Chevron appears to be laying the groundwork to leave Venezuela in the event that the U.S. declines to extend a waiver allowing it to continue operating in the country, Bloomberg has reported.
Over the past year, the San Ramon, California-based company updated some of its contracts with partners in the South American country to allow for the possibility of early termination, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Under the new terms, Chevron would incur no penalties for early termination and all payments due would be prorated up to the date of notification.
The new provisions come as the U.S. continues tightening sanctions against Venezuela in a bid to oust President Nicolas Maduro. Chevron, the last American company producing oil in the country, faces the October 25 expiration of a special waiver allowing it do business there. Some of Chevron’s long-term contracts were updated at the end of 2018, while other agreements were modified after the company obtained the sanctions waiver in July.
Chevron spokesman Ray Fohr said the company is hopeful that its license to operate will be renewed in October. “We are a positive presence in the country,” he said by email to Bloomberg. “Our focus is maintaining the safety of the operations and supporting the more than 8,000 people who work with us as well as their families.”
Nosedive
If the U.S. government declines to extend Chevron’s waiver, the decision would put an end to the oil major’s 100-year history in the country, a story that started in the 1920s and survived a number of military coups and civil unrest. While ExxonMobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips pulled out of Venezuela, Chevron reaffirmed its commitment to the country.
The company has applied its expertise in extracting heavy oil from California oil fields to its projects in South America and over the years has expanded its footprint by building a facility to pre-process sludgy Venezuelan oil into refinery-ready grades.
Chevron warned in August that developments in the crisis-torn South American nation could hurt its earnings.
“Future events related to the company’s activities in Venezuela may result in significant impacts on the company’s results of operation in future periods,” Chevron said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The language had evolved from the company’s previous quarterly filing, when it said developments in the country could lead to “increased business disruption and volatility in the associated financial results.”
Chevron has about 330 direct employees in Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the company affairs. Venezuela accounted for only 1% of the company’s global crude oil output in 2018, or 42,000 bpd. The Petroboscan and Petropiar ventures are currently active, while the Petroindependencia and Petroindependiente projects are shut amid lack of parts and a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
Norwegian engineering company, Aker Solutions has launched its Intelligent Subsea offering designed to accelerate field development and maximize performance.
The industry has standardized, simplified, and reduced the size of equipment in recent years, but a further step-change is needed to drive a sustainable future for the subsea industry and the world it serves, Aker Solutions said in a report filed by offshoreenergytoday.com on Tuesday.
With Aker Solutions’ intelligent subsea approach, the time it takes to generate optimal subsea field layouts can be cut by 75 percent and the cost of field development capex can be halved, the company said.
Accelerated field development is achieved by combining Aker Solutions’ modular, optimized and configurable subsea equipment with automated design which can reduce engineering hours by up to 70 percent, Aker Solutions added.
Intelligent Subsea addresses the current and future needs of subsea production by combining three core value propositions: Adopting an integrated approach to field design where both the subsea and topside systems are optimized and concepts can be rapidly developed with the aid of advanced digital tools; Standardized and digitally-enabled products that can be rapidly configured to customers’ needs and are delivered with accelerated timelines – reducing the time to first production; Maximized life of field performance with enhanced recovery and extend field life enabled by condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and simplified system enhancement as the field matures.
“Digitalization of our work process and new applications are transforming field design, radically accelerating development and delivering actionable insight to maximize performance through the life of a field,” Aker Solutions Chief Executive Officer Luis Araujo reportedly said.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Houston-based W&T Offshore has closed the purchase of ExxonMobil’s interests in and operatorship of oil and gas producing properties in the eastern region of the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Alabama, and related onshore and offshore facilities and pipelines.
According to Offshoreenergytoday.com, W&T Offshore entered into a purchase and sale agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire its interests in the Gulf of Mexico assets for $200 million in June 2019.
After taking into account customary closing adjustments and an effective date of January 1, 2019, cash consideration paid by W&T was $167.6 million which includes a previously-funded $10 million deposit, W&T said on Tuesday.
