PDS-Krobos Impasse Over Electricity Bills: The Inside Story
Nene Sakite II, Konor of Manya Traditional Council
Contrary to what the public has been made to believe that the recent happenings in the Manya Krobo area has to do with exorbitant electricity bills or fight for free electricity allegedly promised by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, energynewsafrica.com can state on authority that the underlying issue is not electricity bills as being bandied about.
This portal can state that the issue of electricity bills or supposed free electricity allegedly promised by Dr Kwame Nkrumah was used as a vehicle by those behind the United Krobo Foundation to achieve a certain agenda, which, we can say for now that, has failed.
Information available to energynewsafrica.com from a grapevine indicates that half of the six divisional councils which form the Manya Krobo Traditional Council have some bone of contention with Nene Sakite II, who is the Konor of the Paramountcy.
The divisions, which currently have issues with the Konor, include Dom, Manya and Piengwua.
Our sources indicated that these divisional chiefs have tried to use several means before the electricity issue and having failed, have now latched onto the alleged exorbitant electricity bills to fan discontent in Krobokand
Checks conducted by this online indicate that the Krobos had been paying for electricity long ago until the United Krobo Foundation, formerly known as the Voice of United Krobo Force, birthed a claim that they were promised free electricity by Dr Kwame Nkrumah and by that, started inciting the gullible Krobos to refuse to pay for electricity.
According to our grapevine sources, when the United Krobo Foundation (UKF) came with this claim, the Konor challenged the group to prove its claim before he supported them, but the group failed to give concrete evidence by way of MOU.
Our sources said because the Konor did not support the idea, the divisional chiefs, which are against him allegedly, teamed up to instigate violent clashes in the area so that they would turn around and claim that the Konor had failed in ensuring that there was peace in the area, thereby pushing for his removal from the stool.
Interestingly, the agitations are emanating from only the areas that have issues with the Konor.
It is, therefore, not surprising that none of the leadership of the towns such as Kpongunor and Yohe have not condemned the intolerant and unlawful acts of the youth, whose actions are giving the entire Kroboland a sour publicity.
It is public knowledge that the then ECG had series of engagements with all the stakeholders in the area to come to terms with them and see how best they could repay their accumulated bills.
Despite the flexible repayment terms the then ECG offered these agitating residents, they refused to adhere to the terms because they apparently knew the agenda they had kept under the carpet.
According to documents available to this portal, at a point the United Krobo Foundation demanded that the then ECG cancelled all the electricity bills they owed from 2014 to 2017, but their demands were rejected.
The question to ask is: Why did the United Krobo Foundation ask for the cancellation of almost four years’ electricity bills, when they know that it could not be possible? Is it because they have an agenda, and so those demands they made? If there were no agenda, why would they now accept to pay all the outstanding debts, something they had refused earlier?
A journalist, who is abreast with issues in the Krobo area, spoke to this portal, admitting that although he was aware of some fracas between some of the divisional chiefs and the Paramount Chief, he could, however, not confirm whether the so-called outrageous electricity bills were being used as a vehicle to fuel the chieftaincy ‘battle’.
Energynewsafrica.com’s Michael Creg Afful, who was in the Krobo area, on Sunday, gathered that the paramountcy sought the support of some political figures to intervene to resolve the matter but they declined to dabble in chieftaincy issues.
Interestingly, energynewsafrica.com was present when Energy Minister John-Peter Amewu visited Odumase to commiserate with the family of Thomas Partey, who lost his life in the course of the recent clashes, and also see Nene Sakite II, Konor of Manya Krobo Traditional Area.
Addressing the Energy Minister, the visibly distraught looking Konor told his guest that about two years ago when some residents made allegations that their electricity bills were on the higher side and protested, the then ECG convened a meeting in which it acknowledged the anomalies and promised to correct them, which they did.
He continued that the company came up with a road map which had flexible repayment plan, explaining that those who took their electricity bills to ECG were given reduction, but others also refused.
“We have not been resting on this issue. We have been meeting all the time. All the stakeholders, and as a matter of fact, tomorrow (today) afternoon, we are holding another meeting with a whole lot of people from around and we want to put our heads together to find lasting solutions to the issues we have been talking about.
