World Bank Bans Chinese Firm For Falsifying Power Contract In Ghana, Burkina Faso
The World Bank has imposed a 15-month ban on a Chinese company, Sieyuan Electric Co. Ltd after it emerged that the company falsified its contract in a Bank-funded in 2018.
The sanction, which was announced Tuesday, May 14, is in connection with fraudulent practices under the Inter-Zonal Transmission Hub Project, which was part of the Western Africa Power Pool (WAPP) Programme.
The Shanghai-based Sieyuan Electric Co., Ltd, (Sieyuan), specialises in research and development relating to electricity power technology.
What does this debarment mean?
The debarment makes Sieyuan and its affiliates ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects.
It is part of a settlement agreement under which the company acknowledges responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practices, the World Bank explained in a statement.
The $111 million projects, which closed in 2018, was partly funded by a financing agreement with Ghana and was designed to improve the security and reduce the cost of the electricity supply to Burkina Faso while also increasing Ghana’s capacity to export electricity.
It was part of a program designed to establish a power-pooling mechanism to increase the affordability and reliability of electricity for citizens of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
What did Sieyuan do?
According to the facts of the case, Seiyuan falsified its past contract experience to meet the requirements of a contract under the project, which is a fraudulent practice.
The settlement agreement provides for a reduced period of sanction in light of the company’s cooperation and voluntary remedial actions.
As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company commits to continue to fully cooperate with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice President.
The debarment of Sieyuan qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks (MDBs) under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions that was signed on April 9, 2010.
West Africa Power Pool
The development objective of the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) program project is to establish a well-functioning, cooperative, power pooling mechanism for West Africa, as a means to increase access of the citizens of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to stable and reliable electricity at affordable costs.
There are five components to the project. The first component of the project is transmission line between Bolgatanga, Ghana, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The second component of the project is the reinforcement of transmission grid in Ghana.
The third component of the project is the electrification of rural localities along the right of way in Burkina Faso. The fourth component of the project is supervision/owner’s engineer.
The fifth component of the project is capacity building and institutional support to Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and SONABEL for project implementation.
Source: myjoyonline.com
Iranian Official: Europe Can Still Buy Iran’s Oil
European firms can still buy oil from Iran as some companies don’t have interests in the United States and aren’t concerned about the U.S. sanctions on Tehran, former Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi, who is now the head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, told French daily Le Monde in an interview this week.
The European companies that stopped importing Iranian oil after the U.S. re-imposed the sanctions in November seem to have decided to halt Iranian oil intake due to political reasons, according to an English translation of the Le Monde interview in Iranian outlet Mehr news agency.
“Italy and Greece stopped their purchases, while the US had granted them some waivers. This shows that those countries have made a political decision,” Kharrazi said, as carried by Mehr.
European companies, however, are wary of secondary U.S. sanctions if they trade with Iran, especially in oil, as the U.S. is seeking to bring Iranian oil exports down to zero and ended all sanction waivers it had initially extended for six months.
Last week, Iran said that it was suspending some of its commitments under the nuclear deal and threatened to resume enriching uranium to a higher level if the remaining signatories to the deal—the EU, Russia, and China—don’t fulfill within 60 days their commitments to Iran, including protecting Iranian oil trade from U.S. sanctions.
The EU and the foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany, responded on the day after the Iranian ultimatum that “We reject any ultimatums and we will assess Iran’s compliance on the basis of Iran’s performance regarding its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPoA and the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons).”
Yet, the ministers and the EU High Representative said in their statement that “We are determined to continue pursuing efforts to enable the continuation of legitimate trade with Iran, including through the operationalization of the special purpose vehicle ‘INSTEX’”—the special purpose payment vehicle that the EU set up earlier this year.
Source: Oilprice.com
One Worker Dies After Saipem Pipe-layer Blast In Caspian Sea
One worker has died following last week’s fire on the Saipem-owned pipe-laying vessel which, at the time of the incident, was operating in the Caspian Sea offshore Azerbaijan.
In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Saipem said that “one person who has been in most critical condition has passed away in the hospital of France this morning.”
The spokesperson added that no other injured worker is in life-threatening condition.
