Total has announced the closing of the acquisition of Anadarko’s 26.5% operated interest in the Mozambique LNG project for a purchase price of $ 3.9 billion.
This closing comes after Total reached a binding agreement with Occidental on May 3, 2019, to acquire Anadarko’s assets in Africa (Mozambique, Algeria, Ghana and South Africa) and signed the subsequent Purchase and Sale Agreement on August 3, 2019. This first transaction follows receipt of all requisite approvals by the relevant authorities and partners.
“Mozambique LNG is one of a kind asset that perfectly fits with our strategy and expands our position in liquefied natural gas”, Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO of Total said.
“As the new operator, we are fully committed to the Mozambique LNG project and we will bring the best of our human, technical, marketing and financial capacities to further strengthen its execution. Total will of course work on the strong foundations established by the previous operator and its partners, in order to implement the project in the best interest of all those involved, including the government and the people of Mozambique.”
Mozambique LNG is the country’s first onshore LNG development. The project includes the development of the Golfinho and Atum fields located within Offshore Area 1 and the construction of a two-trains liquefaction plant with a capacity of 12.9 million tonnes per year (Mt/y). The Area 1 contains more than 60 Tcf of gas resources, of which 18 Tcf will be developed with the first two trains.
The Final Investment Decision (FID) on Mozambique LNG was announced on June 18, 2019, and the project is expected to come into production by 2024.
The Mozambique LNG project is largely derisked since almost 90% of the production is already sold through long-term contracts with key LNG buyers in Asia and in Europe. Additionally, the project is expected to have a domestic gas component for in-country consumption to help fuel future economic development.
Total operates Mozambique LNG with a 26.5% participating interest alongside ENH Rovuma Área Um, S.A. (15%), Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area1 Ltd. (20%), ONGC Videsh Ltd. (10%), Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (10%), BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10%), and PTTEP Mozambique Area 1 Limited (8.5%)
Closing operations are still ongoing in relation to Anadarko’s assets in the other countries (Algeria, Ghana, South Africa).
Saudi Arabia has set up a $320-million (1.2 billion riyals) fund that will provide debt financing for renewable energy projects, including the manufacturing of renewable energy components.
“Whether you’re in manufacturing, agriculture or retail, if you want to deploy renewable energy, we will finance it,” Dr. Ibrahim Bin Saad Almojel, the Director General of the investment vehicle—the Saudi Industrial Development Fund told Bloomberg.
“For renewables to be adopted in the kingdom, we need to support it.”
Investment in renewables is a key part of the Kingdom’s diversification strategy called Vision 2030. So far, however, it has not made much progress.
Back in 2012, even before the latest oil price crash, Saudi Arabia said it would invest more than $100 billion in renewable energy. Plans were to soon have a third of electricity generated by solar installations. To date, however, the share of renewable energy in Saudi Arabia’s energy mix is a tiny 0.1 percent.
Then came an even more ambitious project: a $200-billion solar power installation dubbed a solar city and touted to be the largest solar power project in the world. Riyadh, which was planning the project with Japan’s SoftBank, announced the cancellation of the solar city last year.
Still, some smaller-scale plans for renewable energy remain on the table, it seems. In January this year, Riyadh said it will tender 2.22 GW of solar power this year with a view to building as much as 40 GW of solar capacity by 2030. By 2023, the Kingdom said sat the time, it should have 20 GW in solar capacity, up from an earlier target of just 5.9 GW.
To support these projects, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund will provide funding to any company that wants to switch from fossil fuels to renewables.
“Whether you’re in manufacturing, agriculture or retail, if you want to deploy renewable energy, we will finance it,” the fund’s director general, Ibrahim Almojel, also told Bloomberg.
GOIL Company Limited, a leading Oil Marketing Company in the Republic of Ghana, West Africa has entered the prestigious Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) HALL of Fame Category after chalking four successive feats as PETROLEUM COMPANY OF THE YEAR in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
At the CIMG’s 30th National Anniversary Marketing and Performance Awards, GOIL also won the Marketing-Oriented Organization Of The Year 2018 for displaying distinguished pillars of ‘customer and competitive orientation, profitability, organizational culture, and interdisciplinary corporation’.
GOIL on the night of treble honours, was also recognized as a CIMG Celebrated Legacy Brand for “keeping its brand going for the past 30 years and more, and contributing in its small way by being a trail-blazer and thought leader in your niche market”.
