The Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa says staff of the corporation would be paid their salaries for the month of January on Friday (January 24, 2020).
The troubled state-owned nuclear corporation has faced numerous financial and operational challenges, including the recent resignation of its remaining former board members, and the possibility of salaries not being paid on time.
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe announced the appointment of a new board on Tuesday, which was roundly welcomed by various industry members, unions and Members of Parliament.
NECSA on Monday said that it was working with the department to ensure salaries would be paid for January.
Spokesperson Nikelwa Tengimfene has told South Africa -based Fin24 that the corporation would be able to pay its staff salaries on Friday and that it was on track to make the necessary payments for employee benefits thereafter.
“Salaries will be paid during the month. Nothing has changed since Monday. But salaries will be paid on time as committed to by the company.
“You pay service providers related to the service that they offer at a different time than you pay salaries. Those payments are only due later in the month and earlier in the following month,” Tengimfene said.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
An Oslo appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by two environmental bodies against the Norwegian government and its granting of new exploration licenses in the Arctic Barents Sea back in 2016.
The case was taken to the appeals court in April 2018 by Greenpeace and Norwegian environmental group Nature & Youth following a ruling by the Oslo District Court in favour of the Norwegian government in January of the same year.
The lawsuit had argued that the new oil licenses awarded in 2016 as part of the country’s 23rd licensing round violated both the Paris Climate Agreement and paragraph 112 of the Norwegian Constitution, which commits the government “to safeguard the people’s right to a clean and healthy environment for future generations.”
Reuters reported on Thursday, January 23, 2020, that the appeals court , in a unanimous decision , had approved Norway’s plans for more oil exploration in the Arctic, dismissing the lawsuit by environmentalists.
Unlike the decision by the Oslo District Court, which found that the use of Norwegian oil by foreign customers was not relevant to the case, the appeals court found that such use abroad should in fact be part of the consideration. However, the argument was not enough for the court to find in favor of the environmentalists, Reuters reported.
Responding to the verdict on Thursday, Greenpeace said that, while the Norwegian Court rightly upheld the Constitution which guarantees everyone’s right to a healthy environment, it did not acknowledge the environmental boundaries breached by awarding 10 oil drilling licenses in the Arctic.
Greenpeace said it would appeal the judgement to the Supreme Court. It is worth noting that the groups’ request to take the case to the Supreme Court, following the ruling by the District Court in 2018, was denied.
“Still, the Court finds that the threshold for invalidating the oil drilling licences is not breached. The co-plaintiffs will appeal the judgement to Supreme Court, as it is clear that this necessitates further review by the judiciary,” said head of Greenpeace Norway Frode Pleym.
Greenpeace also said that the Court of Appeal additionally found that the case raises important principles pertaining to the environment and the living conditions for current and future generations. Thus it has ruled that Greenpeace and Nature and Youth do not need to bear the government’s costs from the District Court nor the Court of Appeal, Greenpeace said.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
British firm Bboxx, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to bring affordable, reliable and clean electricity to about 10 million citizens of DRC by 2024.
The MoU builds on Bboxx’s ongoing work in the country where it has already provided 200,000 people with access to electricity.
The agreement was signed by Eustache Muhanzi Mubembe, DRC’s Minister of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity and Co-founder and COO of Bboxx Laurent Van Houcke at the UK – Africa Investment Summit in London.
In a statement posted on the company’s website, Bboxx was of the view that access to electricity would trigger wider economic growth in the DRC, while helping to advance the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The company continued that delivering reliable, affordable energy (SDG 7), will drive the creation of 100,000 jobs and promote sustained, inclusive economic growth (SDG 8) as well as offset 4m tonnes of CO2e emissions to help combat climate change (SDG 13).
“With the DRC’s growing population, new grid connections are needed each year to keep the electrification rate constant. My ambition is to use decentralised and renewable energy solutions as a foundation to improve the country’s electrification rate from 9% to 30% during my presidency,” President Tshisekedi of DR Congo declared.
On his part, Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and Co-founder of Bboxx, said “It’s very encouraging to see the DRC’s ambitious vision to use the latest technology to improve the country’s energy access and to drive economic development.