The company added that the acquisition was funded by cash on hand and borrowings on its previously-undrawn revolving bank credit facility. W&T will also assume asset retirement obligations associated with these assets.
The deal includes working interests in nine GOM offshore producing fields and an onshore treatment facility that are adjacent to existing properties owned and operated by W&T.
The transaction adds net proved reserves of approximately 74 million barrels of oil equivalent (Boe) of which 99% are proved developed producing and 22% are liquids estimated as of the effective date.
The acquired properties produced approximately 19,800 net Boe per day (25% liquids) in the first quarter of 2019.
In addition, the company announced it is the apparent high bidder on two shallow water blocks in the GOM Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region-wide Oil and Gas Lease Sales 253 held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on August 21, 2019.
The two shallow water blocks, Ship Shoal 332 and 367, cover approximately 10,300 acres and, if awarded, the company will pay approximately $0.3 million for the awarded leases, which reflects a 100% working interest in the acreage and a royalty rate of 12.5%. The blocks have a five-year lease term and are in close proximity to current W&T acreage.
Tracy W. Krohn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased to have closed our purchase of free cash flow positive, producing properties in the GOM from ExxonMobil exactly as scheduled. These low-decline assets add significant reserves and production to our portfolio and are adjacent to our current operations. This provides us the opportunity to recognize increased scale, rationalize operations and capture cost efficiencies to further grow cash flow.
“In addition, we remain active in seeking other new GOM opportunities through our participation in the BOEM lease sale earlier this month where we were named apparent high bidders on two shallow water blocks. We will continue to focus on maximizing value through accretive acquisitions, organic growth and operational excellence.”
Halliburton Company, an oil and gas services provider, has given $100,000 grants to eight non-profit organisations in its Asia Pacific operational region in honour of the company’s 100th anniversary.
Each of the organisations received $10,000, according to a statement posted on the company’s website.
The HAL100 grant recipients for the Asia Pacific region include the following organisations whose given goals align with the Halliburton Pillars of Giving: STEM-related education, environment, health and safety, and social service: CRY – Child Rights and You-India, MyKasih Foundation-Malaysia, Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, Australian Red Cross of Australia, Habitat for Humanity of Indonesia, The People’s Association of Singapore, Migrant Children’s Foundation of China and Baan Songkhla Orphanage of Thailand.
Additionally, in honour of the company’s anniversary, Halliburton employees in Thailand and Malaysia collected more than $10,000 USD to support Lan Krabue Hospital in Thailand and Petronita in Malaysia.
The company is giving $10,000 grants to 100 non-profit organisations globally in the rest of 2019.
Founded in 1919, Halliburton is celebrating its 100th year anniversary with the stakeholders-employees, customers and local communities- who helped the company reach this historic milestone.
“The Halliburton spirit of giving started with our founder Erle P. Halliburton, who, long ago, established our company’s commitment to honouring the communities where we live and work,” Sid Whyte, who is Halliburton’s Asia Pacific Region Senior Vice President, said.
“We are happy to continue his legacy and contribute to non-profit organisations whose work contribute greatly to those in our region’s key operating areas.”
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
It is long past time that we made energy work for Africa. It is past time that Africa’s natural resources benefited Africans; that every African had access to electricity; and that the wealth created by oil and gas would lead to the sustainable development of African economies.
Certainly, much needs to be done to make these dreams a reality, and the continent’s top leaders in the energy industry will gather in Cape Town on October 9-11 in Africa Oil & Power 2019 (https://www.AOP2019.com) to drive the conversation forward and #MakeEnergyWork.
Thankfully, success stories and opportunities abound.
The incredible story of Senegal, for example, stands as a roadmap on creating a transparent government; building the needed infrastructure to support future development; creating an attractive regulatory framework to bring in much-needed FID and new investment; and for using the oil and gas sector to spur new growth. The country, led by H.E. Macky Sall, the President of the Republic of Senegal, has seen tremendous growth in the last decade, consistently ranking in the top ten fastest-growing economies in the world. Government reforms, led by Sall, have improved Senegal’s image both domestically and abroad, encouraging a string of new investment in oil and gas, electricity, roads, fisheries and tourism.