“We are all concerned about high tariffs. Yes. When this thing happened about two years ago, ECG and now PDS, did confirm that there was a mistake. They found a lapse somewhere, and they were going to correct it, so we should all bring our bills and anybody at all who will suspect anything, should bring their bills. Quite a number of people did and their payments went down substantially.
“I know there are some people who have not had the opportunity yet to bring their bills, but I am urging all Krobos to bring their bills to PDS to be looked at. It is very important that…I will prefer people will bring their bills, and when they go there and nothing is being done about it, then, we will know what our response should be.
“If you don’t bring your bills over there and there is a problem, I don’t know how we are going to solve it. Some people are doing it, some are not. I am just pleading to my sons and daughters that we are not going to rest until we are able to get to the bottom of this to get the problem resolved. We are all working hard…the stakeholders, the leadership and representatives of the Regional Minister, everybody involved, and that is what I like about this, and very soon we will see better results.”
Below is the previous road map
US Tells Hong Kong To Lookout for An Oil Tanker Carrying Iranian Oil
The United States has urged Hong Kong to be on the lookout for an oil tanker carrying Iranian oil presumably that may be on its way to China, in violation of US sanctions against the Middle Eastern country, according to Reuters.
China has historically been Iran’s largest crude oil customer, although China has significantly increased its crude oil purchases from Saudi Arabia since the onset of US sanctions.
The oil tanker, known as the Pacific Bravo (formerly Silver Glory), was originally headed to Indonesia, Refinitive Eikon data showed, according to Reuters, but changed course on Monday to head toward Sri Lanka.
The Pacific Bravo flies under the Liberian flag, but a senior US official claims the oil tanker is owned by China’s Bank of Kunlun, which is the official handler of money between China and Iran. Bank of Kunlun is owned by CNPC’s financial arm, CNPC capital.
“Anyone who does business with this ship, the Pacific Bravo, would be exposing themselves to U.S. sanctions,” the senior official said, adding that the US will “enforce our Iran sanctions quite aggressively and quite consistently.”
The news comes as Indian news outlet ThePrint reported on Tuesday that India would ultimately resume purchases of Iranian crude oil despite the sanctions. India is Iran’s second-largest crude oil purchaser.
While India and China may be bold enough to thumb their noses at US sanctions on Iran’s crude oil, they may have difficulty finding willing insurers and shipping companies to do the same.
Iran has been consistently adamant that the United States would be unable to drive its oil exports to zero, and has engaged in covert shipments of oil and fuel, including forging documents to subvert the United States’ plan to restrict its oil exports.
Source: Oilprice.com
Occidental Aims To Sell Anadarko Assets As Debt Jumps With Deal
Occidental Petroleum hasn’t closed the acquisition of Anadarko yet, but analysts are already speculating about which Anadarko assets Occidental could divest to cut part of the debt it has taken on from the transaction and to focus on the core assets after the deal—Anadarko’s prime U.S. shale acreage.
The sooner Occidental delivers on its non-core asset sales, the sooner it can start consolidating complementary assets with Anadarko to achieve synergies and regain some favor with investors, shareholders, and the market, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) analysts and bankers tell Reuters.
When Oxy announced earlier this month that it had entered into a deal to buy Anadarko—outbidding Chevron—Occidental said it “expects to reduce debt over the next 24 months through free cash flow growth, realizing identified synergies and executing a planned portfolio optimization strategy with $10-15 billion of divestitures over the next 12-24 months; $8.8 billion of which has already been agreed through the transaction with Total.”
The deal with Total, however, may not go as smoothly as initially expected, after Algeria’s Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab said over the weekend that the North African country would not allow Total to acquire Anadarko’s assets, because Algeria’s government had not been consulted on the matter and is now ready to exercise its pre-emption right.
Algeria quickly came down off that stance, with its energy minister acquiescing enough to say it was open to a “good compromise” for a Total/Anadarko deal, according to S&P Global Platts.
According to analysts who spoke to Reuters, Occidental’s most likely asset sales could be Anadarko’s pipeline business and the assets in the Gulf of Mexico. Anadarko’s GoM position may be worth at least US$6 billion, and potential buyers could be some of the biggest players with experience in the Gulf of Mexico such as Exxon, Shell, Chevron, and Total, analysts tell Reuters.