It would be recalled that Saipem’s Israfil Huseynov vessel caught fire last Wednesday, May 8, while it was working on pipelaying at the Shah Deniz II project.
The incident was related to maintenance operations on an item of equipment during pipe-laying activities.
As a result of the explosion, 14 people were injured, all employees of the Saipem Group.
Seven of the fourteen injured workers were placed in intensive care.
According to information provided by Saipem, all injured personnel was transferred on May 11 to the specialized hospitals of Turkey, Italy, France, and the UK.
Three other less injured persons – who were able to travel independently – have also reached their home countries.
The Israfil Huseynov is a pipe-laying barge owned by Caspian Marine Services. The vessel was built in 1988 in Mantyluoto, Finland.
Source: offshoreenergytoday.com
Ghana To Sell Gas To Ivory Coast
Ghana is considering entering into gas sale agreement with its West African neighbour, Ivory Coast.
In view of this, the Ministry of Energy would, in the coming days, despatch a delegation to Ivory Coast to hold discussions with the Ivorian authorities on the issue.
Minister for Energy John-Peter Amewu gave the hint when he addressed Ghanaians in Houston, Texas, USA, during a Town Hall Meeting.
The Minister used the occasion to explain to Ghanaians in Houston the state of the country’s energy sector before the current administration took over, and how it has managed to stabilise the power situation.
Sources at the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) told energynewsafrica.com that the company is in the process of constructing 50km gas pipeline from Atuabo Gas Processing Plant, which is east of the Ivory Coast border for gas supply to Ivory Coast.
Sources at Ghana Gas said the country is expected to export between 50-100mmsfd of gas to Ghana’s West African Francophone neighbour.
Ghana Gas is currently operating at full capacity, after it upgraded its Takoradi Regulating and Metering Station to 405mmscf.
Aker Energy Holds Career Fair In Houston, USA
Aker Energy, a Norwegian oil firm which is operating in the West African nation, Ghana, held a Career Fair on the sidelines of the just ended Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, USA.
The Fair was attended by Ghanaian students in Houston, who are pursuing engineering courses as well as some members of the Ghanaian Delegation to the OTC.
The objective of the Career Fair was for Aker Energy to walk the participants through what Aker Energy has been doing and the opportunities available for indigenous Ghanaians.
In a welcome address, Mrs Bernice Sam, who is the External Affairs Manager at Aker Energy, said the company is committed to building expertise and competencies in Ghana by doing several things.
She highlighted some of the initiatives Aker Energy had undertaken since it started operations in February 2018.
“First, we are integrating the ideals of the local content laws in our operations through initiating measures that widen the pool of suppliers to include indigenous companies.
“Second, we have a partnership with the Ghana National Petroleum Commission to engage ‘Secondees’ in our offices in Ghana and Norway as part of the exchange of knowledge and technology. Third, we have national service personnel who support the different units in the Ghana office.
Lastly, we have recently initiated an internship programme for graduates of universities in Ghana.”
According to her, Aker Energy believes in expanding its human resource to attract the best in the industry.
“It is, therefore, appropriate that we share our vision with a larger audience such as represented here this evening, with the expectation that experts in the diaspora and Ghanaians at this fair will find Aker Energy attractive to want to join our team,” she said.
The Finance Manager, Emmanuel Armah, and and Mrs Efua Nkrukah, the Human Resource and Administrative Manager at Aker Energy, also took their turn to address the participants and answered questions from them.
Fuel Tanker Crashes Motor Rider To Death In Tema
The deceased
Report reaching energynewsafrica.com has it that a fuel tanker has crashed a motor rider to death at the traffic intersection near the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).
An eyewitness, who gave his name as Edward, told this portal that the incident happened at about 10:30am Tuesday morning.
According to him, the driver of the fuel tanker, after crashing the motor rider, sped off but was pursued by some people around the area, who later apprehended him and confiscated the vehicle.
The deceased, whose name is not yet known, is still lying in the area, as the police are yet to arrive at the scene to convey the body to the morgue.
Meanwhile, the driver is still in the grips of the citizens who arrested him.
ENI Makes Light Oil Discovery Offshore Angola
Italian oil company,ENI, has made a new light oil discovery in Block 15/06, in Angola’s deep offshore.