The CIMG also cited GOIL for ‘proving its mettle by showing strong presence in the market, championing the development of winning strategies and by making the GOIL brand memorable, meaningful, likeable and adaptable over the last decade’.
In a statement copied to energynewsafrica.com, the acting Managing Director and Group CEO, Mr. Kwame Osei Prempeh paid tribute to the company’s customers for staying loyal to the brand over the period.
He pledged the company’s commitment to ensuring continued quality service.
GOIL has over 380 retail stations spread across the length and breadth of the country. The company also markets LPG, Lubricants, Marne Gas Oil and ATK (Aviation fuel)
Ghana’s utilities regulator, Public Utility and Regulatory Commission (PURC), has increased electricity tariff by 5.94 percent effective today, October 1, 2019.
PURC in June 2019 announced 11.17% increase in electricity which took effect July 1.
The latest increment brings the total upward adjustment of electricity tariff within this year to about 17.11 percent.
PURC also announced an increase in water tariffs by 2.22 percent.
In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary, Mami Dufie Ofori and copied to energynewsafrica.com Monday, the PURC explained that the increase in tariffs was determined by the Automatic Adjustment Formula (AAF) which considers eight factors including Ghana cedi-US dollar exchange rate, inflation, price of crude oil and natural gas and fuel mix (Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Distillate Fuel).
Other factors are generation mix (Hydro and Thermal), power purchase cost, demand forecast and electricity cost (A major cost component in water production).
The Commission assured the general public that it is committed to embarking on effective tariff monitoring programme aimed at providing the end user improved quality of service.
Below is the full statement:
Oil Marketing Companies in the Republic of Ghana are contributing about GHc6 billion to the Ghanaian economy annually in a form of taxes, energynewsafrica.com can report.
The OMCs contribute GHc500 million in taxes on a monthly basis, translating into GHc6 million annually.
Currently, about 157 OMCs are operating in the West African country with a total of 3,869 outlets across the country.
Addressing a section of journalists in Accra, capital of Ghana, CEO of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies and Industry Coordinator, Mr Kwaku Agyemang Duah revealed that OMCs and LPGMCs investment in the country amounted to over US$4 billion.
Job creation
In terms of job creation, Mr Agyemang Duah revealed that OMCs have created over 60,000 direct jobs, adding that they have also created over 100,000 indirect jobs.
Challenges
Making a presentation on the progress, emerging challenges and way forward, Mr Agyemang Duah highlighted on some of the issues which are affecting the operations of their members.
He mentioned differential zonal pricing, illegal fuel trade, variation levies by various institutions at will, payment of taxes within 21+4 days, zonalisation with limited BDCs at various depots, maintaining high level of safety at all outlets as well as insurance bond as their challenges.
Way Forward
He said the OMCs were going to develop training packages, which would offer specialized operational training to employees of OMCs/LPGMCs business, on all levels of the organisation structure.
He added that there would be peer review/operational audit inspection which includes mystery shopping.
In his brief welcome remarks, Chairman of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies, Johnny Blagogee called on the media to collaborate with the Association in order to promote its activities.
Vice President of the association and CEO of Petrosol, Mr Michael Bozumbil noted that oil marking companies are major contributors of the Ghanaian economy.
He said apart from the huge taxes they pay to the government, they are also supporting the tourism industry because the washrooms in their outlets are mostly used by tourists who come into the country.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
By: Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi
The Government of Ghana (GoG) represented by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on one part, and Power Distribution Services (PDS — a local and foreign consortium), signed the Private Sector Participation (PSP) Transaction Agreements (TAs), which consist of the Lease and Assignment Agreement (LAA), the Bulk Supply Agreement (BSA), and the Government Support Agreement (GSA) on July 3rd 2018. Cabinet on June 14th 2018, considered and approved the Transaction Agreements, and recommended same to Parliament for consideration.
The Transaction Agreements as executed had forty-five (45) Conditions Precedent (CPs) that were supposed to be completed prior to the Transfer Date. CP Nos 24 and 31 required PDS to furnish to ECG an initial Payment Security in the form of either a Demand Guarantee or a Letter of Credit (LC) issued by a Qualified Bank against power purchases and lease payments.