If the deal with Total for Anadarko’s African assets goes through and Oxy sells the offshore assets, it would likely reach its US$10-15 billion asset sale target, Matt Sallee, portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors, told Reuters.
When Occidental approached Anadarko in late April with a bid countering Chevron’s, rating agency Moody’s said that the proposed deal would add almost US$40 billion of debt to OXY’s capital structure. Moody’s placed OXY under review for downgrade, noting that if the acquisition closes and crude oil prices remain supportive, “OXY would likely emerge from the review with a weakly positioned investment grade rating.”
Source: Oilprice.com
S.Africa: New 140MW Wind Farm Enters Construction Phase
Enel Green Power RSA, has begun construction of its 140MW Oyster Bay wind farm, in the Kouga Local Municipality, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.
The construction of Oyster Bay, which is Enel’s fourth wind project in the country, will involve an investment of approximately 180 million euros.
Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Green Power (EGP), said: “With the start of construction of the fourth wind project in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, we are continuing to contribute to the socio-economic development of the area through our zero-emission energy and initiatives to create shared value.
“These initiatives include the innovative model implemented at the Oyster Bay construction site, as well as the sustainability activities focused on scientific and technical education in the area around the project. Looking ahead, we will continue to harness South Africa’s abundance of renewable resources, creating a virtuous circle of sustainable energy generation, education and development.”
Once fully up and running, due in the second quarter of 2021, the 41-turbine Oyster Bay is expected to generate around 568 GWh per year, avoiding the annual emission of around 590,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The wind farm will be supported by a 20-year power supply agreement with the South African energy utility Eskom, as part of the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) tender, which awarded in April 2015 a total of five wind projects for 700MW to the Enel Group in its fourth round.
EGP will use innovative tools and methods to build this wind park, such as advanced digital platforms and software solutions to monitor and remotely support site activities and plant commissioning, digital tools to perform quality controls on site and smart tracking of wind turbine components as well as an active safety system.
These processes and tools will enable swifter, more accurate and reliable data collection, improving the quality of construction and facilitating communication between on-site and off-site teams.
In addition, the company has committed to ensure job creation in the community surrounding Oyster Bay, while also prioritising education, a key driver of socio-economic development, by supplying schools with clean energy through mini-PV systems, awarding scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects to local students and supporting school feeding programmes in the Kouga municipality.
Source: esi-africa.com
Ethiopia:Renewable Energy Programme Targets To Install 1,000MW
The World Bank’s board of executive directors have approved $200 million Renewable Energy Guarantees Programme (REGREP) to mobilize International Development Association (IDA) guarantees under a Multi-Phased Programmatic Approach (MPA).
The programme will support the government of Ethiopia’s ongoing power sector reforms and leverage private sector financing for renewable energy generation.
REGREP will support the development of over 1,000MW of greenfield solar and wind energy Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects in Ethiopia, including the World Bank Group Scaling Solar initiative.
“REGREP comes at this critical juncture and signals the government’s commitment to comprehensive power sector reforms and a private sector led renewable energy development programme that has the potential to be one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Rahul Kitchlu, senior energy specialist at the World Bank.
The REGREP marks the first IDA guarantees under deployment in Ethiopia. Enabled by the 2018 Public-Private Partnership Proclamation, this programme reflects a new way of doing business in the energy sector in Ethiopia – transitioning from continued public-financing towards private sector led competitively tendered procurement of new renewable generation capacity.
Structural transformation in Ethiopia
The programme is fully aligned with the World Bank’s Country Partnership framework for FY18—FY22.
It will foster structural transformation for growth by enhancing private sector financing of infrastructure projects; build resilience and inclusiveness by increasing supply of electricity sustainably and help to manage the impact of climate change through diversification of energy sources.
“With the support of the World Bank Group, this programme will create a platform for much-needed private sector participation in the crucial energy sector by lowering the risks of investing in Ethiopia,” said Carolyn Turk, World Bank country director for Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan
“The programme has the potential to leverage over $1.5 billion in private sector investment,” Turk added.
