energy projects.
The PFF will also support renewable energy development and reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Modern grid connection infrastructure
The project will integrate a total of 670MW of renewable energy into the Eskom’s grid.
Modern grid connection infrastructure will be used for renewable energy projects and augmentation of the Eskom transmission network to the identified areas.
The project will also help increase electricity supply to the targeted areas for sustainable development.
The project will enhance the country’s capacity for renewable energy while achieving sustainable growth.
It also aligns with the bank’s focus to support projects that aim at developing renewable energy sources.
Zhu said: “We are happy to support this important project that will contribute to the development of grid connection infrastructure in South Africa and support the shift to a more sustainable energy path in the country.
The project is coherent with the bank’s focus on projects that incorporate sustainability from their inception.
“Moreover, we believe that supporting South Africa’s energy sector is fully in line with the Bank’s mandate and our role as a reliable development partner,” he added.
Cassim also commented: “The successful conclusion of this inaugural transaction with NDB will significantly contribute towards driving Eskom’s goals to reduce South Africa’s CO2 emissions.
“Eskom welcomes the support from NDB and we look forward to fostering a valuable partnership with this organization whose mission is to enhance infrastructure for sustainable development in its member countries.”
South Africa Negotiating Refinery with South Sudan
South Africa is negotiating an oil deal with South Sudan, Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said when speaking to the media.
The Minister’s statement follows reports that the country was in talks to construct a refinery in South Sudan.
Radebe said the negotiations with South Sudan were not exclusive and it was also looking at securing deals in other countries like Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.
Reports of a $1-billion refinery deal with South Africa first emerged earlier this year, saying Cape Town had already spent almost $1.4 million on the refinery project.
Radebe and the government were criticized by lawmakers of going about the deal in a secretive way. The Energy Minister dismissed the criticism saying all was “above board” in South Africa’s oil and gas negotiations with South Sudan.Power outages: Enough of the excuses – Buah to government
Emmanuel Armah, Kofi Buah
Former Energy Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah has slammed government’s attempt to downplay the recent power crisis with a series of explanations.
Speaking to reporters Monday on the back of government’s apology to Ghanaians for the recent erratic power cuts in several parts of the country, Kofi Buah urged the government to focus and once and for all deal with the challenges.
According to him, he is as confused as any Ghanaian on the current power instability and that government needs to comprehensively engage the public on the extent of the challenge as well outline steps being taken to address it.
“The people of Ghana, I have learnt are very understanding and will be very clear in their minds when the government levels with them. But I think that the government do not level with the people of Ghana and comprehensively tell the people of Ghana what’s going on, the challenges they are facing.
“But try to basically do ad-hoc announcements and think that when it comes to the energy sector you can simply buy your way on a daily basis, it won’t work because, in the final analysis, the people of Ghana do not want to hear anything else. I have learnt that. Just turn the lights on,” he said.
Meanwhile, at a news conference Monday morning, the Deputy Energy Minister, William Owuraku Aidoo, said enough measures have been put in place to deal with the situation.
“We have enough fuel, contrary that government doesn’t have money and we are mismanaging the energy sector, that is absolute balderdash…in a nutshell all that I am trying to say is that we have taken the necessary steps to reduce to the barest minimum the disruption of power to the country.
“All I will say now on behalf of the Hon. Minister, President, of course, is to apologise to the people of Ghana and to assure you that we are doing all we can to bring the supply of electricity to normalcy.”
We’ll apply sanctions over recent ‘dumsor’ – PURC
Mami Dufie Ofori, Executive Secretary of PURC
The Public utilities regulatory commission(PURC) has served notice it will apply sanctions if anyone or institution is found guilty of the recent power cuts Ghanaians are suffering.
According to the PURC, an investigation is being conducted in the intermittent power supply in several parts of the country and the responsible agencies will have to provide answers.
“It’s rather unfortunate that a series of negative things are happening in the power sector. If PURC realizes that somebody didn’t do something right, the appropriate sanctions will be applied,” spokesperson for the PURC Bawa Munkaila said on Accra based Starr FM. Power cuts have been regular in parts of the country following the takeover of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) by the Power Distribution Services (PDS). PDS has at different times given different reasons for the cause of the power cuts but the problem still persist despite assurances to curb it. Currently, the Bureau of National Investigations and the Police Service are investigating the deliberate destruction of power transmission lines of the Ghana Grid Company in Tema. Some unknown persons reportedly put some corrosive chemicals on the pylon to melt it and later hacked it down. The Energy Minister John Peter Amewu who toured the area described the incident as an act of sabotage to derail government’s efforts to improve power supply.Ghana: Power outages not due to money to buy fuel-Owuraku Aidoo
William Owuraku Aidoo
The Energy Ministry has dismissed claims that government does not have money to procure fuel to power the various power plants, hence the recent power outages.