The well was drilled on the Ndungu exploration prospect.
According to ENI’s statement on Tuesday, the new discovery is estimated to contain up to 250 million barrels of light oil in place, with further upside.
The Ndungu-1 NFW well is located a few kilometers from ENI’s West Hub facilities, and has been drilled by the Poseidon drillship in a water depth of 1076 meters and reached a total depth of 4050 meters.
The Poseidon drillship was previously owned by Ocean Rig until the driller was acquired by Transocean in December 2018. The drillship started working for Eni in Angola in November last year following a drilling campaign in Namibia where it had drilled for Chariot and Tullow. Eni hired the Poseidon for a firm four-well program.
Eni said that the Ndungu-1 NFW proved a single oil column of about 65 meters with 45 meters of net pay of high quality oil (35° API) contained in Oligocene sandstones with excellent petrophysical properties. The result of the intensive data collection indicates a production capacity in excess of 10,000 barrels of oil per day.
Ndungu is the first significant oil discovery in Angola inside an already existing Development Area. It certifies the concrete validity of the recent legislation, promoted through the Presidential Legislative Decree No. 5/18 of 18 May 2018, which defines a favorable legal framework on additional exploration activities within existing Development Areas.
Being located about 2 km from the Mpungi field, the new discovery can be fast-tracked to production due to the proximity to the subsea production system. Production will be routed to the N’goma FPSO, therefore extending the West Hub’s production plateau, Eni explained.
Ndungu is the fourth discovery of commercial nature since the Block 15/06 Joint Venture re-launched its exploration campaign in mid-2018. It follows the discoveries of Kalimba, Afoxé and Agogo; the four discoveries altogether already estimated to contain up to 1.4 Billion barrels of light oil in place. The appraisal phase of these discoveries will target their additional upside.
To remind, ENI announced “a major oil discovery” in Block 15/06, in the Agogo exploration prospect, in Angola’s deep water in March 2019.
ENI said that these important discoveries further demonstrate the upside potential of the block and the effectiveness of the proprietary technologies that ENI used and will use to explore Block 15/06.
The Block 15/06 Joint Venture, composed by ENI (operator, 36.8421%), Sonangol P&P (36.8421%) and SSI Fifteen Limited (26.3158%), will work to fast track its development.
Source: Offshoreenergytoday.com
Oil Tanker Collision In Houston Causes Leak, Closes Critical Port
A collision between an oil tanker and a tug boat in the Houston Ship Channel on Friday caused a capsizing and an oil derivative leak.
The tug boat, according to reports, was moving two barges, one of which capsized as a result of the collision.
The two vessels were carrying a combined 25,000 tons of reformate. This is a by-product of oil refining that is used in the production of gasoline.
According to the most recent report from the Houston Chronicle, some 9,000 barrels of reformate was spilled in the waterway and cleanup is continuing.
According to estimates made by port officials, the cleanup and the removal of the fuel from the barges’ tankers will take around two days.
So far, the oil spill response crews have deployed 3,800 feet of boom around the barges and another 12,000 feet of boom in surrounding areas to protect the ecosystem while the cleanup continues.
The Houston Ship Channel was closed after the collision but was reopened on Sunday after an official from the Texas General Land Office’s oil spill prevention program said the water was not dangerous for humans even though there had been several reports about dead animals in the vicinity.
The cause of the collision is yet to be established but whatever it is, the cost for Houston Port will be high. The port is one of the busiest in the United States and every hour it remains closed carries a hefty price tag.
The Houston Chronicle reports the accident will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and that it will be the fifth accident the NTSB will investigate in the Houston Ship Channel in five years.
One of these, in 2014, resulted in a spill of 168,000 gallons of bunkering fuel and the other, a year later, led to a spill of 88,000 gallons of a gasoline additive. Both accidents followed tanker collisions.
Source: Oilprice.com
Lekoil Withdraws Legal Action In Nigeria Over Offshore Block
Nigerian oil company Lekoil will drop legal action against the Nigerian oil ministry in relation to its acquisition of a stake in an offshore block from Afren.