In line with the Maximizing Financing for Development (MFD) approach, the World Bank Group’s support to Ethiopia’s IPP programme follows a sequenced approach under which financing and technical assistance for policy reforms have unlocked significant opportunities for private sector participation in the power sector.
The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) provided support in terms of resource mapping and validation, as well as technical studies to identify areas for wind development.
Ghana: Accra To Experience Two Days’ Power Outages
Residents in parts of Accra, Ghana’s capital, would experience two days of power outage between Saturday June 1 and Sunday June 2, 2019.
The power outage, which would be from 0700am and 500pm, is to allow the Ghana Highway Authority to implement the expansion of the Tema Motorway intersection to improve on traffic flow in and out of Tema.
It is not clear which specific areas would be affected by the two days’ outage.
A statement issued by the power transmission company, Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), said the objective of the works is to increase the ground clearance of GRIDCo’s 161kV Volta-Achimota Transmission lines crossing the Akosombo-Tema road and facilitate the implementation of the road project.
ExxonMobil May Land Itself In Hot Water Over Iraqi Exit
Iraq’s Basra Provincial Council is calling on the Iraqi government to take ExxonMobil to task over its decision to evacuate its engineers from its West Qurna oilfield in the Basra province.
Although the council said that Exxon’s evacuation did not disrupt overall production in Basra, Anwar Mudalal, a member of the Council, said that “the Minister of Oil, however, should take legal procedures against the company because it has violated its contract with Iraq,” according to basnews.
Mudalal added that most of the oilfields in Basra are managed by Iraqi officers, and not foreign personnel, thus its resilience to the shocks of a major player such as Exxon pulling its engineering staff out of country—an action that Iraq’s Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban claimed was “unacceptable and unjustified.”
ExxonMobil began to evacuate its engineers working on Iraq’s West Qurna 1 field a couple of weeks ago after the United States ordered the evacuation of all non-essential government employees from Iraq citing security concerns, warning that the US embassy in Iraq would suspend visa services and would have a “limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in Iraq.”
Despite Exxon’s untimely departure, Iraq promised just days later that it would raise the oil production from its giant West Qurna 1 field by as much as 50,000 barrels per day.
Currently, the West Qurna 1 oil field pumps around 440,000 bpd. Iraq’s plan is to increase that production to 490,000 bpd.
The news that Exxon was beginning to remove some engineering personnel from the country came at a rather delicate time as Iraq, PetroChina, and ExxonMobil were rumored to be close to signing a $53-billion oil deal that would create a $400 billion windfall for Iraq over the 30-year period of the deal.
Source: Oilprice.com
Ghana: PURC Resolves PDS-Krobo Residents Impasse Over Electricity Bills
Mami Dufie Ofori, Executive Secretary of PURC
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced that it has succeeded in resolving the impasse between the Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited and some residents of the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo traditional areas over their alleged outrageous electricity bills.
According to the Commission, it received a formal complaint from the Member of Parliament for Lower Manya Krobo, Hon. Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, following clashes between police and the residents who were resisting disconnection exercise being carried out by staff of PDS.
The Commission said it quickly called for a settlement meeting between the two parties as part of the steps in its complaints resolution process.
A statement issued and copied to energynewsafrica.com explained that the Commission played a mediation role between the two parties and finally resolved the complaint with the following road map towards amicable settlement.
(i) PDS should ease their stand and suspend the disconnection exercise for now.
(ii)The MP and Assembly Members who represented the people at the meeting asserted that, the residents have agreed to settle their outstanding bills and will continue to pay subsequent bills as and when they fall due.
(iii) PDS has agreed to reschedule the debts of customers for a payment period of at least six (6) months based on the merit of each individual case.
(iv) Customers who owe should at least start making some payments to show commitment for reconnection and rescheduling of their bills, while PDS also consult with senior management and move in to restore power to all affected areas.
FULL STATEMENT
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Friday, May 24, 2019 successfully mediated and settled the impasse between the Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited and some Residents of the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo traditional areas.
The Commission upon receipt of a formal complaint from the Member of Parliament for the Lower Manya Krobo, Hon. Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, quickly called for a settlement meeting between the two parties as part of the steps in its complaints resolution process.