It is reported that due to difficulties with raising a bank guarantee, and in the absence of tariffs set in accordance with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (“PURC”) Rate Setting Guidelines, Ghana approved PDS’s request to submit demand guarantees issued by an insurance company.
Prior to the Transfer Date set for March 1st 2019, PDS delivered the Guarantees on February 27th 2019. The main guarantor in a structure consisting of Cal Bank, Donewell Insurance Company Limited (“Donewell”), and JoAustralia Reinsurance Brokers (“JoAustralia”), was Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance Company S.A.G (“Al Koot”) in Qatar. By a letter dated July 16th 2019, Al Koot denied the existence of valid Demand Guarantees issued in favour of PDS as Payment Security in respect of the LAA and BSA. Al Koot claimed that Yahya Al Nouri, the officer who executed the guarantees on behalf of Al Koot, was not authorized to do so, and that Al Koot was also not authorized to underwrite trade risks. It also claimed that an earlier letter received on March 13, 2019 from Al Koot on the same matter had been forged.
Consequently, GoG acting through the ECG suspended the PDS on the eve of July 30th 2019 for what it calls “fundamental and material breaches of PDS’s obligation in the provision of Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees) for the transaction. According to government, it suspended the agreement and its obligations under the transaction in the interest of the public and to protect the assets of the ECG worth over US$4 billion.
Investigations
Following Al koot’s forgery claim, the GoG through its Cabinet on 1st August 2019 constituted a team to visit Al Koot in Qatar on a fact-finding mission, with the outcome informing government on the next line of action.
The terms of reference (ToR) for the delegation were to:
Ascertain whether Al Koot authorized the issuance of the guarantees on behalf of PDS and in favour of the ECG;
Ascertain whether Al Koot issued the type of guarantee PDS presented to GoG;
Establish whether Al Koot ever issued any form of guarantee to ECG, and if so, on whose authority this was done;
Establish whether Al Koot had a guarantee in place for ECG on March 1st
Few day later, the Board of MiDA also commissioned FTI Consulting, Inc. (FTI), a United States-based consulting firm to probe the deal. The investigation was necessary for MiDA, as it claimed to have received documentation that contradict some of the key assertions in the July 16th 2019 letter from Al Koot.
The ToR was broad, and included but not limited to:
Ascertaining the process adopted in procuring the PDS Demand Guarantees;
Ascertaining if the process of procuring the PDS Demand Guarantees was compliant with the standard procedure for procuring such Guarantees;
Establish whether there an executed Demand Guarantee by Al Koot;
Ascertain if there was an insurance premium and if so to whom it was paid, and when.
Reports
The Final Summary of Findings Report (“Final Report”) intended solely for the internal use of MiDA, as outlined in the Contract for Consulting Services between FTI and MiDA dated August 16, 2019, was the first to become publicly available early this month — September 2019.
Based on a review of background documents, interviews conducted, and independent investigative analysis performed by FTI, some key observations made by FTI were as follows:
That, there were structural changes made to the original form of the Payment Securities as contemplated in the LAA and BSA, which were approved by the MiDA board on February 21, 2019 — an action that was in line with the prior instructions given by His Excellency the Vice President on February 19, 2019 to authorize PDS to issue the guarantees.
That, on February 28th, 2019, ECG wrote several letters to register their reservations about the structure of the Demand Guarantees, which they said did not conform to the structure agreed to in the LAA and BSA.
That, of the US$12.25 Million that was charged by Cal Bank to PDS as fees for raising the Payment Securities, only USD1 Million (8%) was funded by an equity contribution by a PDS shareholder. US$7 Million (57%) was funded by a loan that was advanced by Cal Bank to another PDS shareholder. This loan was repaid from operating cash-flows generated by PDS after the Transfer Date. The balance of US$4.25 Million (35%) was also paid directly from operating cash-flows generated by PDS after the Transfer Date.
Report of GoG delegation on visit to Qatar, investigating into purported issuance of Demand Gurantees by Al Koot in favour of PDS was the next to become a public document by the second week of September 2019.
The team established including many others that;
There is no valid Payment Security or Demand Guarantee issued by Al Koot in respect of any part of the obligations of PDS under the LAA and BSA, as Al Koot indicated that the records of the company do not show the receipt of any application of such a facility;
The officer who purportedly authorized the guarantees lacked the capacity and did not have the requisite approval to execute a guarantee of such a nature.