As previously reported, Lekoil, which holds an unconditional 17.14 percent interest in the OPL 310 located in shallow water offshore Lagos, in 2016 bought an additional 22.86 percent interest, from Afren Oil & Gas.
The company, however, has not been able to formally complete the acquisition, as it has not received a response from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, despite seeking one in 2016.
In March 2016, Lekoil was notified by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources that the necessary due diligence exercise would be conducted that month. The due diligence exercise did not take place and had not been rescheduled by the Department of Petroleum Resources since then.
This led Lekoil to go to court to speed up the process and preserve its license rights.
Lekoil then went to court in 2019. The court in March 2019 ruled that Lekoil’s acquisition of OPL 310 stake had been “inchoate based on the fact that Consent is pending,” meaning that the 22.86 percent participating interest in OPL 310 is still held by Afren until ministerial consent is granted.
Lekoil at the time said it believed it had strong grounds to appeal against this judgment by the Federal High Court; and intended to file a notice of appeal, and a stay of execution of this judgment with the court.
Legal action dropped
Lekoil said on Tuesday that it had received a letter from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources relating to an application for an extension (re-award) to the OPL 310 license.
According to Lekoil, the Letter notes that the OPL 310 license expired on February 10, 2019, “and ownership of OPL 310 has accordingly reverted to the Government in line with Petroleum Act.”
The letter further sets out, Lekoil says, that the re-award will not be considered by the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources until such point as the suit filed by Lekoil against the minister is withdrawn by Lekoil and other parties to the action.
Furthermore, the letter says that failure by Lekoil and others to withdraw the suit within thirty (30) days of the Letter – which was dated 8 May 2019, but received by Lekoil on 13 May 2019 – forecloses any consideration of re-award to Optimum Petroleum Development Limited, Lekoil and their affiliates or subsidiaries.
“The company has decided to withdraw legal action. The company will also continue engagements with the regulator and Optimum Petroleum Development Company Limited, the operator of OPL 310, to conclude agreements and resolve all outstanding issues. Further updates will be provided as and when necessary,” Lekoil said.
ACEP Demands Immediate Review Of 13 Petroleum Agreements
Benjamin Boakye, Executive Director of ACEP
The Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) has urged government to, as a matter of urgency, review all existing Petroleum Contracts and their deliverables to ensure that companies who are not complying with their contracts are sanctioned appropriately.
According to ACEP, out of the 15 active Petroleum Agreements, beyond the producing fields of Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa, only two companies HESS/AKER and ENI have delivered on their obligations.
Commenting on the state of contracts in the petroleum sector at the launch of ACEP’s 2019 Petroleum Contract Monitor Report in Accra, the Executive Director of ACEP Benjamin Boakye said by hijacking and not fulfilling their obligations on oil blocks in the country, some oil companies are denying Ghana the opportunity to produce more oil to meet the objective of oil production for national development.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
Sinopec, CNPC Stop Buying Iranian Oil In May
China’s two largest oil companies, CNPC and Sinopec have not ordered any Iranian oil cargoes to load this month after the expiry of the sanction waivers Washington had granted China and seven other Iranian oil importers, Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources.
The news comes despite statements from Beijing that it will not comply with the U.S. sanctions against Iran and will continue trading with the country including buying crude oil from it.
China is the biggest buyer of Iranian crude, most recently at a rate of 475,000 bpd, over the first quarter of 2019.
That amount is above the quota that the U.S. assigned to China as part of the waiver.
The Reuters sources said, however, that the refiners are worried about sanction violation penalties as both have enough exposure to the U.S. banking system to be vulnerable to such penalties.
Even so, one of the sources said, Sinopec was unwilling to breach its long-term supply contract with Tehran. This probably means the company will look for ways to circumvent sanctions.
Meanwhile, all of Iran’s oil clients are looking for alternatives, and they are finding them, but at a higher price: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the UAE were quick to assure the market they would step in and boost exports to fill the Iranian oil gap after the U.S. announced that no waivers would be renewed.
Soon after, Saudi Arabia said it would hike prices for Asian clients for June delivery shipments in response to requests for additional deliveries. Higher prices are not something that would make either China or India happy, but their options are limited.