The meeting was attended by the complainants (the MP and some Assembly Members of Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly), the PDS represented by the Regional General Manager and Selected staff of the Tema Region and the PURC represented by the Greater Accra Regional Office.
The Commission played a mediation role between the two parties and finally resolved the complaint with the following roadmap towards amicable settlement.
PDS should ease their stand and suspend the disconnection exercise for now.
The MP and Assembly Members who represented the people at the meeting asserted that, the residents have agreed to settle their outstanding bills and will continue to pay subsequent bills as and when they fall due.
PDS has agreed to reschedule the debts of customers for a payment period of at least six (6) months based on the merit of each individual case.
The MP, Assembly Members, Chiefs and Opinion leaders should take the necessary steps to create a peaceful and enabling environment within the area for PDS staff to have access to customers’ meters to pick current readings in order to generate the actual bills for them.
Customers who owe should at least start making some payments to show commitment for reconnection and rescheduling of their bills, while PDS also consult with senior management and move in to restore power to all affected areas.
Aside the District Office, PDS is to set up an ad hoc customer service center in the Krobo land to aid in the quick resolution of these cases.
Customers who have billing issues are to visit PDS for redress and debt rescheduling plans based on individual cases and merit.
Prior to the settlement meeting, PDS had already rescinded the 70% upfront payment before reconnection for customers whose debts are overdue and would therefore reschedule the debts for a minimum of six months based on individual cases and merit.
Also, PDS has cleansed the customer data using the CMS software to arrive at the outstanding debt of about GHs 84 million instead of GHs 195 million within the affected communities. This reduction was not a waiver but a correction of the bulk and estimated bills.
The Commission will therefore monitor closely the implementation of this roadmap and will facilitate further meetings if the need be to ensure that these issues are fully resolved.
The PURC is committed in resolving issues between the regulated utilities and customers.
The general public is therefore encouraged to promptly report all misunderstandings with electricity and water service provision in their areas to PURC for an amicable resolution.
Ghana: Energy Minister Backs Krobo Residents Protest Against Alleged Over Billing
Minister of Energy for the Republic of Ghana, John-Peter Amewu, says residents of Kroboland in the Eastern Region, were justified in protesting what he described as outrageous electricity bills they had been receiving from the Power Distribution Services Ghana Limited.
“I support the people of Krobo Odumase 100% for demanding their rights because I will not tolerate such nonsense,” he stated.
Mr. Amewu made the statement on Monday when he visited the family of the little boy who lost his life when some residents of Odumase clashed with the police last Wednesday over attempts to stop staff of PDS from disconnecting their homes from the national grid.
The 14 year-old Thomas Partey was hit by stray bullet after security officers fired shots to dispel the crowd.
Condoling with the family of the deceased teenager, Mr. Amewu described the development as “totally uncalled for”.
“If you are billing somebody on a wrong meter, of course, you [consumers] have every justification to demand the right thing to be done.
“I have seen it [bill], the bill is not working and you have given me money to pay and I have every right to query the authorities that are responsible,” he held the view of the residents.
Why PDS was brought in
He stressed that it is situations like the Odumase incident that compelled the government to introduce PDS improve service delivery in the power sector.
“We brought in PDS to change the system [so] if they are not able to change the system we as well as ask them to leave. We are not bringing them into this system to continue to add to the existing malpractice and nonsense that we have [in the system], that is not the reason why we brought them,” he stressed.
He pledged government’s support for the bereaved family towards the funeral and burial of the teenager and assured his determination to ensure justice is served to the family.
“Government will unveil the issue that brought about the issue resulting in the death of the 14-year-old [and] will interrogate the perpetrators and bring them to book,” he said.
The 14 year-old Thomas Partey was hit by stray bullet after security officers fired shots to dispel the crowd.
Condoling with the family of the deceased teenager, Mr. Amewu described the development as “totally uncalled for”.
“If you are billing somebody on a wrong meter, of course, you [consumers] have every justification to demand the right thing to be done.
“I have seen it [bill], the bill is not working and you have given me money to pay and I have every right to query the authorities that are responsible,” he held the view of the residents.
Why PDS was brought in
He stressed that it is situations like the Odumase incident that compelled the government to introduce PDS improve service delivery in the power sector.
