ExxonMobil May Land Itself In Hot Water Over Iraqi Exit
Iraq’s Basra Provincial Council is calling on the Iraqi government to take ExxonMobil to task over its decision to evacuate its engineers from its West Qurna oilfield in the Basra province.
Although the council said that Exxon’s evacuation did not disrupt overall production in Basra, Anwar Mudalal, a member of the Council, said that “the Minister of Oil, however, should take legal procedures against the company because it has violated its contract with Iraq,” according to basnews.
Mudalal added that most of the oilfields in Basra are managed by Iraqi officers, and not foreign personnel, thus its resilience to the shocks of a major player such as Exxon pulling its engineering staff out of country—an action that Iraq’s Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban claimed was “unacceptable and unjustified.”
ExxonMobil began to evacuate its engineers working on Iraq’s West Qurna 1 field a couple of weeks ago after the United States ordered the evacuation of all non-essential government employees from Iraq citing security concerns, warning that the US embassy in Iraq would suspend visa services and would have a “limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in Iraq.”
Despite Exxon’s untimely departure, Iraq promised just days later that it would raise the oil production from its giant West Qurna 1 field by as much as 50,000 barrels per day.
Currently, the West Qurna 1 oil field pumps around 440,000 bpd. Iraq’s plan is to increase that production to 490,000 bpd.
The news that Exxon was beginning to remove some engineering personnel from the country came at a rather delicate time as Iraq, PetroChina, and ExxonMobil were rumored to be close to signing a $53-billion oil deal that would create a $400 billion windfall for Iraq over the 30-year period of the deal.
Source: Oilprice.com
Ghana: PURC Resolves PDS-Krobo Residents Impasse Over Electricity Bills
Mami Dufie Ofori, Executive Secretary of PURC
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced that it has succeeded in resolving the impasse between the Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited and some residents of the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo traditional areas over their alleged outrageous electricity bills.
According to the Commission, it received a formal complaint from the Member of Parliament for Lower Manya Krobo, Hon. Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, following clashes between police and the residents who were resisting disconnection exercise being carried out by staff of PDS.
The Commission said it quickly called for a settlement meeting between the two parties as part of the steps in its complaints resolution process.
A statement issued and copied to energynewsafrica.com explained that the Commission played a mediation role between the two parties and finally resolved the complaint with the following road map towards amicable settlement.
(i) PDS should ease their stand and suspend the disconnection exercise for now.
(ii)The MP and Assembly Members who represented the people at the meeting asserted that, the residents have agreed to settle their outstanding bills and will continue to pay subsequent bills as and when they fall due.
(iii) PDS has agreed to reschedule the debts of customers for a payment period of at least six (6) months based on the merit of each individual case.
(iv) Customers who owe should at least start making some payments to show commitment for reconnection and rescheduling of their bills, while PDS also consult with senior management and move in to restore power to all affected areas.
FULL STATEMENT
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Friday, May 24, 2019 successfully mediated and settled the impasse between the Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited and some Residents of the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo traditional areas.
The Commission upon receipt of a formal complaint from the Member of Parliament for the Lower Manya Krobo, Hon. Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, quickly called for a settlement meeting between the two parties as part of the steps in its complaints resolution process.
The meeting was attended by the complainants (the MP and some Assembly Members of Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly), the PDS represented by the Regional General Manager and Selected staff of the Tema Region and the PURC represented by the Greater Accra Regional Office.
The Commission played a mediation role between the two parties and finally resolved the complaint with the following roadmap towards amicable settlement.
PDS should ease their stand and suspend the disconnection exercise for now.
The MP and Assembly Members who represented the people at the meeting asserted that, the residents have agreed to settle their outstanding bills and will continue to pay subsequent bills as and when they fall due.
PDS has agreed to reschedule the debts of customers for a payment period of at least six (6) months based on the merit of each individual case.
The MP, Assembly Members, Chiefs and Opinion leaders should take the necessary steps to create a peaceful and enabling environment within the area for PDS staff to have access to customers’ meters to pick current readings in order to generate the actual bills for them.
Customers who owe should at least start making some payments to show commitment for reconnection and rescheduling of their bills, while PDS also consult with senior management and move in to restore power to all affected areas.
Aside the District Office, PDS is to set up an ad hoc customer service center in the Krobo land to aid in the quick resolution of these cases.
Customers who have billing issues are to visit PDS for redress and debt rescheduling plans based on individual cases and merit.
