The consortium of ExxonMobil, Murphy Oil, and Enauta has won three blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin.
ExxoMobil, as the operator, got a 50% interest and Murphy Oil and Enauta 20% and 30%, respectively, in blocks SEAL-M-505, SEAL-M-575, and SEAL-M-637.
The signing bonuses for the three blocks were R$ 2.7 million, R$3.1 million, and R$ 2.04 million.
Brazil’s first Permanent Offer round permanently offers a portfolio of blocks and areas with marginal accumulations for oil and natural gas exploration and production. Thus, companies, especially those not yet in Brazil, have the opportunity to study these areas without the time limitations that traditional rounds provide.
According to ANP, this was Brazil’s first auction in 20 years without the participation of the country’s state-owned oil and gas giant, Petrobras. Brazil: ExxonMobil Secures Three Additional Offshore Blocks In Bidding Round
US oil and gas major, ExxonMobil has won three offshore exploration blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin as part of Brazil’s first permanent bidding round Offshoreenergytoday.com has reported.
As part of the first cycle of the permanent round, the country’s regulator, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), auctioned 33 blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas, Parnaíba, Potiguar and Recôncavo basins, and 12 areas with marginal accumulations in the Potiguar, Sergipe-Alagoas, Recôncavo and Espírito Santo basins.
For exploration blocks, the total bonus collected was R$ 15.32 million ($3.8m) with a forecast of R$ 309.8 million ($75.9M) in investments. For areas with marginal accumulations, the total bonus was R$ 6.98 million, with a forecast of R$ 10.5 million in investments.The consortium of ExxonMobil, Murphy Oil, and Enauta has won three blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin.
ExxoMobil, as the operator, got a 50% interest and Murphy Oil and Enauta 20% and 30%, respectively, in blocks SEAL-M-505, SEAL-M-575, and SEAL-M-637.
The signing bonuses for the three blocks were R$ 2.7 million, R$3.1 million, and R$ 2.04 million.
Brazil’s first Permanent Offer round permanently offers a portfolio of blocks and areas with marginal accumulations for oil and natural gas exploration and production. Thus, companies, especially those not yet in Brazil, have the opportunity to study these areas without the time limitations that traditional rounds provide.
According to ANP, this was Brazil’s first auction in 20 years without the participation of the country’s state-owned oil and gas giant, Petrobras.
The consortium of ExxonMobil, Murphy Oil, and Enauta has won three blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin.
ExxoMobil, as the operator, got a 50% interest and Murphy Oil and Enauta 20% and 30%, respectively, in blocks SEAL-M-505, SEAL-M-575, and SEAL-M-637.
The signing bonuses for the three blocks were R$ 2.7 million, R$3.1 million, and R$ 2.04 million.
Brazil’s first Permanent Offer round permanently offers a portfolio of blocks and areas with marginal accumulations for oil and natural gas exploration and production. Thus, companies, especially those not yet in Brazil, have the opportunity to study these areas without the time limitations that traditional rounds provide.
According to ANP, this was Brazil’s first auction in 20 years without the participation of the country’s state-owned oil and gas giant, Petrobras. Ghana: Transport Fares Up By 10% Due To Hikes In Fuel Prices
Transport operators in the Republic of Ghana, West Africa, have adjusted their fares upward by 10 percent effective Monday, 16th September, 2019.
The increment follows recent hikes in petroleum prices, which a section of the population including petroleum workers have kicked against with a claim that these increases are worsening their plight.
Fuel prices at the pump shot up last Monday from GHc5.19 per litre to about GHc5.39 for a litre, representing a 3.7% jump in previous figures at the pump.
The road transport operators, in a statement, said: “In line with administrative instrument on public transport fares, the road transport operators have reviewed the prices of various component that go into running of commercial transport services and have increased public transport fares by 10%.”
The statement explained that the increment is to accommodate predominantly an increase in the fuel prices.
The fares covered intra-city (trotro), inter-city (long distance) and shared taxis.
The statement called on drivers to post the fares list at the loading terminals so as to avoid any confrontation with the travelling public.
Ghana: BOST Abandons Pipeline Infrastructure At The Expense Of The State
In meeting the growing demand of petroleum across the globe, oil and gas pipelines will continue to play vital roles in safely, reliably and efficiently transporting the energy commodities over long distances from their sources to end-users or consumers.
Of the various modes of bringing petroleum products to the market (e.g. ocean, road, pipeline and rail), each carries its own set of risks; suggesting there is no perfectly risk-free way of moving the commodity, or anything else for that matter. While pipelines may leak, trains and trucks can crash, hurting individuals, as we saw in Lac-Mégantic in July 2013, and barges can sink (Furchtgott-Roth and Green, 2013).