“We brought in PDS to change the system [so] if they are not able to change the system we as well as ask them to leave. We are not bringing them into this system to continue to add to the existing malpractice and nonsense that we have [in the system], that is not the reason why we brought them,” he stressed.
He pledged government’s support for the bereaved family towards the funeral and burial of the teenager and assured his determination to ensure justice is served to the family.
“Government will unveil the issue that brought about the issue resulting in the death of the 14-year-old [and] will interrogate the perpetrators and bring them to book,” he said.
Senegal: Turbines For Largest Wind Farm Arrives At Dakar Port
Wind turbines and components for the largest wind power project in the West African country, Senegal, has arrived at Port Autonome de Dakar.
The wind turbines will be transported by road for delivery of generation equipment for Senegal’s Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye (PETN) wind farm project.
Privately-owned UK renewable power company Lekela expects the wind farm, located in Taiba Ndiaye, about 100km from Senegal’s capital Dakar, to reach 158.7MW by 2020.
Once constructed, the wind farm will consist of 46 Vestas wind turbines that can produce 3.45MW each. They will utilise a 117 metre tubular steel tower and have blade length of 61.7 metre, giving a large swept area of 12,469m2.
According to Lekela, these diameters allow the wind turbines to maximise the amount of energy captured from the wind. The project is recorded as the largest such project in West Africa that will supply nearly a sixth of Senegal’s power generation.
President Macky Sall is keen to make Senegal a leader in renewables in Africa, with a 30% target for clean energy in the coming years, of which this project will provide half, reported Reuters. A smaller solar project underway aims to produce 30MW.
“On the environmental level, Senegal has never had a project on this scale,” said Massaer Cisse, Lekela’s Senegal head. “This farm will avoid…300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.”
The 200 billion CFA franc ($342 million) farm will be roughly half financed by Lekela, and the other half split between US-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Danish export credit company EKF.
Renewables currently make up a tiny portion of Africa’s power generation, but several projects aim to increase that share. South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia are all developing industrial-scale wind farms.
On Thursday [23 May], the unassembled parts of the 46 white wind turbines were delivered to the Dakar port, ready to be shipped to the 40-hectare farm.
According to Cisse, as part of the project, young locals will be trained in electrical engineering and computer science to help with Senegal’s chronic unemployment.
“This plant is the result of a fruitful partnership between Senelec and Lekela”, said Pape Mademba Bitèye, General Manager of Senelec.
“This partnership was made possible thanks to the support of the State of Senegal and local authorities, which enabled us to remove all the constraints related to this type of project, notably by facilitating the provision of land and the necessary guarantees. We are delighted by this form of multipartite collaboration between Senelec, the developers and the local community and look forward to the commissioning of the first phase towards the end of 2019,” concluded Bitèye. Source: esi-africa.com
Venezuela: PDVSA Tankers To Be Detained For Lack Of Payment
Three PDVSA tankers that are late with payments to German operator Bernhard Schulte Ship management (BSM) are being detained, according to Reuters sources, as BSM gives up on waiting for payments while conducting business as usual with floundering state-run PDVSA.
BSM operates almost half of PDVSA’s fleet of tankers, and has made a move to “arrest” three tankers due to the outstanding debt PDVSA has amassed.
BSM and PDVSA have a troubled past, as PDVSA struggles to pay its bills while oil production and exports fall to new lows each month.
In March, BSM announced that it was removing its crews from 10 of these tankers due to a lack of payment, adding that it would return the tankers.
PDV Marina—PDVSA’s shipping subsidiary—had declared an emergency following the announcement, saying it did not have the staff to accept the return of the 10 tankers.
The amount of outstanding debt at that time was at least $15 million, according to Reuters.
Three other tankers remained anchored in Portugal and Curacao while other financial disputes with PDVSA came to light, and BSM abandoned two vessels in Portugal after the staff had been onboard for 20 months.
Mid-March, BSM said it was considering scrapping its agreement with PDVSA entirely as of the end of March or in April due to the sanctions levied against PDVSA. What’s more, BSM said, the political situation in Venezuela made it “an almost impossible task” to manage PDVSA’s assets.