There has also not been any payment or receipt of premium by Al Koot, in spite of the vehement assertion to that effect by Jo Australia; supporting the claim of Al Koot about the absence of any valid Demand Guarantee issued by the company in respect of the LAA and BSA.
BP CEO Bob Dudley, who took the helm after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis and has led the energy giant for almost a decade, is preparing to leave the company within a year, according to a Sky News report.
Dudley, 64, has had detailed discussions with Chairman Helge Lund about his retirement plans, Sky News reported.
BP doesn’t comment on speculation about executive succession, a company spokesman said.
The American executive’s tenure has focused on restoring BP to the position it had before the rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people, spilled millions of barrels of crude and crippled its balance sheet.
The oil major has paid more than $65 billion in legal costs and sold more than $70 billion of assets to stay in business following the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, reducing its size by about a third.
Dudley signaled that the company would consider boosting its dividend on the back of an earnings report in July that benefited from a surge in profit and cash flow.
The shares have climbed by about a fifth during his tenure, though they have slipped from a multi-year peak last October.
Earlier this month, Lund said at a conference that BP was working on succession plans at all levels of the company.
The Republic of Ghana has constructed the first micro-hydro power project on Tsatsadu River in Alavanyo-Abehenease in the Hohoe Municipality in the Volta Region of the West African country.
The project, which is in two phases with the first phase due for commissioning by President Akufo-Addo, has a turbine with 45 kilowatts’ capacity.
The second turbine, which has a capacity of 65kilowatts, is expected to be fixed later.
The project, which was constructed by the Bui Power Authority (BPA) at the cost of US$400,000, from its internally generated funds, is expected to provide electricity to the people of Alavanyo-Abehenease and the surrounding villages.
Power from the Tsatsadu Generation Station will be fed into the national electricity grid, but one interesting aspect of the project is that even when there is power interruption from the Akosombo Dam, the people of Alavanyo-Abehenease and surrounding communities would still have electricity.
Background
Ghana’s Ministry of Energy, in 2005 entered, into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO) and International Network on Small Hydro-Power (INSHP) to undertake studies to develop small hydro power potentials in the country.
Tsatsadu Waterfalls, located in Alavanyo-Abehenese in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, was selected to be developed as a pilot project.
UNIDO, subsequently, donated a 45kW capacity Turgo Turbine and associated electromechanical equipment for the project.
Unfortunately, the Volta River Authority, which energynewsafrica.com understands, was given authorisation to execute the project, faced some challenges and hence its inability to commence the execution of the project.
The Ministry of Energy, in 2016, then appointed the Bui Power Authority to develop the Tsatsadu Mini Hydro project on its behalf.
BPA, then, reviewed all available information on the project by undertaking several feasibility studies of the site, conducting detailed topographical surveys and completed designed drawings for the civil structures. It also undertook retrofitting activities on the turbines.BPA, furthermore, constituted a technical committee to implement the project.
The committee comprised representatives of the Renewable and Alternate Energy Directorate of the ministry of Energy, the Energy Commission, the UNDP-RETT project implementation unit, SAS Finance group and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Project Descriptions
The Tsatsadu Hydropower is a run-of-the-river scheme with no impoundment. It consists of a concrete diversion weir, an intake structure, diversion channel, a fall bay, steel penstock, a power house (to house turbines and the generator) and a transmission line to tie the line to the distribution grid.
The headworks and powerhouse are situated on the right bank of the river. The 8m-long concrete weir diverts part of the river flow (toward the edge of the cliff) through an intake channel into the diversion channel. The diverted water is then transported through the diversion channel into a forebay tank.
The water then goes through a 300mm-diameter penstock to the base of the hill where the power house is located. The water drives the turbine and escapes through the tail rays channel and finally discharges back into the downstream of the waterfall.
Chief Executive Officer of Bui Power Authority, Fred Oware explained in an interview with energynewsafrica.com that upon assumption of office and seeing the initial feasibility studies in 2017, “I went to the then Minister, Mr Boakye Agyarko, and indicated to him that we have engineers who can work to bring the project into fruition.”
Mr. Fred Oware is the CEO of Bui Power Authority
According to him, Boakye Agyarko gave him a letter of approval and, therefore, took the necessary steps to ensure that the project was actualised.