However, pipelines have been identified as representing a much safer means of transporting oil and gas as compared to other modes of transportation, even though pipelines have the potential to cause harm to public health and the environment because of the hazardous materials they carry and the proximity of some pipelines to highly populated areas (Parfomak, 2019).
Advantages of Pipelines
According to the U.S. Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL), of the total 16.2 billion barrels (nearly 680 billion gallons) of petroleum products delivered by crude and refined products pipelines in 2014 in the United States, an amazing 99.999 percent of these products delivered by pipeline reached their destination safely. Also a study by the Manhattan Institute compared the safety of road, rail, and pipeline hydrocarbon transportation and found that transport of oil by roadway had the highest rate of incidents with 19.95 per billion ton miles per year. This was followed by rail with 2.08 per billion ton miles, and oil pipelines were found to be the safest with 0.58 serious incidents per billion ton miles.
Aside its safety records, pipelines have the advantages of being able to handle large volumes, having good continuity with 24-hour uninterrupted transportation, being unaffected by weather conditions in the transportation process, and having a low unit freight transportation cost (Wang et al, 2019).
Rail may convey economically very large volumes of goods over long distances to remote places, experiencing relatively low variable operating costs, but in general incur high fixed costs because of expensive equipment (i.e. railways must maintain their own rail track meant exclusively for them), switching yards and terminals. Motor carriers also bear relatively small fixed investments in terminal facilities and operate on publicly maintained highways. However, the variable cost per mile for motor carriers is high because a separate power unit and driver are required for each trailer or combination of tandem trailers. Labor requirements are also high because of driver safety restrictions and the need for substantial dock labor.
The use of motor carriers also creates added strain on publicly maintained roadways (Shanmukha 2016, Goodin 2016).
Today, through advanced technologies pipeline companies and operators are able to harness new capabilities such as data analytics and remote monitoring to stay on top of pipeline leaks, thefts and third-party damages, thereby increasing operational efficiency and reliability.
In spite of the many advantages including safeness, reliability, efficiency, and cost competiveness relative to other modes of transporting petroleum, Ghana’s Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) have abandoned the use of its primary distribution pipeline infrastructure, substituting it with Tankers/Bulk Road Vehicles (BRVs); thus impacting negatively on the public purse.
Incorporated in 1993 as a private limited liability company with the government as the sole shareholder, BOST has the mandate to develop a network of storage tanks, pipelines and other bulk transportation infrastructure throughout the country, and to keep Strategic Reserve Stocks of fuel for Ghana. BOST has an additional mandate as the Natural Gas Transmission Utility (NGTU) to develop the Natural Gas infrastructure throughout the country, and provide transmission and interconnection services for natural gas without discrimination.
Ghana’s Fuel Transportation Systems
Petroleum product transportation in Ghana is regulated. Distribution to the end consumer involves two stages of transportation, namely Primary transportation and Secondary transportation.
Primary transportation refers to transportation from the BOST Depot (Accra Plains Depot) in Tema to other BOST inland depots i.e. Kumasi, Buipe, Bolgatanga, Mami Water and Akosombo. This activity is delivered under the mandate of BOST who employs the services of both state and private petroleum product transporters.
Secondary transportation refers to the transportation of petroleum products from the bulk supply points (depots) to retail outlets and bulk customer sites. This activity is carried out by licensed Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) who engages the services of private Transporters (owners of BRVs) to cart from the depots to the retail outlets or bulk customer sites.
Primary transportation to BOST inland depots are carried out using pipelines owned by BOST (i.e. Tema to Akosombo/Mami Water and Buipe to Bolgatanga), River barges owned by BOST and the Volta Lake Transport Company (VLTC), also a state agency (i.e. through the Volta Lake from Akosombo to Buipe), and Tankers/BRVs owned by private individuals who are contracted by BOST (BRVs from Tema to Kumasi, Tema to Buipe).
BOST’s Pipeline Infrastructure
BOST has three pipeline systems. First an 18-inch multi-product pipeline, used to transfer refined products (Gasoline and Gasoil) from ocean vessels into the Accra Plains Depot located in the south-eastern part of Ghana. Same pipeline can be used for ocean exports because of its reverse-flow mechanism.
The two other pipelines, being the 6-inch 93km Tema-Akosombo Pipeline (TAPP) System and the 8-inch 268km Buipe and Bolgatanga Pipeline (B2P3) System are used for Primary transportation to move products to BOST inland depots.
The TAPP System installed in 1993 is meant to facilitate the transportation of petroleum products for the local distribution and shipment via river barge to Buipe in the Northern Region of Ghana. The System comprised of three sections, i.e. the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to Accra Plains Depot (APD), APD to to Mami-Water Depot (MWD), and the MWD to Akosombo Depot (AKD). And the 268km Buipe to Bolgatanga Pipeline System (B2P3) was constructed and commissioned in 2005 to facilitate the transportation of products to the in Northern Region of Ghana and the Sahel countries.