Prior to the settlement meeting, PDS had already rescinded the 70% upfront payment before reconnection for customers whose debts are overdue and would therefore reschedule the debts for a minimum of six months based on individual cases and merit.
Also, PDS has cleansed the customer data using the CMS software to arrive at the outstanding debt of about GHs 84 million instead of GHs 195 million within the affected communities. This reduction was not a waiver but a correction of the bulk and estimated bills.
The Commission will therefore monitor closely the implementation of this roadmap and will facilitate further meetings if the need be to ensure that these issues are fully resolved.
The PURC is committed in resolving issues between the regulated utilities and customers.
The general public is therefore encouraged to promptly report all misunderstandings with electricity and water service provision in their areas to PURC for an amicable resolution.
Ghana: Energy Minister Backs Krobo Residents Protest Against Alleged Over Billing
Minister of Energy for the Republic of Ghana, John-Peter Amewu, says residents of Kroboland in the Eastern Region, were justified in protesting what he described as outrageous electricity bills they had been receiving from the Power Distribution Services Ghana Limited.
“I support the people of Krobo Odumase 100% for demanding their rights because I will not tolerate such nonsense,” he stated.
Mr. Amewu made the statement on Monday when he visited the family of the little boy who lost his life when some residents of Odumase clashed with the police last Wednesday over attempts to stop staff of PDS from disconnecting their homes from the national grid.
The 14 year-old Thomas Partey was hit by stray bullet after security officers fired shots to dispel the crowd.
Condoling with the family of the deceased teenager, Mr. Amewu described the development as “totally uncalled for”.
“If you are billing somebody on a wrong meter, of course, you [consumers] have every justification to demand the right thing to be done.
“I have seen it [bill], the bill is not working and you have given me money to pay and I have every right to query the authorities that are responsible,” he held the view of the residents.
Why PDS was brought in
He stressed that it is situations like the Odumase incident that compelled the government to introduce PDS improve service delivery in the power sector.
“We brought in PDS to change the system [so] if they are not able to change the system we as well as ask them to leave. We are not bringing them into this system to continue to add to the existing malpractice and nonsense that we have [in the system], that is not the reason why we brought them,” he stressed.
He pledged government’s support for the bereaved family towards the funeral and burial of the teenager and assured his determination to ensure justice is served to the family.
“Government will unveil the issue that brought about the issue resulting in the death of the 14-year-old [and] will interrogate the perpetrators and bring them to book,” he said.
The 14 year-old Thomas Partey was hit by stray bullet after security officers fired shots to dispel the crowd.
Condoling with the family of the deceased teenager, Mr. Amewu described the development as “totally uncalled for”.
“If you are billing somebody on a wrong meter, of course, you [consumers] have every justification to demand the right thing to be done.
“I have seen it [bill], the bill is not working and you have given me money to pay and I have every right to query the authorities that are responsible,” he held the view of the residents.
Why PDS was brought in
He stressed that it is situations like the Odumase incident that compelled the government to introduce PDS improve service delivery in the power sector.
“We brought in PDS to change the system [so] if they are not able to change the system we as well as ask them to leave. We are not bringing them into this system to continue to add to the existing malpractice and nonsense that we have [in the system], that is not the reason why we brought them,” he stressed.
He pledged government’s support for the bereaved family towards the funeral and burial of the teenager and assured his determination to ensure justice is served to the family.
“Government will unveil the issue that brought about the issue resulting in the death of the 14-year-old [and] will interrogate the perpetrators and bring them to book,” he said.
Senegal: Turbines For Largest Wind Farm Arrives At Dakar Port
Wind turbines and components for the largest wind power project in the West African country, Senegal, has arrived at Port Autonome de Dakar.
The wind turbines will be transported by road for delivery of generation equipment for Senegal’s Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye (PETN) wind farm project.
Privately-owned UK renewable power company Lekela expects the wind farm, located in Taiba Ndiaye, about 100km from Senegal’s capital Dakar, to reach 158.7MW by 2020.
Once constructed, the wind farm will consist of 46 Vestas wind turbines that can produce 3.45MW each. They will utilise a 117 metre tubular steel tower and have blade length of 61.7 metre, giving a large swept area of 12,469m2.
According to Lekela, these diameters allow the wind turbines to maximise the amount of energy captured from the wind. The project is recorded as the largest such project in West Africa that will supply nearly a sixth of Senegal’s power generation.