According to the Ministry, the current government has not mismanaged the energy sector as its critics wants Ghanaians to swallow hook, line and sinker.
Energynewsafrica.com reported over the weekend that Ghanaians should brace themselves up for 12 days of load shedding due to the shut down of Atuabo Gas Processing Plant.
The planned shut down is to enable Ghana Gas complete the final tie-in works under the Takoradi-Tema Interconnection Project.
Consequently, the country lost about 300MW from the national grid.
The situation, apparently, heightened the suspicion of Ghanaians, especially the opposition NDC, who had been claiming that Ghana had returned to the era of load shedding popularly referred to as ‘dumsor’.
Executive Director of Energy Think Thank, Africa Centre Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye speaking on Accra-based Joy FM on Monday, April 1, 2019, also claimed government does not have money to buy fuel and urged government to accept that the country is going to load shedding.
But, at a presser at the Ministry of Energy today, Deputy Minister for Energy in charge of Power, William Owuraku Aidoo described the claim as false.
“The claim that government doesn’t have money is absolutely balderdash,” he stated in a strong word.
Owuraku Aidoo, who admitted that the shutdown of Atuabo Gas Processing Plant would result in interruptions in power supply, however, explained that government has made arrangements for alternative fuel to power the plants.
“We have taken all the necessary steps to reduce interruptions in the power supply. We have enough fuel in TOR tanks and so after this press conference, we will take you there,” he stated.
The Deputy Minister, who apologised to Ghanaians for the interruptions in power supply, urged for calm, noting that the tie-in of Atuabo Gas Pipeline interconnectivity with West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCO) would inure to the benefit of Ghanaians.
The CEO of Ghana Gas, Dr Ben Asante, stated that the completion of the Takoradi-Tema Interconnection Project would benefit the country, as it would transport gas from the Western Region for utilisation in Tema power enclave.
Briefing pressmen and officials of the Ministry of Energy led by Deputy Minister for Power, William Owuraku Aidoo, the MD of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Isaac Osei said his outfit had received fuel deliveries for AKSA and Volta River Authority (VRA).
“We have received 10,500 metric tonnes of argu (diesel ) from Stratcom and Go Energy for Karpowership. We have also received 11,000 metric tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) from Go Energy for AKSA as well as 300,000 barrels of Light Crude Oil(LCO) for VRA,” he explained.
NOC and ENI Sign MoUs
Libya’s state-run oil and gas firm NOC, and Italian major ENI, signed two MoUs on March 25.
The first MoU concerned the establishment of a steering committee to expedite gas production at structures ‘A’ and ‘E’ within maritime concession MN 41 in the Sabratha marine basin.
The steering committee will oversee the timely and transparent implementation of this project, in line with best-practice good governance, and will work to alleviate difficulties facing project implementation. This important strategic project will provide gas to meet both local consumption and export requirements. Once complete, project capacity from both structures will total 760 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The second MoU agrees to jointly fund capacity building programs for industrial security staff at NOC and Mellitah Oil and Gas Company, with workshops focusing on risk assessment and mitigation, crisis management, and comprehensive field inspection procedures.
During the signing ceremony, NOC chief Mustapha Sanalla commented: “ENI is one of NOC’s strategic partners and one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, renowned for its expertise and technological capabilities that we seek to bring to Libya. Our sector is the backbone of the national economy – we should preserve it for future generations. We have to work on developing the sector in order to increase production and fuel development.” Source: petroleumafrica.com
Libya’s state-run oil and gas firm NOC, and Italian major ENI, signed two MoUs on March 25.
The first MoU concerned the establishment of a steering committee to expedite gas production at structures ‘A’ and ‘E’ within maritime concession MN 41 in the Sabratha marine basin.
The steering committee will oversee the timely and transparent implementation of this project, in line with best-practice good governance, and will work to alleviate difficulties facing project implementation. This important strategic project will provide gas to meet both local consumption and export requirements. Once complete, project capacity from both structures will total 760 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The second MoU agrees to jointly fund capacity building programs for industrial security staff at NOC and Mellitah Oil and Gas Company, with workshops focusing on risk assessment and mitigation, crisis management, and comprehensive field inspection procedures.
During the signing ceremony, NOC chief Mustapha Sanalla commented: “ENI is one of NOC’s strategic partners and one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, renowned for its expertise and technological capabilities that we seek to bring to Libya. Our sector is the backbone of the national economy – we should preserve it for future generations. We have to work on developing the sector in order to increase production and fuel development.” Source: petroleumafrica.com
Ghana: We’ve resolved ‘dumsor’-Akufo-Addo
President of Ghana His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo has asserted that his administration has been able to resolve the debilitating power crisis it inherited from the previous government headed by Mr John Dramani Mahama.