Abandoned Pipelines
For some years now, the Tema-Akosombo Pipeline (TAPP) and the Buipe- Bolgatanga Pipeline (B2P3); being the two Primary Transportation pipelines, have been abandoned by BOST in favour of Tankers/BRVs; to the detriment of the State.
The TAPP System have been out of service for close to 10 years due to lack of proper maintenance. In mid-2016, BOST set out to refurbish the TAPP System which has been out of service for many years. The Works were to be completed in ten and one-half (10½) i.e. from July 2016 to June 2017. However, works has stalled due to funding challenges, thus having to rely on road Tankers to cart products to Akosombo at a much higher cost, compared to the pipeline.
The B2P3 System was operated for 3 years after commissioning and shutdown, leaving the pipeline full of Gasoil for almost 6 years. It was re-commissioned in 2015 and operated till end 2016. Although the pipeline is in a good working condition, it has not been deployed since it was last shutdown in 2016. This means that fuel to the Northern region are moved by Road Tankers too.
Below is the summary of volume and freight cost associated under primary transportation for 2017 and for 2018 in Ghana.
Source: Ministry of Energy, 2018
The figures from the Ministry of Energy (MoE) shows that on the average, about 92 percent of petroleum product transfer under the BOST Primary transportation network is carried out using Tankers (BRVs). The 8 percent is via river barges and specifically from Akosombo to Buipe.
It clearly show that for the past few years, not a single pipeline under BOST’s Primary transportation network have been deployed even though pipelines are known to be safer, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective, relative to other modes of petroleum product transportation.
BOST rather seem comfortable with the use of Tankers (BRVs), the most expensive and risky transport mode to cart products across its inland Depots.
A report submitted to the MoE in September 2018 by a Committee put together to review Ghana-Burkina Pipeline Proposals, identified that using Tanker (BRVs) for Primary transportation is fraught with high cost of operations, transit losses, damage to road, health and safety concerns, delays in delivery of products to various destinations, et cetera.
The report suggest that the current mode of transportation of export products (via Tankers/BRVs) creates the opportunity for all forms of illicit trading activities such as dumping these products on the Ghanaian domestic market leading to high revenue loss to the Government of Ghana. And that between 2016 and 2017, illicit fuel trading activities Infractions, cost the country over US$200 million per annum in lost direct petroleum tax revenue.
For these reasons, BOST have a duty to save the country of the needless costs associated with the extensive use of Road Tankers (BRVs) by reactivating its Primary distribution pipelines for a safe, reliable, efficient, and cost effective transmission of products within its network.
Written by Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, Institute for Energy Security (IES) ©2019
The writer has over 22 years of experience in the technical and management areas of Oil and Gas Management, Banking and Finance, and Mechanical Engineering; working in both the Gold Mining and Oil sector. He is currently working as an Oil Trader, Consultant, and Policy Analyst in the global energy sector. He serves as a resource to many global energy research firms, including Argus Media and the CNBC Africa.
| BOST Primary Transportation: Volume and Freight Cost | ||
| Description | 2017 | 2018 Projected |
| % Volume by BRV | 92.6 | 91.2 |
| % Volume by Barge | 7.4 | 8.8 |
| % Volume by Pipeline | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Cost by BRV | 91 | 91 |
| Cost by Barge | 9 | 9 |
Nigeria: Shell Loses $560,000 Daily To Oil Thieves
Oil and gas giant, Shell says it is losing 10,000 barrels of oil a day to thieves in Nigeria at a cost of $560,000 (£452,000) a day.
The losses by vandals attacking oil pipelines in the southern Niger Delta are equivalent to $204.4m over a year.
The announcement was made by Igo Weli, general manager of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), which is a joint venture between Shell and the Nigerian government.
“These attacks were on critical assets that produce the crude oil, which accounts for over 90% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and the bulk of government revenue,” Mr Weli is quoted as telling a workshop on pipeline vandalism in the oil city of Port Harcourt on Monday.
Since 2012 he said the company had discovered and removed 1,160 points where thieves were stealing the oil.
But this did not seem to be stemming the problem as 9,000 barrels a day were being stolen in 2017, 11,000 last year and 10,000 this year.
Mr. Weli was also critical of a lack of development in the Niger Delta, where most people remain poor despite the vast wetlands rich oil resources
“There is a community in the Niger Delta that has received over 2bn naira ($5.5m, £4.5m) from SPDC joint venture for its development, but is yet to develop,” Mr Weli reportedly said in a report filed by the Premium Times.