President Macky Sall is keen to make Senegal a leader in renewables in Africa, with a 30% target for clean energy in the coming years, of which this project will provide half, reported Reuters. A smaller solar project underway aims to produce 30MW.
“On the environmental level, Senegal has never had a project on this scale,” said Massaer Cisse, Lekela’s Senegal head. “This farm will avoid…300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.”
The 200 billion CFA franc ($342 million) farm will be roughly half financed by Lekela, and the other half split between US-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Danish export credit company EKF.
Renewables currently make up a tiny portion of Africa’s power generation, but several projects aim to increase that share. South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia are all developing industrial-scale wind farms.
On Thursday [23 May], the unassembled parts of the 46 white wind turbines were delivered to the Dakar port, ready to be shipped to the 40-hectare farm.
According to Cisse, as part of the project, young locals will be trained in electrical engineering and computer science to help with Senegal’s chronic unemployment.
“This plant is the result of a fruitful partnership between Senelec and Lekela”, said Pape Mademba Bitèye, General Manager of Senelec.
“This partnership was made possible thanks to the support of the State of Senegal and local authorities, which enabled us to remove all the constraints related to this type of project, notably by facilitating the provision of land and the necessary guarantees. We are delighted by this form of multipartite collaboration between Senelec, the developers and the local community and look forward to the commissioning of the first phase towards the end of 2019,” concluded Bitèye. Source: esi-africa.com
Venezuela: PDVSA Tankers To Be Detained For Lack Of Payment
Three PDVSA tankers that are late with payments to German operator Bernhard Schulte Ship management (BSM) are being detained, according to Reuters sources, as BSM gives up on waiting for payments while conducting business as usual with floundering state-run PDVSA.
BSM operates almost half of PDVSA’s fleet of tankers, and has made a move to “arrest” three tankers due to the outstanding debt PDVSA has amassed.
BSM and PDVSA have a troubled past, as PDVSA struggles to pay its bills while oil production and exports fall to new lows each month.
In March, BSM announced that it was removing its crews from 10 of these tankers due to a lack of payment, adding that it would return the tankers.
PDV Marina—PDVSA’s shipping subsidiary—had declared an emergency following the announcement, saying it did not have the staff to accept the return of the 10 tankers.
The amount of outstanding debt at that time was at least $15 million, according to Reuters.
Three other tankers remained anchored in Portugal and Curacao while other financial disputes with PDVSA came to light, and BSM abandoned two vessels in Portugal after the staff had been onboard for 20 months.
Mid-March, BSM said it was considering scrapping its agreement with PDVSA entirely as of the end of March or in April due to the sanctions levied against PDVSA. What’s more, BSM said, the political situation in Venezuela made it “an almost impossible task” to manage PDVSA’s assets.
Following that announcement, another ship management firm, US-based McQuilling, announced in March as well that it would end its contracts with PDVSA due to the US Sanctions.
The three tankers BSM arrested are the Arita in Singapore, and the Parnaso and the Rio Arauca in Portugal, according to Reuters.
Source: Oilprice.com
Transparency Is Expensive But It Pays – GNPC
Mr. Dennis Baidoo
The Marketing Manager of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr Dennis Baidoo has said that transparency, although is expensive, it had made the Corporation vibrant in its operations.
“The biggest lesson learnt over the years by the GNPC in marketing the nation’s crude oil is that transparency is very expensive but it really pays,’’ he said.
“You have to spend a lot of time and do a lot of work to be transparent, but it really pays. Why? When you are transparent it improves your credibility.”
Mr. Baidoo said this in a presentation at a Stakeholders Forum on Crude Oil and Natural Gas Marketing in Accra, organized by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) with support from the GNPC.
It was to develop the capacity of stakeholders and afford them the opportunity to discuss the extent to which crude oil and gas marketing strategy, both locally and internationally, affects realized prices and accrued revenues.
The Forum aided key government agencies to acquire better understanding of the process of crude oil and natural gas marketing by both the GNPC and the international oil companies to boost their regulatory and revenue administration functions.
Speaking on the topic: “Crude Oil and Gas Marketing – GNPC’s Roles and Experiences,” Mr. Baidoo said the Corporation needed to collaborate more with its stakeholders to build their operational confidence and reduce the negative press.
He said most often, due to lack of knowledge, some of their stakeholders made unpalatable statements about their activities.