The outlook for the country’s oil and gas sector, led by Sall, is bullish, with two of the world’s most-watched projects — SNE oilfield and the Great Tortue/Ahmeyim gas project — moving forward. Both are expected to start producing export revenues in the early 2020s.
H.E. Sall, winner of the prestigious “Africa Oil Man of the Year” award during the 2019 Africa Oil & Power conference, has certainly provided Africans with a strong example of leadership and cooperation. We are honored to recognize and support H.E. Sall’s achievements and continued efforts at Africa Oil & Power.
At Atlas-Oranto, we are proud to be leading pioneers in the sustainable development of Africa’s energy sector, ensuring growth in countries like South Sudan, where we are honored to operate Block B3; in Equatorial Guinea where we operate Block I and in Nigeria, where we operate OML109. In total, Atlas-Oranto is active in 11 countries in Africa and we are committed to working with the governments and communities of these countries to ensure our operations meet the highest standards of energy development. In Equatorial Guinea, for example, we are currently investing $350 million into the country’s gas monetization and backfill project.
At Atlas-Oranto — Africa’s largest privately-held, Africa-focused exploration and production group — we have faith in Africans, and we invest heavily in frontier markets so that the continent as a whole can continue to grow. We know first-hand what it takes to get new investments off the ground and how to grow small-to-medium enterprises. It takes boots on the ground, as well as understanding and coordination with our brothers and sisters around the world.
Indeed, with new investment opportunities on the horizon and a new drive to cooperate across borders, now is the time to spur this sustainable growth in Africa with energy as the catalyst.
At Africa Oil & Power 2019, many of these opportunities will be featured, including the ongoing licensing rounds in Equatorial Guinea and Angola; the launch of the South Sudan licensing round; and more.
For three days, over 1,200 of Africa’s foremost thought leaders, industry experts, private sector executives and government officials will gather together to discuss the incredible role of technology in Africa’s energy sector; the rise of renewables; the incredible upstream opportunities from South Africa to Senegal and the need for cooperation.
Let’s get busy and #MakeEnergyWork.
Exxon Mobil is poised to drop out of the S&P 500 Index’s 10 biggest companies for the first time since the index’s inception some 90 years ago, the consummation of a long-term trend of tech titans replacing industrial giants in the top ranks of U.S. stock market.
Visa replaced Exxon as the 10th biggest member of the index by weighting on Aug. 1 and two weeks later Procter & Gamble Co. also overtook the oil giant, worldoil.com is reporting making reference to a data compiled by Bloomberg.
S&P Dow Jones Indices will likely confirm the move when it publishes its month-end weightings Saturday.
New Low
“The oil sector has gone from being the leader of the world economy to a laggard,” said Tom Sanzillo, director of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, who traces Exxon’s presence in the S&P top 10 back to the 1920s.
The growth of technology giants like Facebook, Amazon.com and Microsoft over the past decade coincided with the shale revolution that created an abundance of oil globally, weighing on energy companies. Exxon, once the gold standard in Big Oil, also has made some missteps: betting on Russia just before the country was slapped with sanctions and plowing money into U.S. natural gas in 2010 as prices collapsed.
With many investors betting on a post-hydrocarbon world, energy faces a battle to stay relevant to generalist investors. The sector makes up just 4.4% of the S&P 500 Index compared with 11.7% a decade ago.
A petroleum consumer advocacy group in the Republic of Ghana, Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), is angry with government following the about 3.7% increment in fuel prices Monday.
Some of the leading Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) across the West African country have increased pump prices due to a directive from the petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA), based on the Supplementary Budget presented in parliament by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, on Monday, August 29, 2019.
A litre of petrol, which, hitherto, sold at Gh¢5.19, has shot up to Ghc5.39, representing a 3.7% jump in previous figures at the pumps.