“Bboxx has already had a tangible impact in the country and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with the government to continue to transform more lives. This agreement will be the key to unlocking the potential of underserved communities and to ensure a successful socio-economic impact on the Congolese population.”
Bboxx Ltd is a next-generation utility, is a British company that manufactures, distributes and finances decentralised solar powered systems in developing countries.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Police in Tema Region in the Republic of Ghana have begun investigations into the circumstances regarding how a 40- footer container said to be containing substandard electrical cables disappeared from the Tema Port.
The disappearance of the container load of the cables happened about three years ago.
Energynewsafrica.com‘s sources indicated that the owner of the consignment, James Emeka, who became alarmed over the disappearance of the container, accused officials of Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) of being complicit.
Our sources said Mr Emeka and his brother, one John Bosco, thereafter, started to be on the look out for the missing container.
According to John Bosco, who spoke to some journalists in Tema, they had information that a cable dealer at Tema Community 9, had received a container of electrical cables and was selling at a very low price, only for them to dash to the scene to realise that the cables being sold were the products of their consignment which were seized in 2017 by the GSA and handed over to the Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
They, therefore, alerted the police who went to the scene but the owner of the shop, upon seeing the police, bolted.
Police have, since last Saturday, been guarding the shop, with the hope that the owner would return for them to grab him.
Energynewsafrica.com‘s sources indicated that police personnel, in collaboration with officials of the Ghana Standard Authority, have secured a court order and broken the seal of the container and consequently confirmed the content of the container as the missing substandard electrical cables.
Our sources indicate that the container has been conveyed to the regional command for safe keeping while investigations continues.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Tullow Oil has been given a one-year extension for the Second Renewal Exploration Period on PEL 37 license, located offshore Namibia.
Africa Energy, Tullow’s partner in the license, said in an operational update on Monday that the second renewal exploration period for PEL 37 was extended until March 21, 2021.
The company added that several operators in Namibia were planning nearby exploration wells this year which could de-risk PEL 37 prospects.
The PEL 37 covers 17,295 square kilometers in the Walvis Basin offshore Namibia approximately 420 kilometers south of the Angolan-Namibian border. Water depths over PEL 37 range from 400 to 1,500 meters.
Tullow is the operator in the license with a 35 percent interest. Pancontinental Namibia, ONGC Videsh, and Paragon Oil and Gas have 30, 30, and 5 percent stakes, respectively.
It is worth noting that Pancontinental Namibia is owned by Pancontinental Oil and Gas (66.67%) and Africa Energy Corp (33.33%).
Tullow Oil drilled the Cormorant-1 well in the PEL 37 license back in September 2018 using the Ocean Rig Poseidon drilling rig.
The well tested the oil potential of a mid-Cretaceous marine turbidite fan sandstone system. Unfortunately, Tullow encountered only non-commercial amounts of hydrocarbons at the Cormorant-1 well which was later plugged and abandoned.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
French oil major, Total, has announced that it will drill the Luiperd-1 well, located in Block 11B/12B offshore South Africa, in the second quarter of 2020, instead of its initial plan for the first quarter of the year.
Total is the operator and has a 45% interest in Block 11B/12B, while Qatar Petroleum and CNR International have 25% and 20% interests, respectively.
Africa Energy holds 49% of the shares in Main Street 1549 Proprietary Limited, which has a 10% participating interest in Block 11B/12B.
In July 2019, the joint venture entered into a multi-well drilling contract with Odfjell Drilling for the Deepsea Stavanger semi-submersible rig, the same rig that drilled the Brulpadda discovery in February 2019.
The contract value, including compensation for mobilization and demobilization periods, was estimated at being between $145-$190 million plus incentives.
The rig is currently under contract drilling production wells for Aker BP in the North Sea.
After the rig is released by Aker BP, it is expected to spend approximately two weeks at the Semco Maritime shipyard in Bergen, Norway for maintenance and modifications before mobilizing to South Africa, Africa Energy said in an update on Monday.