He called for more latitude for national oil companies across the value chain for an efficient paying/disbursement arrangement.
On challenges facing the Corporation, Mr. Baidoo said: “In line with the Government’s policy of local content (participation), we wished we would have as many local buyers as possible. But unfortunately, it has always been a challenge. The local buyers don’t have the full capacity to stand alone to buy our barrels.”
“There were instances that they partnered with some foreign partners, and when it came to payment, they couldn’t really maintain the forefront, they have to relegate their positions to the international oil trading company to handle that.”
“So, we feel really very bad about it. We want our local buyers to really get the forefront in line with our local content policy.”
Unfortunately, the delays in getting their share of the petroleum revenues were impacting on their credibility because they needed the funds to pay for their equity financing, he said.
“Also we have lifting or operation challenges, the weather is not always our friend. Sometimes the weather is bad that we have to suspend berthing vessels or loading vessels.”
“And occasionally we have some buyers falsifying some documents for the vessel…. A couple of weeks ago, a buyer falsified the vessel documents and it resulted in delaying the loading for three good days,” he said.
He said the world was fast changing, hence, the need to amend the crude oil agreement from time to time.
Dr Steve Manteaw, the Chairman of the PIAC, appealed to the Government to desist from using the nation’s petroleum resources as collateral for loans.
PDS Denies Waiving GHC100m Electricity Bills For Krobos
Ing. Joseph Mensah Forson, Tema Regional Manager of PDS
The Power Distribution Services Ghana Limited has refuted media reports suggesting that it has waived about GH¢100m for the agitating residents of Kroboland in the Eastern Region.
According to the Tema Regional Manager of PDS, Ing Joseph Mensah Forson, it is not true that his outfit has given Krobos a waiver, thus urging the public to disregard the claims.
Some online portals reported yesterday that PDS had waived GHc111,099,875 for residents of Krobo-Odumase in the Eastern Region, leaving them with GH¢84,625,624.87 to settle.
The report said as a sign of commitment to have power back, the residents were expected to make a payment from Friday.
Customers who are unable to pay one off can go to PDS for debt rescheduling plan, the media report said.
According the online portals, these were part of the roadmap to peace and PDS reconnecting the Odumase community to the national grid.
But responding to the news item, Ing. Joseph Mensah Forson, however, explained that what PDS said was that it had cleansed its data and not that they had offered waiver to the Krobos.
In his view, the media misinterpreted the cleaning of its data to mean a waiver, stressing that it was not correct.
Ing. Joseph Forson, last Thursday, mentioned that residents of the Krobo area owed PDS to the tune of GHc84 million.
The debt, he said, had risen to GHc90 million because of current happenings in the area which has prevented those who are willing to pay from doing so.
The debt was as a result of residents refusal to pay for their electricity bills since 2017, over claims that Ghana’s first President, the late Dr Kwame Nkrumah promised their ancestors that they would enjoy free electricity because of Akosombo Dam is situated on their land.
Some of the residents also alleged over-billing, hence their refusal to pay what they owed the state.
In a bid to recover their revenue, therefore, PDS, according to Ing. Joseph Forson, began what it described as intensive revenue mobilisation about two weeks ago in the area.
Unfortunately, residents of Kpongunor resisted the staff of PDS by mounting roads to the town.
This compelled the PDS staff to retreat to their offices, but before they left, they put off all the transformers supplying them power.
The situation, however, got worse on Wednesday when residents of Odumase allegedly attempted to attack the MCE of the area, as well as the Traditional Council for allegedly failing to esnure that their demands were met by PDS.
The police fired gun shots leaving, one person dead with others sustaining gun wounds.
And as part of efforts to find lasting solution to the current impasse between the power distributor and the residents, PURC, which is the utilities regulator, met with the parties and came out with modalities for the payment of all outstanding bills.
In an interview with energynewsafrica.com, Public Relations Officer for PURC, Bawa Munkaila also stated categorically that PDS had not given any waiver to the people in the Krobo area.
Below is the road map after a meeting yesterday
Seadrill Sees Increased Contracting Activity In Deepwater Market
Offshore drilling contractor,Seadrill, has posted a quarterly loss but it says it sees improvement in deepwater drilling contracting activity.
The company has also revealed it has secured more work for its rigs. Seadrill on Thursday posted a net loss $296 million, on total operating revenues of $302 million for the first quarter of the year, compared to previous year’s loss of $203 million.