Despite Washington’s determination to completely stop the flow of oil from Iran to foreign markets, few believe that the zero-export target is achievable, even though the sanctions have done some considerable damage to Iran’s coffers.
The U.S. special envoy for Iran Brian Hook last month estimated the losses suffered by Tehran in oil revenues at US$10 billion.
Source: Oilprice.com
Ghana’s Energy Minister, Others Visit TGS
Ghana’s Minister for Energy John-Peter Amewu, his Deputy in charge of Petroleum, Dr Mohammad Amin Adam, as well as some Ghanaian delegation to the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, USA, visited TGS, the world’s largest geoscience data company to familiarise themselves with the operations of the company.
TGS is specialised in seismic data gathering and well data for oil exploration activities.
Additionally, it provides services to oil majors like ExxonMobil, Repsol, Shell and ENI.
TGS has been in Ghana since 2003 and has worked with Ghana’s national oil company, GNPC, to acquire 2D Seismic Data for oil exploration.
Peter Amewu and his entourage toured Operations (vessel), Processing (seismic) and Well Data Processing Departments of TGS.
Below are exclusive pictures energynewsafrica’s Michael Creg Afful, who was with the Minister, took.
Rwanda Signs Nuclear Energy Deal With Morocco
Left: Director-General of AMSSNuR Dr Khammar Mrabit. Right: RURA Director-General, Patrick Nyirishema.
Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Moroccan Agency for Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security (AMSSNuR) to collaborate on nuclear energy developments.
A joint press statement explained that the MoU is to facilitate the collaboration between the RURA and AMSSNuR in the areas of nuclear and radiological safety and security regulations, radioactive waste management and spent fuel management, emergency preparedness and response, capacity building and facilitation of attachment of the staff and to organise and host national and international meetings.
Speaking after the signing of the cooperation agreement, the Director General of AMSSNuR Dr Khammar Mrabit stated that nuclear safety industry encompasses more opportunities for strengthening the signed cooperation.
“There is growing use of ionizing radiation in medical practices in the two countries, and here we can share a lot of experience and exchange information so as to improve the safety of the patients, the safety of the environment and the entire society in general,” said Dr Mrabit.
He added: “We in our field of radiation safety and security we shall do our part together and we are committed to share with you what we have and what we did; and to learn from you.”
Cooperation nuclear energy use
It is also noted that the signed agreement for bilateral cooperation stresses the mutual interest for both RURA and AMSSNuR in pursuing cooperation in the area of nuclear energy use for peaceful purposes.
RURA Director-General, Patrick Nyirishema commented: “There is a lot to learn from their [AMSSNuR] experience in terms of building the capabilities in the country and at an institutional level.
“We can also work with other regulators across Africa and strengthen this field of radiation protection and nuclear security within Africa and have a bigger voice on the global level.”
Uganda Puts Five Oil Blocks Up For Licensing
Uganda has put five new blocks on offer for its second licensing round in the Albertine Graben, according to an announcement by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ing. Irene Muloni at the East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition, Kenya.
Muloni said Uganda was expecting many potential exploration companies for the blocks given that the current price of crude oil was high and very attractive for investment. She added the cost of finding oil in Uganda has been very low at less than a dollar per barrel as compared to the world average of two dollars per barrel. “I am very pleased to announce that my five new brides are ready. They are very attractive and easy to find. I invite investors to come and take them up,” Muloni said.
The Minister went on to say that the investment climate in Uganda was very conducive for investment singling out peace and security, infrastructure development, tax incentives and a good human resource made of youthful and educated population.
The five blocks are; Avivi with an area coverage of 1026 sq km, Omuka (750 sq km), Kasuruban (1,285 sq km), Turaco (637 sq km) and Ngaji (1,230 sq km).
“Following this announcement, the Ministry will issue a Request for Qualification (RFQ) inviting interested firms and/or consortia to submit applications within a period of six months. Upon evaluation of the applications the successful firms/consortia will be issued with bidding documents comprising the model production sharing agreement and data sale regulations among others,” Muloni added.
The bidding process will take five months and result in the negotiations and signing of production sharing agreements between Government and the successful bidders. The licensing round is expected to be concluded with the award of Petroleum Exploration Licenses to successful firms by December 2020.
Source: petroleumafrica.com