“The region receives 13% derivation, revenue from NDDC [the Niger Delta Development Commission government agency] and funds from companies, but still has not developed,” he said.
“The Niger Delta has refused to develop despite the huge monies allocated to the area. So, we need to ask ourselves the critical questions to change the Niger Delta narratives.”
But this did not seem to be stemming the problem as 9,000 barrels a day were being stolen in 2017, 11,000 last year and 10,000 this year.
Mr. Weli was also critical of a lack of development in the Niger Delta, where most people remain poor despite the vast wetlands rich oil resources
“There is a community in the Niger Delta that has received over 2bn naira ($5.5m, £4.5m) from SPDC joint venture for its development, but is yet to develop,” Mr Weli reportedly said in a report filed by the Premium Times.
“The region receives 13% derivation, revenue from NDDC [the Niger Delta Development Commission government agency] and funds from companies, but still has not developed,” he said.
“The Niger Delta has refused to develop despite the huge monies allocated to the area. So, we need to ask ourselves the critical questions to change the Niger Delta narratives.”
East Indonesia: Three Power Plants With 90MW Of Power Commissioned
Three power plants have successfully been commissioned in the east of Indonesia with a combined capacity of 90MW.
MAN Energy Solutions said in a statement that two of the plants are each equipped with three 18V51/60DF engines providing the cities of Bima and Sumbawa with 50MW of electric power each for the grid of the province of West Nusa Tenggara.
The third power plant in Maumere on the island of Flores is powered by four 12V51/60DF engines with a total capacity of 40MW.
“Reliably supplying over 1,000 inhabited islands is a huge challenge,” Götz Kassing, Managing Director Indonesia at MAN Energy Solutions said in a report filed by esi-africa.com.
“We are very pleased that we were able to support the Indonesian government with this project.
“Our decentralised power plant solutions for reliably supplying energy to islands and remote regions have proven themselves many times. The dual-fuel engines used offer complete fuel flexibility, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the power plants, which can be operated with low-emission LNG at any time,” the statement added.
“Besides the energy supply, the economic opportunities of the local population are also an important concern on the islands. We are contributing in creating jobs and providing training,” Dr. Michael Filous, Vice President and Head of Service Agreements at MAN PrimeServ commented.
Filous added: “We rely on more than 130 local employees for operating the three power plants, and we provide further training for these staff regarding the specific work involved in the plants at our service hub in Surabaya.”
When constructing the power plants, the company worked in close collaboration with the Indonesian company Wijaya Karya (WIKA) and shared EPC responsibility as part of an open consortium.
While WIKA took on the assembly of the power plants, MAN Energy Solutions was responsible for the delivery, assembly monitoring and commissioning of the engines, for mechanical and electrical accessories and the design of the power house.
“The Indonesian government pays great attention to the issue of electrification. We are proud that we are contributing to these plans. With the three new power plants we are significantly improving the electricity infrastructure in West Nusa Tenggara and Flores”, says Bambang Pramujo, Director at WIKA.
Six additional power plants for Indonesia
MAN Energy Solutions is currently equipping another six island power plants with a total capacity of 125MW.
Two power plants in Tanjung Selor and Biak are each powered by two 9L51/60DF engines each with 15MW of electrical power. The company also supplied two 12V51/60DF engines each with 20MW of electrical power for three power plants in Merauke, Langgur and Seram.
The sixth power plant was recently successfully commissioned on the island of Nias off the west coast of Sumatra and features five 7L51/60DF engines with a total capacity of 35MW.
PDS Saga: Facts Ghanaians Need To Know
Energynewsafrica.com recalls that the Minister for Information Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, last Friday, described the investigative report by US-based FTI consulting firm into the alleged ‘fundamental and material’ breaches regarding the ECG concession as misleading and called on Ghanaians to wait for the government to release report by its investigate team for them to get the real picture.
While we await the decision of the government, energynewsafrica.com has decided to publish these facts compiled by the Editor of the Finder newspaper, Mr Elvis Darko. We do so in the interest of the nation, Ghana.
PDS Deal – What you should know
CHANGE OF FINANCIAL GUARANTEE TO INSURANCE GUARANTEE.
The condition precedent for financial guarantee by the Banks was PURC tariffs and the list of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA).
However, PURC refused to increase the tariffs as agreed.
ECG owns more than GHC4 Billion of debt from Power Producers.
So in the absence of any proper tariff, how can a banks provide the required Guarantee?
Therefore, PDS proposed insurance guarantee in order to meet the transaction timelines.
It was accepted on grounds that the PURC refused to increase tariffs to merit financial guarantee.
Also, the amount of $350 Demand Guarantee was only made aware to PDS in month of February.