A statement signed by the executive secretary of COPEC Mr Duncan Amoah and copied to energynewsafrica.com said: “We believe this move at increasing fuel taxes is nothing but ill-timed, ill-advised and completely insensitive as its repercussions on the country and the people will far outweigh any benefits anticipated thereof from this needless increases.”
The statement called on government to block all the needless avenues being employed currently by the fuel smuggling syndicates in order to realised its revenue targets rather than burdening Ghanaians with taxes.
“We are, hereby, demanding without delay, an immediate reversal and withdrawal of this recent hikes in order to make way for further dialogue on the current fuel price build-up with the view to reversing the recent unfortunate trend of persistent increases, as it is serving no good aside putting lives and businesses across the country on the edge,” the statement said.
Below is the full statement
Some of the leading Oil Marketing Companies ( OMCs ) across the country have increased pump prices effective yesterday 1st of September 2019.
Pump prices have shot up from the previous Ghc 5.19/litre to about Ghc 5.39/litre representing a 3.7% jump in previous figures at the pumps.
Several calls on Government over the past year to review the over burdening taxes on the petroleum price build-up has not been heeded to till date, with the excuse of Government having no control over pump prices due to the price deregulation programme currently in force.
In a rather bizarre twist however, the Finance Minister contrary to public expectation of a downward review of the crippling taxes on the petroleum price build-up, has rather through the 2019 midyear budget review increased the already choking levels of fuel taxes leading to this current increases Ghanaians are seeing at the pumps now.
We would want to appeal to the Government to be sensitive to the plight of the Ghanaian, especially drivers and all other petroleum users as most are already complaining gravely, about the already high incidence of fuel prices across pumps.
It is our considered view that, the revenue Government so desires to raise for which it is further increasing fuel taxes and by extension the hardships on Ghanaians can easily be realised from the blocking of all the needless avenues being employed currently by the fuel smuggling syndicate.
Fuel smuggling accounts for over 17% of all fuel sold within the country currently and what this implies is that Government loses close to 1/5 of all petroleum taxes and revenues as may be due it to this fuel smuggling cartel.
Ghana is known to have lost in excess of over Ghc 4 billion over the last 3 year period, thus rendering the argument of government seeking to rake in some ghc 400 million for the remaining of 2019 and Ghc 1.4 billion for the whole of 2020 with the increment in taxes completely unjustifiable.
Whiles pump prices in Ghana continue to be higher than most countries across the sub region, the attendant problems fuel price increments bring cannot be overstated aside the general hardships and economic downturns such increases portends to eveything and everyone within the country.
We believe this move at increasing fuel taxes is nothing but ill timed, ill advised and completely insensitive as its repercussions on the country and the people will far outweigh any benefits anticipated thereof from this needless increases.
We are hereby demanding without delay, an immediate reversal and withdrawal of this recent hikes in order to make way for further dialogue on the current fuel price build-up with the view to reversing the recent unfortunate trend of persistent increases, as it is serving no good aside putting lives and businesses across the country on the edge.
Signed
Duncan Amoah
Executive Secretary
Copec-Ghana
Indigenous Ghanaian conglomerate, McDan Group, is planning to venture into the US petroleum upstream industry by establishing an office in Houston, Texas, energynewsafrica.com can report.
This portal can confirm that McDan Group has been issued with a certificate to operate under the name McDan Group LLC by the State of Texas.
Information available to energynewsafrica.com indicates that McDan Group LLC has satisfied all the conditions for the setting up of an upstream business and was issued with certificate of formation (No. 90652845002) by Jose A. Esparza, Deputy Secretary of State of Texas on August 16, 2019.
“The undersigned, as Deputy of the Secretary of State of Texas, hereby certifies that a Certificate of Formation for the above named Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) received in this office has been found to conform to the application provisions of law.
“Accordingly, the undersigned, as Deputy Secretary of State and by virtue of the authority vested in the secretary by law, hereby issues this certificate evidencing filing effective on the date shown below.”