He added that his administration is also clearing the $2.4 billion energy sector debts they inherited from the Mahama government.
Consequently, the President said: “Today, we are exporting energy to Burkina Faso, we will begin, again, to Togo,”
The provision of sustainable, reliable power, the President said, is key to the smooth operation of the bauxite, iron and steel industries that are being created by his administration.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with members of the Ghanaian community on Saturday, 30 March 2019 in Worcester, Massachusetts, President Akufo-Addo said the 16th International Monetary Fund (IMF) Programme, entered into by the Mahama government in 2015, should be the last time Ghana resorts to such a progamme for the restoration of fiscal discipline in her economy.
He noted that the 2015 IMF programme had to be entered into because “the Mahama government had lost control over the management of the economy.”
It was, thus, necessary to go through the programme to restore a certain amount of discipline into Ghana’s public finances.
“Even when they left office in 2016, the issue was still at large. But, by discipline, by honest management of our public’s finances, we have brought the situation back to where it should be. So, we have exited the IMF programme,” the President said.
He continued, “What I am saying to Ghanaians, to all of us, is that, in the 62 years of our independence, this was the 16th IMF bailout programme that the nation had gone into. Let it be the last time that we would resort to an IMF programme.”
GE partnership successfully delivers project ahead of schedule
Pakistan’s energy market is set to be enhanced following the successful synchronisation of the first of two supercritical turbines from GE Steam Power at China Power Hub Generation Company’s (CPHGC) new power plant.
According to a statement from GE, the project has been completed three months ahead of schedule.
The 1,320MW plant is located 25 kilometers southwest of the town of Hub, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, and is a joint-venture project between China Power International Holding Limited (CPIH) and Pakistan’s Hub Power Company (HUBCO).
Construction of the CPHGC power plant at Hub began in March 2017 and is expected to begin commercial operation later this year.
The plant is one of the infrastructure ventures supported under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
This development ‘megaproject’ will connect Gwadar Port in southern Pakistan to Xinjiang, China’s northwestern autonomous region, through transportation and energy networks.
The project will support faster socio-economic development by helping to meet the country’s growing energy needs.
It will also help Pakistan diversify its energy mix and reduce dependence on expensive imported fuels, allowing the use of cheaper supplies of coal.
Core power generation equipmentUnder an agreement signed in 2016, GE is supplying the core power generation equipment for the project, which comprises two units each of supercritical boilers, steam turbine and generator sets. The project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors are Northwest Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd. (NWEPDI) and Tianjin Electric Power Construction Company (TEPC). “This is a world-class example of GE’s global engineering, manufacturing and execution teams working closely together along with our customers to beat an already ambitious delivery schedule,” said Andreas Lusch, President & CEO of GE Steam Power. Lusch added: “Reaching this key milestone early required a very high degree of technical, engineering and production coordination between our factories in Wuhan and Beijing, China and Wroclaw, Poland with the highest commitment to quality and on-time delivery for our customers.” Also commenting to the milestone was the CEO of CPHGC, Zhao Yonggang, who noted that: “CPHGC is the first overseas thermal power project developed by State Power Investment Corporation under the Belt & Road Initiative. The 2X660MW Coal-Fired Power Project is a priority project under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. “It is testimony to our strong and close partnership with GE that we managed to reach this point well-ahead of schedule. We look forward to continuing our meaningful partnership with GE that promises to be beneficial for the power sector of Pakistan.” Source: Esi-africa.com
Update: Shut down of Atuabo gas plant won’t affect power supply
Atuabo Gas Processing Plant
Ghana Grid Company is urging Ghanaians to remain calm as measures have been put in place to avert the impact of the shut down of Atuabo Gas Processing Plant.
According to CEO of GRIDCo Jonathan Amoako-Baah, plans have been made to use other sources of fuel to run the plants in place of gas.
The valve of Atuabo Gas Processing plant in the Western Region was closed at 09.25hrs today, Saturday, March 30, 2019, for a 12-day outage to complete the final tie-in works under the Takoradi-Tema Interconnection Project.
Breaking News: Twelve days load shedding begins today
Atuabo Gas Processing Plant
Ghanaians should brace themselves up for a 12-day load shedding due to the shut down of Atuabo Gas Processing Plant for mandatory maintenance, energynewsafrica.com can confirm.
Sources within the power sector told this portal that the valve of Atuabo Gas Processing plant in the Western Region was closed at 09.25h today Saturday March 30 for a 12-day outage to complete the final tie-in works under the Takoradi-Tema Interconnection Project.
As a result of the termination of gas flow from the west, the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has requested a total load reduction of 300MW from 08:00hrs to 18:00hrs.