According to the updated rig release schedule, the Luiperd-1 well is expected to spud in the second quarter of 2020, the company said.
The well was previously planned for the first quarter of the year.
The joint venture plans to keep the rig on Block 11B/12B for almost a full year in order to drill up to three consecutive exploration wells.
Block 11B/12B is located in the Outeniqua Basin 175 kilometers off the southern coast of South Africa. The block covers an area of approximately 19,000 square kilometers with water depths ranging from 200 to 1,800 meters.
The Paddavissie Fairway in the southwest corner of the block includes the Brulpadda oil and gas discovery, as well as several large submarine fan prospects that have been significantly de-risked by the discovery and subsequent 3D seismic work.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Oilfield services provider, Halliburton, has reported a net loss of a whopping $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The company’s revenue also dropped compared to the same period of 2018.
This compares to net income for the third quarter of 2019 of $295 million and net income of $664 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Halliburton’s adjusted net income for the fourth quarter of 2019, excluding impairments and other charges, was $285 million.
The company’s total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019 was $5.2 billion, a decrease from revenue of $5.6 billion in 3Q of 2019, and a decrease from revenues of $5.9 billion in 4Q 2018.
Total revenue for the full year of 2019 was $22.4 billion, a decrease of $1.6 billion, or 7%, from 2018.
Reported operating loss for 2019 was $448 million, compared to a reported operating income of $2.5 billion for 2018. Excluding impairments and other charges, adjusted operating income for 2019 was $2.1 billion, compared to adjusted operating income of $2.7 billion for 2018.
These figures were contained in a statement issued by the company and posted on its website.
Commenting on the company’s performance Chairman, President, and CEO of Halliburton Jeff Miller, said: “I am pleased with how Halliburton executed for the fourth quarter and the full year. We optimized our performance in North America as the market softened, and our international business grew for the second year in a row”.
Jeff Miller, CEO of Halliburton
“We delivered over $900 million of free cash flow for the full year 2019, demonstrating our ability to generate consistent free cash flow throughout different business environments.”
“Our North America revenue decreased 21% sequentially in the fourth quarter and 18% for the full year as a result of reduced customer activity and pricing, and our decision to focus on returns over growth. We took swift actions in the fourth quarter making structural changes to adjust to the current market environment.
“While we expect customer spending in North America to be down again this year, we will continue executing our playbook, implementing our service delivery improvement strategy, and focusing on maximizing our returns”.
He was optimistic that the company would witness a turnaround in 2020.
“In 2020, we expect our international growth to continue. Increased activity, disciplined capital allocation, pricing improvements, and our ability to compete for a larger share of high-margin services should lead to improvement in our international margins in 2020.
“2020 opens a new decade and a new century for Halliburton. We will continue to focus on delivering margin expansion, industry-leading returns and strong free cash flow,” concluded Miller.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Kenya Power has rolled out a countrywide campaign to weed out illegal power connections and curb theft of electricity.
The campaign, which began on 16 January at Imara Daima estate in Nairobi, was jointly conducted by Kenya Power staff and security agencies including the police and Directorate of Criminal Investigations officers.
The crackdown comes about two months after the company rolled out the Know Your Meter initiative that is meant to increase customer satisfaction, ensure public safety and enhance its revenue protection initiatives.
Among the outcomes of the campaign so far is that, while Kenya Power customers are enjoying access to legally connected electricity, other individuals have opted to engage in criminal activities that undermine the quality of power supply such as illegal power.
“Today’s operation is meant to address these vices and mark a new dawn into how we will conduct our business moving forward. Our main focus is to ensure all power connections to our customers are safe and that the power is provided as required by law,” Kenya Power’s MD and CEO, Bernard Ngugi said in a press statement.
He continued: “We will do this through identification of the sources of illegal connections, discontinue these supplies and thereafter install lawful supplies that the customers can enjoy. We will intensify these crackdowns not just in Nairobi but the rest of the country with subsequent rollout of the campaign in all our regions.”
Ngugi highlighted that illegal power connections pose a danger of electrocution not just to the beneficiary but the public at large adding that such present a loophole for revenue loss to the company.