Following that announcement, another ship management firm, US-based McQuilling, announced in March as well that it would end its contracts with PDVSA due to the US Sanctions.
The three tankers BSM arrested are the Arita in Singapore, and the Parnaso and the Rio Arauca in Portugal, according to Reuters.
Source: Oilprice.com
Transparency Is Expensive But It Pays – GNPC
Mr. Dennis Baidoo
The Marketing Manager of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr Dennis Baidoo has said that transparency, although is expensive, it had made the Corporation vibrant in its operations.
“The biggest lesson learnt over the years by the GNPC in marketing the nation’s crude oil is that transparency is very expensive but it really pays,’’ he said.
“You have to spend a lot of time and do a lot of work to be transparent, but it really pays. Why? When you are transparent it improves your credibility.”
Mr. Baidoo said this in a presentation at a Stakeholders Forum on Crude Oil and Natural Gas Marketing in Accra, organized by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) with support from the GNPC.
It was to develop the capacity of stakeholders and afford them the opportunity to discuss the extent to which crude oil and gas marketing strategy, both locally and internationally, affects realized prices and accrued revenues.
The Forum aided key government agencies to acquire better understanding of the process of crude oil and natural gas marketing by both the GNPC and the international oil companies to boost their regulatory and revenue administration functions.
Speaking on the topic: “Crude Oil and Gas Marketing – GNPC’s Roles and Experiences,” Mr. Baidoo said the Corporation needed to collaborate more with its stakeholders to build their operational confidence and reduce the negative press.
He said most often, due to lack of knowledge, some of their stakeholders made unpalatable statements about their activities.
He called for more latitude for national oil companies across the value chain for an efficient paying/disbursement arrangement.
On challenges facing the Corporation, Mr. Baidoo said: “In line with the Government’s policy of local content (participation), we wished we would have as many local buyers as possible. But unfortunately, it has always been a challenge. The local buyers don’t have the full capacity to stand alone to buy our barrels.”
“There were instances that they partnered with some foreign partners, and when it came to payment, they couldn’t really maintain the forefront, they have to relegate their positions to the international oil trading company to handle that.”
“So, we feel really very bad about it. We want our local buyers to really get the forefront in line with our local content policy.”
Unfortunately, the delays in getting their share of the petroleum revenues were impacting on their credibility because they needed the funds to pay for their equity financing, he said.
“Also we have lifting or operation challenges, the weather is not always our friend. Sometimes the weather is bad that we have to suspend berthing vessels or loading vessels.”
“And occasionally we have some buyers falsifying some documents for the vessel…. A couple of weeks ago, a buyer falsified the vessel documents and it resulted in delaying the loading for three good days,” he said.
He said the world was fast changing, hence, the need to amend the crude oil agreement from time to time.
Dr Steve Manteaw, the Chairman of the PIAC, appealed to the Government to desist from using the nation’s petroleum resources as collateral for loans.
PDS Denies Waiving GHC100m Electricity Bills For Krobos
Ing. Joseph Mensah Forson, Tema Regional Manager of PDS
The Power Distribution Services Ghana Limited has refuted media reports suggesting that it has waived about GH¢100m for the agitating residents of Kroboland in the Eastern Region.
According to the Tema Regional Manager of PDS, Ing Joseph Mensah Forson, it is not true that his outfit has given Krobos a waiver, thus urging the public to disregard the claims.
Some online portals reported yesterday that PDS had waived GHc111,099,875 for residents of Krobo-Odumase in the Eastern Region, leaving them with GH¢84,625,624.87 to settle.
The report said as a sign of commitment to have power back, the residents were expected to make a payment from Friday.
Customers who are unable to pay one off can go to PDS for debt rescheduling plan, the media report said.
According the online portals, these were part of the roadmap to peace and PDS reconnecting the Odumase community to the national grid.
But responding to the news item, Ing. Joseph Mensah Forson, however, explained that what PDS said was that it had cleansed its data and not that they had offered waiver to the Krobos.
In his view, the media misinterpreted the cleaning of its data to mean a waiver, stressing that it was not correct.
Ing. Joseph Forson, last Thursday, mentioned that residents of the Krobo area owed PDS to the tune of GHc84 million.