Due to this PDS had to go for a more expensive Guarantee rather than the cheaper Standby Letter of Credit (SBLC).
Therefore, you cannot blame the private company for the change.
MiDA made this clear in its statement.
PDS Fulfilled Its Obligations By Paying Cal Bank
PDS made payments to CAL BANK.
Cal Bank relied on Donewell Insurance which also said it did its work with Joe Australia.
Joe Australia said it secured Al Koot.
MiDA said to ensure that the guarantees were valid, it made Al Koot to notarise the guarantees which has been done.
Mind you that MiDA is a gov’t agency.
Al Koot admits that Joe Australia is its agent but went beyond his limit.
If an employee of Al Koot working with them for more than 10 years has done something illegal, how do you blame PDS for that.
Legally, in any wrongdoing of any employee, the onus is still on the employer.
Since Al Koot has acknowledged that the said employee is under investigation, the company cannot run away from the liability arising from it.
Assuming that Joe Australia even duped Donewell, should PDS be punished through termination of the contract?
So as per transaction agreement, Gov’t should let PDS look for a new Guarantee and replace the old one.
Once the guarantee is secured, the $350m is safe and sound.
The Argument Of Using Proceeds To Settle Loan Is Neither Here Nor ‘There
Please note that Power Distribution is a regulated business.
Everything that PDS spends has to be approved by the regulator i.e. PURC.
PDS had submitted the cost of raising the Demand Guarantee in their submission to PURC under Mandated Cost as per the Rate Setting Guidelines (RSG).
As per the RSG all mandated cost should be approved, so PDS used the revenue it was collecting to settle the loan as the revenue also include the cost of the Demand Guarantee.
Businesses are financed using equity or debt.
If the shareholders took loans from a bank to finance the guarantee and after take over use the proceeds to service the loan, it is a normal business process.
Example
If you give me your car as work and pay and I take a loan to make half advance payment, you don’t complain when I use the money the car generates to pay the loan.
The FTI report said it did not find any fraud.
The contract stipulates that 30 days should be given to any party to address challenges that may arise.
Gov’t did not do this.
Therefore, what will be the basis to terminate PDS contract?
HOW MUCH MONEY PDS IS SUPPOSED TO INVEST IN THE UTILITY.
Based on the bid submission, PDS is expected to invest approximately $580 million for five years.
The bid submission also requires that 70% should be debt and 30% was from equity.
Based on the bid requirement, PDS shareholders have to invest approximately $34.8 million per year for next 5 years as equity contribution.
PDS has already submitted an investment plan with PURC and other stakeholders awaiting approval.
PDS can only start spending after PURC and other stakeholders approve the investment plan.
How Much Money PDS Has Collected?
Since PDS took over, PDS has collected about GHC2.4 Billion.
Out of this amount, PDS has paid about GHC1.3 Billion to ECG.
As of February 28, 2019, the total ECG debt was GHC3.3 Billion.
This amount has been reduced to GHC2 Billion.
TGS And Schlumberger To Reimage Red Sea Data
TGS, world’s leading subsurface data company and Schlumberger, world’s leading oilfield services provider will carry out a new 3D seismic reimaging project in the Egyptian Red Sea.
The project will comprise reimaging data from three overlapping seismic surveys totaling 3,600 sq km that was acquired between 1999 and 2008. The data being reimaged is the only available 3D data for this area of the Red Sea.
The data includes the integration of all legacy seismic and non-seismic data and will apply advanced imaging technologies to better define complex subsalt structures.
The project, which is supported by industry prefunding, will be carried out by TGS and WesternGeco, the geophysical services product line of Schlumberger.
Data will be available before the closing of Egypt’s offshore Red Sea international license round on September 15.
Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS, said: “The Red Sea 3D reimaging project follows a multi-client 2D seismic acquisition program that was completed in March 2018 as the initial step in mitigating the complex salt imaging challenges in the area.”
He concluded: “The underexplored offshore Egyptian Red Sea area is made up of large, untested structures that offer growth opportunities for oil companies.”
Maurice Nessim, president of WesternGeco, stated: “Our comprehensive geological understanding, innovative seismic imaging techniques and full integration of non-seismic methods will define new exploration trends in this frontier basin.”
He added: “This collaborative approach will help our clients identify high-potential play segments, assess exploration risks and accelerate hydrocarbon discovery.”
TGS and Schlumberger have a long-term commitment with the Egypt Ministry of Petroleum and South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) to acquire and process seismic data and promote the prospectivity of the Egyptian Red Sea.
GANOPE is responsible for managing Egypt’s hydrocarbon resource potential under latitude line 28°.