Ngugi also urged Kenyans to follow the right procedure in applying and paying for electricity connection “and desist from any illegal connections”.
“It is a criminal offence to steal electricity, tamper with meters or engage in illegal connections. Illegal connections are also unsafe as they are not subjected to the required standards and may cause harm or fatalities. Additionally, theft and vandalism of electricity supply equipment is an economic crime under the Energy Act with minimum fines Kshs 5 million or imprisonment of 10 years or both on conviction,” he concluded.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
US government has given approval for Chevron and four oilfield service providers to continue working in Venezuela for 90 days despite sanctions on the crisis-stricken country.
The U.S. Treasury Department decision is the fourth waiver granted since sanctions were announced in November 2018 in what is becoming a fraught quarterly ritual for the companies.
The waiver also exempts Baker Hughes Co., Halliburton Co., Schlumberger Ltd. and Weatherford International Ltd. from sanctions.
The waiver was extended to April 22. The previous waiver was due to expire on Jan. 22.
Venezuela’s daily oil production slumped to a 75-year low of 792,000 barrels last year as sanctions crippled the economy and cut off access to U.S. refiners. As a result, the nation’s crude exports that bankroll the regime tumbled to the lowest since 1985.
While Venezuela accounts for only about 1% of Chevron’s global crude production, it remains strategically important given the nation’s vast untapped reserves. Proponents of Chevron’s position argued that withdrawing would cede market share and influence to Russian and Chinese companies.
Chevron is the last remaining major U.S. explorer in the country. Rivals ExxonMobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips exited a decade ago after then-President Hugo Chavez seized control of their assets.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grid Company, Jonathan Amoako-Baah has declared 2020 as a year of growth and dominance in the West African sub-region for the power transmission company.
In a New Year message to staff, the CEO of the power transmission company implored employees to rally together and embrace 2020 with enthusiasm as they seek to maintain stability and efficiency on the grid across the sub-region.
According to him, GRIDCo will seek to drive innovation and creativity in how it operates in order to establish a world class reputation amongst its peers.
Despite some challenges in 2019, GRIDCo was able to ensure consistency and stability in power transmission in Ghana and across the sub-region.
It was also able to expand its services to neighbouring countries in West Africa whiles ensuring reliability for Ghanaians.
The company received two major awards in 2019 including the Power Service Provider of the Year at the Africa Energy Awards in Cape Town.
Challenges emanating from unpaid debt obligations from its bulk customers led to some staff unrest towards the end of the year.
However, this was eventually resolved following fruitful consultative meetings between Management and the staff groups.
The company has also put measures in place to address its current financial situation including strategies to recoup monies from indebted bulk clients within reasonable time.
“I am confident that we are on the right path. Management would want to assure staff that, even with the challenges experienced last year, we will continue to implement measures that will make us competitive, grow new businesses and enhance our use of technology,” Jonathan Amoako-Baah said.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Chamber of Independent Power Producers, Distributors and Bulk Consumers in the Republic of Ghana (CiPDiB) has lauded the German Government for its G20 Africa Initiative, which led to the singing of a €250m deal between GRIDCo and Siemens last week.
Under the agreement, the two companies will work collaboratively to upgrade and extend Ghana’s transmission infrastructure, improve the country’s grid capacity and stability, enable and expand a stable power export to neighbouring countries in the West African Power Pool.
“Access to electricity is an imperative need for the people and business and, thus, for economic success of any economy. As Ghana has significantly invested into generation capacity, there is now an urgent need to build a reliable, affordable and sustainable electrical network for the country and its people. With our proven and unique end-to-end electrification solutions, our expertise and reliability, Siemens can be a technology partner and help the country achieve its objectives,” Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens.
In a press statement copied to energynewsafrica.com, CiPDiB also commended Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo -Addo for the MoU which secured the € 250m in the quest to improve energy infrastructure in the country.
“The decision reflects our persistent call for government to concentrate on cleaning the entire energy infrastructure aimed at reducing the limitations and inefficiencies in the transmission system, and translate the idle or excess capacities into economic uses or development,” CiPDiB said.