Engineering Work
Fred Oware explained that the project was fully executed by engineers from Bui Power Authority without expatriates.
Mr Oware, who touted the competencies of engineers at Bui Power Authority, noted that the cost of the project would have been higher if expatriates were involved.
He urged Ghanaians to have faith in local engineers, stating that “it is only in Ghana where local engineers have constructed hydropower. You cannot find it anywhere in Africa.”
He said per the work which the engineers had done, they are capable of doing other projects. Based on this, he called on the government to give the BPA the necessary push in order to undertake similar projects in other parts of the country.
“Our engineers are very competent. They have the expertise to deliver because they were trained by Chinese. Let’s put them to work and not let them sit idle,” he said.
Appeal
Mr Oware called on the government, through the Ministry of Energy, to give Bui Power Authority the necessary push for it to develop other waterfalls into hydropower project.
“When we send proposals, they should give us the approval,” he said.
Mr Oware explained that he desires that BPA would, one day, become like the VRA.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
The Government of Ghana plans to construct mini-hydropower plants across the country to boost power supply from the national grid.
Energy Minister of the West African country, John-Peter Amewu who gave the hint said the country was migrating to mini-hydropower plants as a source of power supply for communities when the national grid was off.
Mr. Amewu said this when he inspected the completed works on Tsatsadu micro-hydropower project constructed by Bui Power Authority (BPA) at Alavanyo-Abehenease in the Volta Region which due for commissioning.
Mr. Amewu was accompanied by CEO of Bui Power Authority Mr Fred Oware, Director in-charge of Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy Mr Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo as well as some officials of Bui Power Authority.
He said construction of more mini-hydropower plants would make renewable energy become a ‘sizeable proportion’ of the country’s energy mix.
The Minister said the power plants would also serve as a learning centre for students to gain more knowledge on the generation of mini-hydro power in the subregion.
Mr John Peter Amewu who also called on Rev. Fr. John Duah Prempeh, SVD, in-charge of the Foyer De Charite, a prayer and tourist centre in Alavanyo-Abehenease assured that the road to the centre would be fixed to attract more tourists.
Chief of Alavanyo-Abehenease, Togbe Komla Kunde V, lauded government for the project, which would supply power to the community.
Chief of Alavanyo-Abehenease, Togbe Komla Kunde V
He asked the government to construct the road from the community to the Tsatsadu Generating Station and also build hostels in the community to serve as accommodation for students who would visit the power station for research.
Oil Marketing Companies in the Republic of Ghana have organised a maiden media engagement in the West African country to interact with the inky fraternity.
The event was to explain to the media the operations of the OMCs which has Association of Oil Marketing Companies as its umbrella body.
In a brief remarks, Chairman of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies, Johnny Blagogee stated that the meeting would be a regular one in order to consolidate the existing bond between the media and the OMCs
Industry coordinator Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Duah took journalists through a presentation which touched on progress, emerging challenges and the way forward.
Vice President of the association and CEO of Petrosol, Mr Michael Bozumbil noted that oil marking companies are major contributors of the Ghanaian economy.
He said apart from the huge taxes they pay to the government, they are also supporting the tourism industry because the washrooms in their outlets are mostly used by tourists who come into the country.
The CEO of Italian oil and gas firm, ENI, Claudio Descalzi is under investigation over a potential conflict of interest in Congo Brazzaville.
The Italian company said Descalzi had received a notice from the Milan Public Prosecutor alleging he had failed to disclose links between Eni Congo and Petro Services.
An Italian transparency NGO, Re:Common, has previously highlighted apparent links between Descalzi and Petro Services. The NGO has said Petro Services shares a PO Box with Elengui, a company owned by Descalzi’s wife, Marie Magdalene Ingoba.
Eni said it had concluded an investigation into these accusations a year ago. The probe had been referred by the Control and Risk Committee and the Board of Statutory Auditors to external independent consultants. The company said the finding had “excluded any breaches and behaviours in favour or against Eni, aimed at benefitting service suppliers (and in particular Petro Service, for the relevance of this case.)”
Re:Common asked questions on the Petro Services affair at Eni’s shareholders’ meeting in May 2018. The group quoted Eni officials as having said, at the 2017 meeting, that there were no contractual ties with Petro Services or the OSM Group to date. OSM was in a joint venture with Petro Services.