Africa Oil Week: Somalia Keen To Showcase Its Untapped Potential To The World
Somalia’s Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed is hoping to use the Africa Oil Week (AOW) scheduled from November 4-8 in Cape Town, South Africa, to woo international oil and gas companies to the Horn of the African nation.
Mr Ahmed is expected to use the AOW to lay out the vision and objectives of the Somali national oil and gas sector before financiers and operators.
“This year is a landmark in the development of Somalia’s natural resources. The Ministry has worked successfully with the federal member states to create an equitable and transparent framework to develop natural resources for the greater good of Somalia,” a statement issued and copied to energynewsafrica.com by APO Group said.
The statement said Somalia is expected to honour most of its legacy contracts. An agreement has already been reached with Shell and ExxonMobil to settle rental fee payments for offshore blocks (part of a dormant joint venture).
However, it does not seem that either of the companies is rushing back into the country, with Shell stating that “the payment does not affect force majeure status, which remains in place.”
Despite this, Mr Ahmed has reason to hope that investment will begin to flow into Somalia.
Seismic surveys conducted by British companies, Soma Oil & Gas and Spectrum Geo, suggest the country has promising offshore oil reserves of up to 100 billion barrels.
What is more: recent oil finds in Uganda and huge gas discoveries offshore Tanzania and Mozambique mean that oil companies have flocked to East Africa in recent years, and Somalia could well become a beneficiary of this trend.
The summit’s Director of Government Relations, Paul Sinclair, commented, “We are working closely with the Minister to ensure that the global private sector benefits from exclusive opportunities going live in a Somali National Showcase at Africa Oil Week.”
South Africa: ESKOM In Search For A New CEO
The interim executive chairman of Eskom, South Africa’s utility company, Mr. Jabu Mabuza, has confirmed that the process of appointing a new chief executive officer is well underway.
“We are on course to meet our timelines and we have closed adverts,” Mabuza said at a media briefing on the state of the system, esi-africa.com on Monday.
Interviews for the top job reportedly begun today [Monday, 09 September].
According to esi-africa.com, Mabuza indicated that they hope to go to the board on 16 September to present three names that they want to recommend to the Minister [of Public Enterprises].
“So by 30 September, we would have given the Minister the three names,” he said.
On 30 July, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced Mabuza as interim executive chairperson and acting chief executive officer of Eskom, following the resignation of Phakamani Hadebe.
The appointment of Mabuza as interim CEO has provoked many questions, particularly from a governance point of view.
In this regard, Parmi Natesan, CEO of the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa cited Principle 10 of King IV on corporate governance, which states that: “The governing body should ensure that the appointment of, and delegation to, management contribute to role clarity and the effective exercise of authority and responsibilities.”
Natesan noted: “King is clear that the roles of the CEO and Chair are quite distinct, and that good governance requires them to be kept rigorously separate.”
He added: “The Chair leads the Board in exercising oversight over management, and should be independent, while the CEO leads the management team. The CEO and his or her team are accountable to the board, and this separation of powers is vital to ensure the necessary checks and balances are in place.”
Mabuza, who assumed the role of group chief executive officer of the power utility on 1 August, assured South Africans that he will be stepping down after three months – as agreed.
“I am also on course not to be here on 1 November. That is cast in stone,” said Mabuza
OPEC’s Equatorial Guinea Banking On A $700 Million IMF Deal By 2020
Equatorial Guinea wants to secure $700 million in support from the International Monetary Fund by January as the country seeks to help shore up central Africa’s common currency.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ smallest member will host an IMF mission later this month for talks on a possible deal, the minister of economy, finance and planning, Cesar Mba Abogo, said in an interview at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town.
The talks are part of the lender’s reform programs with the six member nations of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, whose oil-dependent economies have been hit by the collapse of prices since 2014.
Lower crude prices stymied economic growth and led to external reserves dropping by almost two-thirds over three years to about two months of import cover by the middle of 2017 as foreign inflows dwindled. It also raised fears that the Central Africa CFA franc, whose peg to the euro is guaranteed by France, was at risk of devaluation.
“The point is to make sure we can increase our amount of reserves to defend our currency,” Mba Abogo said in a report filed by worldoil.com.
“Some of the countries have already had financial assistance, now it’s the time for Equatorial Guinea to get it.”
While member nations such as Cameroon, Gabon and Chad already agreed to economic reforms as part of financial support programs with the IMF, Equatorial Guinea hasn’t yet finalized a deal. Despite its oil riches and boasting one of the highest rates of gross domestic product per capita in Africa, Equatorial Guinea has some of the continent’s worst social indicators as President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo enters his fifth decade in office.
Less than half of the population of about 1.3 million people has access to clean water, and 20% of children die before reaching the age of 5, United Nations data show. More than half of all children of primary age aren’t in school.