It further observed that the attempt to renovate PPAs was strategic and boost to the sector, since it offer a better solution and also paves way for economic demand for power domestically and also in the West African sub-region.
CiPDiB underscored the for similar support to be given to Ghana’s power distribution company, ECG, since the key challenge to its operation is to reduce inefficiencies and the 24 percent technical and commercial losses. Adding that, the sum of these losses were almost equal to cost of the excess or idle capacities in ECG’s operations.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria is set to focus its upstream work towards Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) and natural gas in a bid to comply with the crude production quota obligation set by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+).
This was disclosed by the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Alhaji Mele Kyari at just ended Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi.
He mentioned that the quotas apply only to crude oil production and not condensate and the country would focus production to more gas-based reservoirs to grow production while maintaining a balance in the market.
Nigeria was fully compliant with its quota of 1.77 million barrels per day (bpd) for December 2019 and was commended by The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei at the forum.
According to a report by OPEC, Nigeria’s crude oil production dipped by 95,000 bpd from November 2019 to December 2019.
Production stood at 1.570 million bpd in December 2019 which represents a significant decline from the 1.664 million bpd recorded in November 2019. OPEC’s latest oil market report showed that crude oil production averaged 29.44 million bpd in December, lower by 161,000 bpd, month on month in line with production cuts agreed to.
The UAE has reinstated its readiness to invest in Nigeria’s petroleum sector and to facilitate high-level bilateral opportunities to deepen the cooperation between both countries.
This was reiterated by UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Fahad Al Taffaq, on his visit with the minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, in Abuja. Al Taffaq promised to facilitate opportunities that would see to the creation of new projects in the short, medium and long-term for the benefit of the two countries.
Sylva said that 2020 remained an important year for Nigeria as the federal government proposes marginal field and major bid rounds in the sector, and UAE has the financial strength to fully participate in the process.
Marginal field refers to an oil field that may not produce enough net income to make it worth developing at a given time. However; should technical or economic conditions change, such a field may become a commercially viable field.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
South Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Dams, says it is working on the rollout of public private partnerships to bring power to regional cities, based on the success of its partnership with Ezra Power in Juba.
The city grid became operational in 2019, but the ministry expects that by March 2020 all homes and businesses should have access to power.
“Electricity is a basic need and electricity is the engine of development. If you look into the criteria used to start a development, you will see that electricity is at the top. If we aspire to be like other developing countries, we need to help generate electricity,” Minister of Energy and Dams, Hon. Dr. Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol said during the swearing in ceremony of the new Undersecretary Hon. Macham Mecham Angui.
The ministry has acknowledged the high tariff price of the new power system and is working on reducing it as a priority. The first 100 kW of power is free, to help low income residents.
Former Undersecretary and new Technical Advisor Eng. Lawrence Loku Moyu noted that the government had plans to expand the country’s grid networks, “but these network expansions need human resources to develop; we need new engineers, technicians, to bring these expansions to South Sudan.”
Moyu further highlighted that after gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan had not yet obtained feasibility studies done by the Khartoum government on the power sector. Purchasing these studies and implementing their recommendations is a strategic objective for the ministry.
“The new engineers that we are recruiting will have to study this program from the beginning. Getting these studies and implementing their recommendations is now a priority for us,” he concluded.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s power transmission company, GRIDCo, has attributed Friday afternoon’s power outage to a fault that occurred on one of its transmission lines from Tema to Accra.
In a statement signed by Ebenezer Amankwah, Corporate Communications Manager at GRIDCo, it said the fault resulted in a number generation facilities tripping, leading to outages in Accra and other parts of the country.
“Our Maintenance team responded immediately to restore the affected transmission circuits and power supply has since been fully restored to all parts of the country at approximately 14:30 pm,” the statement indicated.
The power transmitter apologised for the inconvenience the situation caused to power users and assured that it is committed to carrying out its mandate of delivering reliable power supply.
GRIDCo operates the Ghana Wholesale Electricity Market and provides electricity transmission services in Ghana and West Africa.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com 