The numbers look better when compared to the previous quarter (4Q 2018) where Seadrill had posted a net loss of $360 million on Total operating revenues of $292 million.
The company has also revealed it has secured new contracts. Namely, Seadrill’s West Telesto jack-up was awarded a six-firm plus two option well contract in Malaysia with an unnamed customer.
The total backlog is approximately $17 million with the start scheduled for June 2019.
Also, West Carina drillship was awarded a one well contract with Petronas in Brunei adding total backlog of approximately $8 million.
The contract award included mobilization revenue of $1.8 million. The West Carina, built in 2014, is the 6th generation ultra-deepwater drillship. It expected to start work in Brunei in direct continuation of its existing contract with Petronas in Malaysia.
Seadrill has also said that the West Gemini drillship would stay busy with ENI in Angola for a bit longer.
“The West Gemini will complete an additional well in Angola keeping the rig employed into June 2019 adding approximately $6 million in backlog,” Seadrill said.
Furthermore, Seadrill has said that the contracts for the eight jack-ups with Dalian shipyard “have now all been canceled and we have no remaining newbuild commitments.”
Anton Dibowitz, CEO, commented: “We continue to see increased contracting activity in the deepwater market, in many instances with improved contract terms such as mobilization payments and certain capex being paid for by the customer. While the spot market for short term work remains competitive, we are starting to see improvements in rates for longer-term work.
To remind, Seadrill has recently entered into agreements in Qatar and Angola which should see up to eight of its rigs employed.
In February, Seadrill established a 50:50 joint venture with Sonangol called Sonadrill, to operate four drillships, focusing on opportunities in Angolan waters. Each of the joint venture parties will bareboat two drillships into Sonadrill and Seadrill will manage and operate all the units.
“We continue to work with Sonangol to secure contracts for these units,” Seadrill said without disclosing which rigs Seadrill will contribute to the JV.
Also, as recently reported, Qatar Petroleum has awarded 6 drilling contracts to Gulf Drilling International Ltd (GDI) in connection with its North Field expansion project. Seadrill has an existing Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA) with GDI under which one rig is currently operating in Qatar. The Company is working with GDI to finalize an agreement to provide up to 5 additional Jack-up rigs under the terms of the SCA.
“We believe this is an attractive opportunity that will further strengthen the relationship between the parties and positions us well for future work in Qatar,” Seadrill said.
Source: offshoreenergytoday.com
SA: Eskom CEO Resigns Due To ‘unimaginable Demands’
Phakamani Hadebe, CEO of Eskom
Chief Executive Officer of South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, Phakamani Hadebe has announced his sudden resignation due to what he described as ‘unimaginable demands’ which is impacting on his health.
Hadebe will officially leave Eskom at the end of July 2019.
“It is no secret that this role comes with unimaginable demands which have unfortunately had a negative impact on my health. In the best interests of Eskom and my family, I have therefore decided to step down,” said Hadebe in a statement issued by Eskom on Friday night.
“I am humbled and grateful to have contributed towards the stability for an organization that is critical for our economy. I am particularly grateful to the board, the EXCO, and all our employees for their resilience and support during this journey.”
According to Eskom chair Jabu Mabuza, Hadebe has been instrumental in driving stability at Eskom during a very challenging period at the organisation.
“We have learnt to depend on his resilience to drive the kind of transformation that South Africa expects of our organisation. Appreciating the toll that this takes on an individual, we have had to, with regret, accept his decision,” said Mabuza.
The Eskom board said it is grateful to Hadebe for his commitment to ensuring leadership stability as a critical factor in the successful implementation of Eskom’s “strategy to deliver on both our commercial and developmental mandate and as such will be engaging with him over the coming two weeks to ensure continuity and a steady transition”.
Hadebe served in senior management positions in both the private and public sectors.
Most recently he was CEO Corporate and Investment banking at Barclays Africa.
Prior to that, he was the CEO of the Land and Agricultural Bank, a state-owned enterprise which he managed to turn around to operate profitably over five years during his tenure.
Hadebe spent most of his career at National Treasury.
In his role as Head of Assets and Liabilities division within National Treasury, from 2003-2008, he was responsible for government debt management and sovereign risk management and National Treasury’s oversight of all state-owned enterprises.