The IMF has made support for Equatorial Guinea subject to membership of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which requires the support of civil-society groups.
Groups in the country are part of the discussions, Mba Abogo indicated. “Some groups, civil society or whatever, are contaminated by stereotypes. They do not even give Equatorial Guinea the opportunity to showcase itself, to prove to them what we are.”
Equatorial Guinea has already started to implement financial reforms and will record its first budget surplus this financial year since at least 2014, Mba Abogo noted. The turnaround was made possible by the use of a conservative price estimate of $50 per barrel for oil, he said. Crude closed at $60.95 on Thursday.
“We learned the hard way,” Mba Abogo said. “We’ve done some tremendous fiscal adjustments when it comes to capital expenditure and also when it comes to our ability to mobilize resources by ensuring our tax collection can be better.”
Debt is at 42% of GDP and the country will target to have the lowest level in the sub-region, he said.
Equinor Vows To Clean Up Bahamas Oil Spill
Equinor, a Norwegian oil firm has said it will clean up the spills from its South Riding Point oil terminal, a consequence of the hurricane Dorian.
As previously reported, Equinor’s oil storage terminal in the Bahamas was damaged by the hurricane Dorian last week.
At the time of arrival of the hurricane, Equinor had 54 personnel on Grand Bahama. All are confirmed safe and accounted for and employee relief is being provided, including water and food.
The South Riding Point oil terminal has sustained damage from the hurricane and oil has been observed on the ground at the terminal site and in neighboring areas. The size of the spill is not yet clear, Equinor said in a statement on Sunday.
According to Equinor, based on current visual assessments, there are no indications of continued oil leakage from the tanks or of oil spills from the terminal to sea or beaches. Further examination is ongoing to assess the full impact of the spill.
According to report filed by offshoreenergytoday.com, security personnel are on site at the terminal working to secure the area and identify potential hazards.
Equinor has secured vessels and equipment for oil spill response in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, and from various ports across southeast Florida. Some are now en-route, while some are pending customs to be en-route as soon as possible. Upon arrival, clean-up and remediation will start immediately.
The equipment mobilized includes skimmers, oil containment booms, absorbents, pumps, pressure washers and boats.
Equinor noted that the situation is complex and challenging, with damage to infrastructure hampering progress in relief and response efforts.
The company has almost 100 members of its incident management organization in Norway and the US now working in coordination with our people on Grand Bahamas Island.
Ghana: Fuel Price Hikes Suffocating Us, Reduce It Now-Petroleum Sector Workers
The General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU) of TUC in the Republic of Ghana, has expressed unhappiness about how government is imposing hardships on workers through what it described as incessant increases in fuel prices.
According to the petroleum sector workers in the West African nation, their plights are getting worse because of the fuel hikes and its impact on prices of other goods and services.
They contended that life has become unbearable for most of them as a result of the frequent hikes in fuel prices.
In a statement signed by Deputy General Secretary of GTPCWU, Mr Francis Sallah and copied to energynewsafrica.com, the Union reminded government to be mindful of the implications of the sharp increases in taxes on petroleum products on Ghanaians and take steps to bring them relief.
“The fuel price increase is coming from the many taxes and fees that are being levied on Ghanaians. The taxes are high and too many leading to a worsening of the living standards of Ghanaians. The tax on fuel alone is between 40%-45% of the fuel price. Government must immediately reduce the tax to lessen the burden on Ghanaian workers.
“Fuel prices are being increased indiscriminately. This development does not bode well for the living conditions of workers, their families and Ghanaians in general and it must be halted,” the statement added.
“We call for decorous discussions about ending the suffering of workers and Ghanaians. Government must seek to fulfill its promise of making the lives of Ghanaians better.
“We are calling for a reduction in the taxes to ease the difficulties of workers. We hope and believe that this piece will go a long way to send a signal to government on the appalling and harsh conditions faced by the Ghanaian worker and the society in general to enable it take a position to rectify them without delay.”
Fuel prices at the pump shot up last Monday from the previous GHc5.19 per litre to about GHc5.39 for a litre, representing a 3.7% jump in previous figures at the pumps.
Below is the full statement
PDS Probe: FTI Report Misleading – Government Claims
Government of Ghana is urging its citizens to be patient and wait for the full report on the investigation conducted into the alleged ‘fundamental and material’ breaches regarding the transfer of distribution business of Electricity Company of Ghana to the Power Distribution Services Ghana (PDS) Limited.
The call follows the leaking of a report by FTI Consulting, a United States-based consulting firm which was commissioned by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) to probe the claim by the Akufo-Addo administration.
The FTI report indicated that PDS duly won the contract to manage the assets of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and said insurance guarantees were paid to back PDS’s takeover of the assets and operations of the ECG.