McDan Group LLC is expected to start work, following the issuance of certificate of operation.
McDan Group has a number of businesses under the group including McDan Shipping Company, which was established in November 1999 with headquarter in Accra, Ghana, and branches in Tema, Takoradi, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Equatorial Guinea.
The company has presence in over 2,400 major air and sea ports worldwide with partnership with WCA (World Cargo Alliance) and JC Trans.
Over the years, the company has expanded its services from customs brokerage to freight forwarding, which includes warehousing (bonded and non-bonded), diplomatic movements, removal services (household and corporate), courier services, hauling, project cargo movement, ground handling, heavy duty movement, cross border transportation and aviation cargo experts.
The company is the first and only freight forwarding company to obtain the air carrier license in handling chartered cargo flights in Ghana, and is currently the Cargo Sales Agent (CSA) for Ethiopian Airlines with worldwide connection.
An energy think tank in the Republic of Ghana, Institute for Energy Security (IES), is predicting a considerable rise in the price of LPG on the local market.
In addition, the Institute said it expects the prices of petrol and diesel at the pumps to remain stable.
“This can be attributed to international market variables on the local pump,” the Institute said in its first Pricing-window for September 2019.
“It is evident that whereas Gasoline and Gasoil fell by 4.2% and 1.17% respectively, LPG increased by 14.5%, plus a 0.9% depreciation of the local currency,” it added.
Below is the full StatementPETROL, DIESEL PRICES TO REMAIN STABLE; LPG TO SHOOT UP REVIEW OF AUGUST 2019 SECOND PRICING-WINDOW Local Fuel Market Performance
Prices of Petrol and Diesel have experienced relative stability over the past couple of weeks in line with oil market fundamentals. The second Pricing-window of August 2019 saw fuel prices remain unchanged at the pump.
The window also saw a review of Bulk Oil Distributors’ (BDCs) Forward FX rate (FuFeX) from 60 days to 30 days. Average price for both Gasoline (Petrol) and Gasoil (Diesel) stood Ghc5.12 across major Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). According to IES Market-Scan, Benab Oil, Pacific Oil, Frimps Oil and Star Oil sold the least-priced fuel relative to other OMCs on the local market.
World Oil Market Prices
In terms of world market pricing, average Brent crude fell by 2.15%, due mainly to mixed sentiments and reaction to the escalating tensions between the U.S. and China over trade.
Trump escalated the trade war with an announcement of tariffs on additional $300 billion imports earlier this month. Beijing reacted this last week with new tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, including a 5% tariff on crude oil imports beginning next week. As a result, average Brent crude price fell from $60.68 per barrel to $59.37 per barrel.
According to Standard and Poor’s Global Platts benchmark for fuels, Gasoil average price dropped by 1.17% to close trading at $561.68 per metric ton, from a previous price of $568.30 per metric ton. Gasoline also reduced by 4.2% to close trading at $605 per metric ton from a previous trading figure of $631.53 per metric ton. Whereas Gasoline and Gasoil saw price reductions, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) price shot up by 14.5% by Platts assessment.
Local Forex and Fuel Stock
IES economic data shows the local currency experienced a marginal depreciation of 0.09% against the Dollar over the past two weeks. The dollar currently trades at GHc5.49 as against Ghc5.44 in the previous Pricing-windows.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Tullow Oil plc says it has been informed that its farm-down to Total and CNOOC has been terminated by the government of Uganda on August 29, 2019 following the expiry of the Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs).
Tullow was unable to secure a further extension of the SPAs with its Joint Venture Partners, despite previous extensions to the SPAs having been agreed by all parties.
The termination of this transaction was a result of being unable to agree all aspects of the tax treatment of the transaction with the Government of Uganda which was a condition to completing the SPAs.
While Tullow’s capital gains tax position had been agreed as per the Group’s disclosure in its 2018 Full Year Results, the Ugandan Revenue Authority and the Joint Venture Partners could not agree on the availability of tax relief for the consideration to be paid by Total and CNOOC as buyers.