The debt, he said, had risen to GHc90 million because of current happenings in the area which has prevented those who are willing to pay from doing so.
The debt was as a result of residents refusal to pay for their electricity bills since 2017, over claims that Ghana’s first President, the late Dr Kwame Nkrumah promised their ancestors that they would enjoy free electricity because of Akosombo Dam is situated on their land.
Some of the residents also alleged over-billing, hence their refusal to pay what they owed the state.
In a bid to recover their revenue, therefore, PDS, according to Ing. Joseph Forson, began what it described as intensive revenue mobilisation about two weeks ago in the area.
Unfortunately, residents of Kpongunor resisted the staff of PDS by mounting roads to the town.
This compelled the PDS staff to retreat to their offices, but before they left, they put off all the transformers supplying them power.
The situation, however, got worse on Wednesday when residents of Odumase allegedly attempted to attack the MCE of the area, as well as the Traditional Council for allegedly failing to esnure that their demands were met by PDS.
The police fired gun shots leaving, one person dead with others sustaining gun wounds.
And as part of efforts to find lasting solution to the current impasse between the power distributor and the residents, PURC, which is the utilities regulator, met with the parties and came out with modalities for the payment of all outstanding bills.
In an interview with energynewsafrica.com, Public Relations Officer for PURC, Bawa Munkaila also stated categorically that PDS had not given any waiver to the people in the Krobo area.
Below is the road map after a meeting yesterday
Seadrill Sees Increased Contracting Activity In Deepwater Market
Offshore drilling contractor,Seadrill, has posted a quarterly loss but it says it sees improvement in deepwater drilling contracting activity.
The company has also revealed it has secured more work for its rigs. Seadrill on Thursday posted a net loss $296 million, on total operating revenues of $302 million for the first quarter of the year, compared to previous year’s loss of $203 million.
The numbers look better when compared to the previous quarter (4Q 2018) where Seadrill had posted a net loss of $360 million on Total operating revenues of $292 million.
The company has also revealed it has secured new contracts. Namely, Seadrill’s West Telesto jack-up was awarded a six-firm plus two option well contract in Malaysia with an unnamed customer.
The total backlog is approximately $17 million with the start scheduled for June 2019.
Also, West Carina drillship was awarded a one well contract with Petronas in Brunei adding total backlog of approximately $8 million.
The contract award included mobilization revenue of $1.8 million. The West Carina, built in 2014, is the 6th generation ultra-deepwater drillship. It expected to start work in Brunei in direct continuation of its existing contract with Petronas in Malaysia.
Seadrill has also said that the West Gemini drillship would stay busy with ENI in Angola for a bit longer.
“The West Gemini will complete an additional well in Angola keeping the rig employed into June 2019 adding approximately $6 million in backlog,” Seadrill said.
Furthermore, Seadrill has said that the contracts for the eight jack-ups with Dalian shipyard “have now all been canceled and we have no remaining newbuild commitments.”
Anton Dibowitz, CEO, commented: “We continue to see increased contracting activity in the deepwater market, in many instances with improved contract terms such as mobilization payments and certain capex being paid for by the customer. While the spot market for short term work remains competitive, we are starting to see improvements in rates for longer-term work.
To remind, Seadrill has recently entered into agreements in Qatar and Angola which should see up to eight of its rigs employed.
In February, Seadrill established a 50:50 joint venture with Sonangol called Sonadrill, to operate four drillships, focusing on opportunities in Angolan waters. Each of the joint venture parties will bareboat two drillships into Sonadrill and Seadrill will manage and operate all the units.
“We continue to work with Sonangol to secure contracts for these units,” Seadrill said without disclosing which rigs Seadrill will contribute to the JV.
Also, as recently reported, Qatar Petroleum has awarded 6 drilling contracts to Gulf Drilling International Ltd (GDI) in connection with its North Field expansion project. Seadrill has an existing Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA) with GDI under which one rig is currently operating in Qatar. The Company is working with GDI to finalize an agreement to provide up to 5 additional Jack-up rigs under the terms of the SCA.
“We believe this is an attractive opportunity that will further strengthen the relationship between the parties and positions us well for future work in Qatar,” Seadrill said.
Source: offshoreenergytoday.com