According to the 32-page report submitted by FTI Consulting to MiDA, dated September 3, 2019 and signed by Pat Pericak and David Okhumal, both officials of the consulting firm, said: “We have not seen any documents that would suggest that, as of March 1, 2019, PDS, Cal Bank, Donewell and/or personnel from MiDA should have questioned the validity of the payment securities.”
However, speaking on an Accra-based Citi FM, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the circulation of the leaked report was misleading and advised “everybody to just tarry whilst it [the full report] is all put together in the various parties.”
“To create an impression that it is the full embodiment of the government position on the PDS enquiry and we find that very unfortunate because that is not the case.”
The Minister explained that the FTI report represented one part of the probe; the part which involved a trip to the United States of America for engagements with the Millennium Challenge Compact as part of a forensic.
The second team did part of its investigation in Qatar and Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said the report on this part of the investigation will provide the full picture.
When that final embodiment is put into a government position statement, they will be formally engaging the country on the position of Ghana.”
“That entire document must be read together with the other report and a certain common position arrived at. It is that common position that becomes the embodiment of the government of Ghana and MCC position moving forward.”
Ghana: Fuel Prices Go Up 50% In 32 Months – IES
Fuel prices have consistently gone up for the past 32 months to see an accumulated increment of 50 percent over the period; meanwhile, the same cannot be said for consumers’ incomes, an analysis by the Institute for Energy Security (IES) in the Republic of Ghana has shown.
As Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) increase their prices at the pumps as a result of increments in the Road Fund Levy (RFL), the Energy Debt Recovery Levy (EDRL) and the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy (PSRL) by Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta, when he presented the 2019 mid-year budget review speech, consumers are getting to terms with the latest upward adjustments.
“The current increases come to compound 32 months of torrid moments Ghanaians have had to bear as they contended with persistent increases in fuel prices since January 2017,” Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, the institute’s Executive Director, noted.
“And not even the revision and neutralising of the PSRL, aimed at reducing the impact of rising oil prices on the international market on consumers, and a downward review of the Special Petroleum Tax (SPT) could stop Gasoil and Gasoline prices from jumping by close to 50 percent to sell at GH¢5.385 per litre today,” he explained.
Even as inflation stabilised between 9 and 10 percent over the past year, the currency’s depreciation – coupled with inflation at such rates – erodes the slight increments in workers’ incomes. Therefore, with fuel prices going up by 50 percent over the past two and half years, consumers are becoming worse off with every increment.
Lack of innovation to expand tax net
As government struggles to meet its revenue targets after persistent calls from civil society organisations to widen the tax net so as to include the majority of Ghanaians who are not paying taxes, it instead decided to rely on the low-hanging fruit to drain more income from consumers who are already paying more than enough.
The proposal by Mr Ofori-Atta, therefore, increased the Energy Sector Levies by GHp20 per litre for petrol and diesel, and GHp8 per kg for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), to raise more revenue and enable government to issue additional bonds for paying down the energy sector debt obligations.
“Government could have handled its economic indicators better, especially the bit about forex. Fuel, as an international commodity, will require a stable local currency against the US dollar, the major importing/trading currency, to remain stable on the local market,” Mr Sakyi opined.
Also, the huge taxes laden on the Petroleum Price Build-up (PBU) could be reviewed downward in the interests of the consumer, he added.
“Aside from government’s failure to maintain the cedi’s strength, some of the mechanisms built into the system to avert such increases in fuel prices have equally failed,” he said, pointing to the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company’s (BOST) failure in recent times to keep strategic fuel stock for Ghanaians, to manage the effects of price volatility in the international market on the local economy.
“The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is unable to produce at import parity, and barely maintains a respectable utilisation rate lately. Also, the Price Stabilisation has failed to live up to its intended purpose,” he added.
The value of Gasoline and the cedi at the beginning of 2019 was Gh¢5.06 per litre and Gh¢4.9 to the US dollar. At today’s values, Gasoline price has increased by 6.4 percent, whereas the value of the cedi has depreciated by 10 percent.
The first Pricing-window for the month of March 2019 saw the largest rise in the price of fuels, as both Gasoline and Gasoil moved from an average of GH¢4.94 per litre to cross the Gh¢5 line and sell at Gh¢5.17; representing a percentage increase of 4.8.
More worries in last quarter
Mr. Sakyi warned Ghanaians to expect further increments of fuel prices in the last quarter of the year, given that the world oil market variables will continue to be unfavourable – just like the variables in the local economy. “Taxes and levies don’t look like coming down any time soon, and the cedi is fast-depreciating against major trading currency; inflation is on the rise, and there’s no buffer oil stock for the country.”