Source: esi-africa.com
GHC86m Lost Over Non-payment Of Bills In Lower Manya Krobo – PDS
Power Distribution Services (PDS) has revealed that it has lost about GHc86 million in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality over the non-payment of bills by customers in the last five years.
PDS’ concerns come amid the unrest in the municipality as it engages in a mass disconnection exercise.
The Tema Regional General Manager of the PDS, Joseph Mensah Forson, highlighted some of PDS’ financial challenges whilst accusing controversial group, the United Krobo Foundation of fuelling the agitations against its mass disconnection exercise.
“These actions by the customers in the district have caused the company serious challenges in its commercial activities and in effect, its finances and operations. Counting back from 2014 up to 2019, we are talking about close to GHc 86 million.”
Mr. Forson also discounted claims of overbilling as alleged by power consumers in the Kroboland explaining that they are merely accumulated Bills from over the years.
“The bills that they are talking about and they say they are overbilling; it is not overbilling per se. It is the terminologies that they are getting wrong,” he remarked.
According to him, their meters were installed by the Ministry of Energy and “by the time that we were made aware to make sure we capture these customers, probably they may have enjoyed electricity for a year, two or three years.”
“So when you get that a year, two or three years bill… it is as a result of the residual years that the meters were not captured. That is what they actually project as overbilling,” Mr. Forson added.
The unrest over the disconnection exercise has led to at least one death, many injuries and the arrest of 35 persons.
About 100 security personnel have been deployed to the district to curb rioting that went on for days.
The person who died was hit by a stray bullet during an attack on a police team providing protection at the Municipal Assembly Office on Wednesday afternoon.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfuor, has charged security personnel deployed to the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality to arrest members of the United Krobo Foundation accused of fueling violence.
Source:citinewsroom.com
Tullow Ghana Pays First Dividend In Four Years
Tullow Plc has announced the payment of US$67 million as dividend to its shareholders for the year 2018 — the first time in four years.
The company also announced a new dividend policy which will allow it to pay a dividend of US$100 million annually to shareholders.
Chief Executive of Tullow Group, Paul McDade said the decision to pay dividend is as a result of the company’s strong financial performance despite oil price volatility.
“We suspended the dividend but over the last few years, we have worked very hard to get the company working very well and very profitable. And when we got to the end of 2018, we decided that we were back in very good financial health and therefore we could reinstate the dividend,” he explained.
Tullow Oil’s total revenue for 2018 was US$1.9 billion dollars. It recorded US$85 million as profit after tax. Tullow operates two blocks in Ghana, Jubilee and Ten. The company currently produces 100,000 barrels of oil from the Jubilee field and 70,000 barrels from the TEN field.
The Company also expressed confidence in winning the bid to explore some more oil from one of the new blocks being offered by the government.
Tullow, ENI and Vitol are bidding for block three which is one out of the three blocks government has put up for competitive bidding.
Managing Director of Tullow Ghana and Executive Vice President of Tullow Group, Mr Kweku Awotwe Andoh said: “We have a 50/50 chance but it all depends on how the government evaluates its bid. We think we have been quite aggressive in our bid. Some of it is that we have been here a long time, we know the area very well, and so we have a big programme that expects us to drill wells almost immediately.”
Tullow also announced plans to spend US$250 million to boost its operations in Ghana in 2019. The company said funds will be spent predominantly on the drilling of wells.
Kenya To Export First Crude Shipment In June
Kenya is expected to export its first shipment of crude sometime in June, according to the East African country’s Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes.
Munyes said so far Tullow Oil has transported 87,000 barrels of crude oil from Lokichar to Mombasa’s Kenya Oil Refineries Limited tanks for storage.
The country will only be able to make its first crude oil shipment after hitting the 200,000-barrel mark.
While speaking at the official opening of the 9th East Africa Petroleum Conference at Pride Inn Hotel Mombasa, Munyes said Kenya is poised to become a huge crude oil exporter.
“By June this year, we hope the oil that we have been trucking from Lokichar to Mombasa will hit the 200,000 barrels. We’ll have the 200,000 barrels getting into vessel, ready for shipment,” said Munyes.
Ethiopia Secures Grant To Roll-Out Hydropower Projects
The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank, has recently approved a $995,000 grant to support the roll-out of a sustainable procurement framework for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in Ethiopia.
The SEFA grant is aimed at encouraging private investments into hydropower projects through Ethiopia’s Renewable Energy Programme.