At that point the statement was correct, with the last invoice to Petro Services having been paid in February 2017. Up to that point, though, Eni Congo had paid around $104 million to the company.
Eni has said that tenders won by Petro Services had taken place competitively and followed tendering procedures.
“I firmly reject the alleged accusation. It is without any foundation. The transactions between Eni Congo and the company [Petro Services] were never the subject of my consideration and decision, as fully outside my role,” Descalzi said.
“I am totally certain that I have always behaved lawfully, in an honest way, in the interest of the company and of its shareholders. I am confident I will be able to demonstrate that, beyond any reasonable doubt,”energyvoice.com quoted Descalzi.
“Descalzi is the latest and most senior Eni executive that has been linked to the Congo probe,” Global Witness’ oil researcher Natasha White told Energy Voice.
“This is the same prosecutor’s office that is working on the OPL 245 case in Nigeria, although the Congolese case has not reached the charges stage. There is a similar pattern to the Nigeria story, though, with local partners linked to politically exposed people and now conflicts of interest. We’ve seen repeated denials and subsequent backtracks or shifts in position. This news suggests these issues go right to the top of Eni’s management and should be very concerning for Eni’s investors.”
Board of Brazil’s national oil company, Petrobras has approved an update to its plan for the next five years that is expected to call for the state-run oil and gas com pany to dump its gas distribution and transport business, its fertilizer business, and its LPG and biodiesel business, according to media reports.
Instead, Petrobras will focus on two things in the coming years: shrinking its debt load and deep water—and ultradeep water—oil exploration and production. It hopes to reduce its debt load in part by increasing productivity and lowering costs through digital transformation. The rest will be achieved by unloading unwanted assets.
“The goal now is to be the best energy company adding value for shareholders, with a focus on oil and gas and security, respecting both people and the environment,” Petrobras said.
For gas, Petrobras will focus on selling its own gas only, bowing out of the gas distribution and transport elements altogether.
Brazil’s Chief Executive Officer Roberto Castello Branco said in January after taking office that he would focus on reducing debt, selling assets, and cutting costs. Petrobras has already curbed its debt load to a substantial degree, and at the end of 2018, Petrobras had cut its down by 18% to land just shy of $70 billion. Its debt load in 2015 stood at $100 billion. It achieved this reduction in debt in part by offloading assets, including 90% of Transportadora Associada de Gás, the sale of which was finalized in June.
Prior to its debt-reduction efforts, Petrobras was the world’s most indebted oil company. That torch has since been passed onto Pemex, which carries more than $100 billion in debt.
Another thing Petrobras will not be focusing on over the next five years are renewables, focusing instead on things that will generate returns for its shareholders.
Petrobras has planned to invest almost $70 billion on oil and gas exploration and production through 2023, according to the company’s website.
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has hinted of plans to pull out its investment in Ghana’s power distribution sector if the political situation in the West African nation does not improve, a top official of the company has told The Philippine Star.
“We’re still waiting for developments. It’s a Ghana government issue,” Meralco president and CEO Ray Espinosa said.
According to Espinosa, Meralco is exposed to political risk following the suspension of Power Distribution Services Ghana Limited which has a concession agreement with Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG).
“The terms are good, but if we will be exposed to these types of uncertainties, we might as well pull out and just devote our attention to the country. And even in Asia, it’s more stable. Maybe we don’t have the DNA for that kind of risk in Africa yet,” The Philippine Star quoted Espinosa as saying in a story published on its website on September 23, 2019.
Last July 31, Ghana suspended the concession for the operation and maintenance of the assets and facilities of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) awarded to the Power Distribution Services Ghana Ltd. (PDS).
PDS is a consortium between Meralco through Meridian Power Ventures Ltd. (30 percent), Angola-based firm AEnergia SA (19 percent), and three Ghanaian firms namely TG Energy Solution Ghana (18 percent); GTS Engineering Ghana Ltd. (10 percent), and TBK Ghana Ltd. (10 percent).
The suspension order was due to alleged ‘fundamental and material’ breaches in the provision of the demand guarantees by PDS, which were key prerequisites for the turnover of the assets and facilities.