Tullow would now initiate a new sales process to reduce its 33.33% Operated stake in the Lake Albert project which has over 1.5 billion barrels of discovered recoverable resources and is expected to produce over 230,000 bopd at peak production.
The Joint Venture Partners had been targeting a Final Investment Decision for the Uganda development by the end of 2019, but the termination of this transaction is likely to lead to further delay.
“Tullow has worked tirelessly over the last two and a half years to complete this farm down which was structured to re-invest the proceeds in Uganda. Whilst this is a very attractive low-cost development project, we remain committed to reducing our operated equity stake. It is disappointing to report this news at a time when we are making so much progress elsewhere towards the growth of the Group with our recent oil discovery in Guyana and the first export of oil from Kenya,” Paul McDade, CEO of Tullow Oil stated.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria’s National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Chairman, Prof. James A. Momoh believes if the power crisis currently being faced by the West African nation is solved, it will lead to about 50% of the country’s problem automatically resolved.
“Solving energy challenges in Nigeria is solving about 50% of the nation’s problem,” he argued.
In his view, when the power challenges are resolved, they would boost economic growth, thereby, resulting in job creation for the teeming youth.
Prof. James A. Momoh stated these in a presentation during the just ended IEEE Power Africa Conference held in Abuja, Nigeria.
With a population of about 190 million, recent Nigerian Energy Policy report indicated that less than 50% out of the total population is connected to the grid supply, leaving the majority of the population without electricity.
Nigeria is endowed with large oil, gas, hydro and solar resource, and it already has the potential to generate 12,522 megawatts (MW) of electric power from existing plants, most days are only able to generate around 4,000 MW, which is insufficient.
Pof. James A. Momoh(right) in a chat with a participant after presenting a paper at the IEEE Power Africa Conference held in Abuja
So, on a fundamental level, there is simply not enough electricity generated to support the entire population. Although this is a very big challenge, it provides ample opportunities for professional, researchers and investors.
In his presentation, Prof. Momoh enumerated a number of interventions which were intended to reform Nigeria’s power sector.
However, these reforms, Prof. Momoh noted, have not been without implementation challenges.
He mentioned the labour, transaction costs relating to coordinating optimal investment across generation, transmission and distribution, stakeholder buy-in, managing expectations on performance, assessment of affordability especially for the vulnerable customers, designing of appropriate incentives, as well as conflicting roles of policy regulations and operation, as some of implementation challenges.
Regulatory Interventions to sector challenges
The presentation also touched on a number of regulatory interventions which are aimed at addressing challenges within the power sector of Nigeria’s economy.
Some of these interventions are ensuring that market contracts are effective, ensure that payments are made on time through FG interventions, enforcement of GSA and GTA contracts, discipline in the electricity market by enforcing the market rules and grid code, approval of cost reflective tariffs for TCN, ensure minimum standards for distribution operations are adhered to by the discos, as well as efficient dispatch of power plants.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The Group Managing Director of Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, is hoping the West African country will easily boost its oil production next year to, at least, 2.5 MMbpd.
“Fixing damaged pipelines will allow the nation to return capacity that’s stranded across the Niger Delta,” Mele Kyari told worldoil.com in an interview.
The nation is currently producing about 2.3 MMbpd, including about 350,000 bbl of condensate.
“We can easily hit 2.5 MMbpd in one year. We can pull back the 300,000 bpd shut-in without doing anything significant,” he said, referring to stranded supply.
Nigeria’s output has been gradually rising since the middle of the decade when disruption caused by a campaign of militant attacks drew to an end. While theft and sabotage remain an issue, Kyari outlined a plan to raise oil production to 3 million barrels a day and boost reserves to 40 billion barrels within four years.
“Security is still a concern and we are addressing that,” Kyari said.
Levels of theft have “gone down significantly but it is there,” he said, declining to give a figure for volume of crude lost to thieves.
A government committee that works on the issue pegged the figure at about 120,000 bpd in the first half of this year, according to Godwin Obaseki, chairman of that group.