It will strengthen the government’s capacity to undertake bankability and technical analysis including feasibility assessments of projects in the hydro priority pipeline.
The grant also provides for environmental and social impact assessments, resettlements action plans, and preparation of bidding documents for hydro projects.
“A well-structured procurement framework is crucial in mobilising the investments necessary to achieve universal energy access in Africa,” said Wale Shonibare, the Bank’s acting Vice-President for power, energy, climate change and green growth.
“The SEFA programme will boost private IPPs participation, and spur investments into the Ethiopian hydro power sector. The programme also complements the assistance provided by the Bank’s Institutional IPP/PPP Support Project, as well as the Bank-financed Mekele-Dallol and Semera-Afdera Power Supply for Industrial Development and Access Scale-up Project”, Shonibare added.
Untapped renewable energy potential
Ethiopia has a vast but untapped renewable energy potential.
Under a long-term development strategy, the government has outlined a National Electrification Programme (NEP), targeting universal access by 2025 through a 65% on-grid, and 35% off grid combination.
The goal is to transform the country into a regional energy hub by 2030.
Group Blames MP For Lower Krobo For Impasse Between PDS And Residents Over Electricity Bills
For immediate Release:
Blame Hon. OKLETEY TERLABI for the impasse that ensued between the youth of Kroboland PDS officials and the Ghana Police
The Concern Youth of Kroboland has watched with keen interest the various commentaries on the current electricity bill issues between the good people of Manya krobo, the Power Distribution Service (PDS) and the Ghana Police Service. The most observed comments which have been become a concern to us as a group is that of the Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Okletey Terlabi. His commentaries and posture in the media have come as a surprise to many of us and we deem it fit to set the records straight in order to send a strong warning to opportunistic politicians whose aim is to capitalise on our plight to exploit our intelligence.
Whilst effort is being made by respected advocacy groups and other stakeholders in Kroboland to engage the PDS to relook at our bills and correct the anomalies, the Concern Youth of Kroboland wishes to state UNEQUIVOCALLY FOR THE RECORDS that the honourable MP did nothing to help solve the issues of anomalies on the electricity bills when these issues were raised in the year 2014 till date. In fact, he always goes into *hibernation* when citizens raise that issue. Therefore it is surprising that all of a sudden he has metamorphosed from that *“laissez faire”* leadership style to the kind he is portraying lately when this issue heightened again. His antics to shift leadership blame to others whiles he has the opportunity as the MP and *REPRESENTATIVE* of the people to file questions in parliament or engage the relevant bodies to demand answers since 2014 can never be grossed over.
For the records, we want the good people of Ghana and Manya Krobo to know that he has stimulated these problems that have engulfed us through a pressure group called *UNITED KROBO FOUNDATION.* This group has been used as the vehicle to pollute the minds of the good people of Manya Krobo to disregard a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between PDS and advocacy groups on several consultative and dialogue meetings held with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) now PDS, on the roadmap to solve this issues permanently. It is of public knowledge that he is the major financier of the said group led by one *Teye Kwao Kasim popularly known as ALHAJI.* A lifetime patron conferred on him by the leadership of the said group and they were able to mention the amount so far spent by the MP to finance their activities on public platforms mounted by them.
Honestly, what we are seeing now though upsetting but is no surprise to us in retrospect because we have an MP who is only interested in how to crush and subtly defame leaders of the land in order to lead. It is very disappointing, to say the least, the tangent on which the honourable MP wants his followers to emulate him. Our advice to him is not to use every given opportunity, to be running down good initiatives in Manya Krobo merely to realise his narrow, parochial and partisan interest. That is alien to Krobo culture.
We urge him to emulate the sincerity and the accuracy put out by his colleague MP for Yilo Krobo honourable Magnus Kofi Amoatey with regards to these electricity bill issues in the Krobo areas.
To end, we call on all youth leaders in Kroboland to calm down their followers, unite and reengage PDS and other stakeholders to resurrect the MoU signed earlier in 2018 and implement the agreed roadmap to forestall peace and stability that the Kroboland is noted for. We also urge the Ghana Police and PDS officials to also be professional and customer care oriented towards the people they serve.
Thank you.
_Signed:_
1. Daniel Sackitey
*(Convener) 0208881254*
2. Felix Batsa Akweteh
*(Organizer) 0246135670*
3. Alfredi Mamle Augustina
*(Women Commissioner) 0244316594*