But a week after the suspension, ECG and PDS agreed on an interim arrangement where the Meralco-led consortium would still continue activities related to the retail of electricity to ensure continued power supply and service to consumers.
These activities include meter reading, billing, distribution of bills, bill reconciliation, revenue collection and new service connections.
It would also still be responsible for disconnections and reconnections, faulty meter replacements, network faults and repairs, complaints and fault reporting to the call centers, and any other related service.
The Meralco-led PDS signed the concession agreement with ECG on March 1, a year after Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) chose Meralco as the preferred bidder for private-sector participation in ECG and the Parliament of Ghana approved the 20-year concession agreement.
Under the agreement, ECG’s assets would be leased to the PDS while the ECG would become an asset holding company.
Meralco said the PDS Consortium has planned to invest over $580 million for capital expenditures to strengthen the governance, management and operations of the ECG and improve the delivery of power to end users as well as support Ghana’s socio-economic growth.
After the end of the concession, all assets would be transferred back to ECG, it said
The Minister for Energy in the Republic of Ghana, John-Peter Amewu, on Friday, paid a working visit to inspect a micro hydropower project situated on the Tsatsadu River at Abehenease in the Hohoe Municipality in the Volta Region.
He was accompanied by the CEO of Bui Power Authority (BPA), Mr Fred Oware, and Director for Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy, Mr Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo.
The visit was to enable the minister and the entourage see the state of the facility ahead of commissioning by the President early next month.
Tsatsadu Waterfalls, located in Alavanyo-Abehenese in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, was selected to be developed as a pilot project.
UNIDO, subsequently, donated a 45kW capacity Turgo Turbine and associated electromechanical equipment for the project.
Unfortunately, the Volta River Authority, which energynewsafrica.com understands, was given authorisation to execute the project, faced some challenges and hence its inability to commence the execution of the project.
The Ministry of Energy, in 2016, then appointed the Bui Power Authority to develop the Tsatsadu Mini Hydro project on its behalf.
BPA, then, reviewed all available information on the project by undertaking several feasibility studies of the site, conducting detailed topographical surveys and completed designed drawings for the civil structures. It also undertook retrofitting activities on the turbines.
BPA, furthermore, constituted a technical committee to implement the project.
The committee comprised representatives of the Renewable and Alternate Energy Directorate of the ministry of Energy, the Energy Commission, the UNDP-RETT project implementation unit, SAS Finance group and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Project Descriptions
The Tsatsadu Hydropower is a run-of-the-river scheme with no impoundment. It consists of a concrete diversion weir, an intake structure, diversion channel, a fall bay, steel penstock, a power house (to house turbines and the generator) and a transmission line to tie the line to the distribution grid.
The headworks and powerhouse are situated on the right bank of the river. The 8m-long concrete weir diverts part of the river flow (toward the edge of the cliff) through an intake channel into the diversion channel. The diverted water is then transported through the diversion channel into a forebay tank.
The water then goes through a 300mm-diameter penstock to the base of the hill where the power house is located. The water drives the turbine and escapes through the tail rays channel and finally discharges back into the downstream of the waterfall.
Chief Executive Officer of Bui Power Authority, Fred Oware explained in an interview with energynewsafrica.com that upon assumption of office and seeing the initial feasibility studies in 2017, “I went to the then Minister, Mr Boakye Agyarko, and indicated to him that we have engineers who can work to bring the project into fruition.”
Mr. Amewu said this when he inspected the completed works on Tsatsadu micro-hydropower project constructed by Bui Power Authority (BPA) at Alavanyo-Abehenease in the Volta Region which due for commissioning.
Mr. Amewu was accompanied by CEO of Bui Power Authority Mr Fred Oware, Director in-charge of Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy Mr Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo as well as some officials of Bui Power Authority.
He said construction of more mini-hydropower plants would make renewable energy become a ‘sizeable proportion’ of the country’s energy mix.
The Minister said the power plants would also serve as a learning centre for students to gain more knowledge on the generation of mini-hydro power in the subregion.
Mr John Peter Amewu who also called on Rev. Fr. John Duah Prempeh, SVD, in-charge of the Foyer De Charite, a prayer and tourist centre in Alavanyo-Abehenease assured that the road to the centre would be fixed to attract more tourists.
Chief of Alavanyo-Abehenease, Togbe Komla Kunde V, lauded government for the project, which would supply power to the community.