NNPC, which pumps about 80% of Nigeria’s crude, in partnership with producers like Royal Dutch Shell Plc, ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Total SA and Eni SpA, has set a deadline of the first half of 2021 to clear all outstanding debts related to operating costs owed to its partners, Kyari said.
The nation has paid $3.8 billion of a $5.1 billion settlement to majors. That leaves about $1.3 billion yet to clear.
“As we are extinguishing the legacy costs, we are meeting our current obligation. That’s the plan and that’s why our partners are going back to exploration,” he said.
Nigeria is in talks with Total on the Preowei field that is next to the Egina project, and is hoping to secure a final investment decision on Preowei next year.
A final decision on Shell’s Bonga Southwest could come by the end of this year. Those projects could add, at least, 200,000 barrels a day combined, according to Kyari.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Government of Ghana and key stakeholders in the petroleum upstream sector have begun the process of revising the current National Energy Policy (NEP) to provide and ensure efficient petroleum activities in the sector.
The West African country’s Minister for Energy, John-Peter Amewu revealed this during the just ended 11th International Upstream Conference held in Accra.
According to Goldstreets Business, the minister explained that the move would ensure the realization of optimal long term petroleum resource utilization for the utmost benefit of the State as well as attracting the needed investments in the sector.
The revision of the Policy would also ensure the necessary regulations and policies streamlined to in order to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in the sector whiles ensuring minimal or no adverse consequences.
The Kenyan Investment Authority and Meru County Government have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with leading global renewable energy developers Windlab and Eurus Energy for the development of Africa’s first large scale hybrid wind, solar PV, and battery storage project at the Meru County Energy Park.
Meru County Energy Park will provide up to 80MW of clean, sustainable renewable energy, consisting of up to 20 wind turbines and more than 40,000 solar panels.
The project is expected to inject $150 million in investment to Meru County, Kenya and will produce enough reliable, predictable energy to power well over 200,000 homes.
The agreement (which was signed at an official ceremony in the presence of Cabinet Secretary Foreign Affairs Ambassador Monica Juma of the Republic of Kenya, and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe of Japan) forms part of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7), which is being held this week in Yokohama, Japan.
It is a flagship project for Meru County Investment and Development Corporation (MCIDC).
The project is being developed in a partnership between MCIDC and Windlab East Africa (which is owned by Windlab Limited and Eurus Energy), as a premier example of a successful Public-Private Partnership initiative.
The project is expected to commence construction in 2021 and Meru County will continue to own part of the project when operational.
“We are excited to bring world-leading innovation in the renewable energy sector and project development expertise to Meru County, Kenya”, esi-africa.com reported Roger Price, Windlab’s Global CEO, who was in attendance in Yokohama for the signing of the MoU as saying.
“Windlab and Eurus Energy have a successful history of developing and implementing innovative projects together, and we are delighted to be expanding our partnership to include the Kenyan Government through the TICAD commitments,” Hideyuki Inazumi, CEO of Eurus Energy also said.
“Previous TICAD events have resulted in a number of highly successful Japanese-African ventures and we intend to use this opportunity to strengthen our commitment to working with Windlab on world-leading renewable energy projects across East Africa. The flagship Meru County Energy Project will be one of our first projects in the region,” he added.
MCIDC’s acting Managing Director, Eng. Samwel Odhiambo, stated: “Our partnership with Windlab is going from strength to strength and the signing of the MoU will bring further momentum, helping us to fast-track delivery of the project and the many associated benefits to the people of Meru County.”
He added: “Signing the MoU here in Japan is a major milestone for the project. We are looking forward to hosting Africa’s first hybrid renewable energy facility in our county.”
KenInvest’s managing director, Dr Moses Ikiara, pledged his support, stating: “As Kenya moves to implement the medium-term Big Four Agenda, promotion of predictable and sustainable renewable energy is key to guarantee successful realisation of the Manufacturing Pillar. We are excited to welcome Windlab and Eurus Energy to invest in Meru and shall offer them all the support required to deliver the project”.
