Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced that the government will begin delivering 55,000 solar home systems to selected government institutions next month as part of efforts to reduce their dependence on the national electricity grid.
He made the announcement at the opening of the two-day 7th Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GHiPCON) at the Palms Convention Centre in Accra.
According to Dr. Jinapor, the initiative forms part of the government’s broader strategy to address rising electricity demand while advancing Ghana’s clean energy and climate objectives.
By equipping selected public institutions with solar power systems, the government aims to ease pressure on the national grid, improve energy efficiency, and enhance the reliability of electricity supply.
The minister said growing electricity consumption, driven by population growth, urbanisation, and expanding industrial activity, requires a diversified energy mix that incorporates more renewable energy sources alongside conventional power generation.
The planned deployment also aligns with Ghana’s renewable energy agenda, which seeks to increase the share of clean energy in the country’s electricity mix, improve energy access, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The announcement comes as Ghana continues to pursue its energy transition strategy, balancing investments in its petroleum sector with efforts to expand renewable energy generation and strengthen long-term energy security.
Ghana’s downstream petroleum regulator, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has urged African petroleum sector regulators to continuously review their policies to ensure they remain responsive to emerging technologies, changing market conditions and evolving environmental considerations.
Speaking at the opening of the 7th Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GHiPCON 2026), NPA Chief Executive Officer Godwin Edudzi Tameklo Esq. said regulators and industry players must adapt to a rapidly changing global energy landscape.
He called on industry stakeholders to invest in operational excellence, safety, research and development, workforce capacity and digital transformation to remain competitive.
Addressing the conference on the theme, “Building a Resilient Downstream: Policy, Innovation and Investment for Growth,” Tameklo said recent tensions in the Middle East, which disrupted fuel supplies and pushed up pump prices, had highlighted the need for stronger and more resilient downstream petroleum systems.
“This year’s GHiPCON is more crucial than ever as we seek innovative solutions to attract investment, build buffers against external shocks in the fuel supply chain and mitigate their impact sustainably for our governments and people,” he said.
“Resilience means ensuring reliable fuel supply, strengthening energy security, improving infrastructure, enhancing operational efficiency, and building institutions capable of responding effectively to changing market conditions,” he added.
Tameklo said sustained investment by both the public and private sectors would be essential to expand, modernize and improve the competitiveness of the downstream petroleum industry.
“Without sustained public and private investment, it will be difficult to build the infrastructure, technology and human capital needed to support Ghana’s long-term energy aspirations,” he said.
He said the NPA continued to implement policy and technology-driven initiatives to regulate, supervise and monitor downstream petroleum service providers, improve compliance, ensure a reliable fuel supply, guarantee fuel quality and promote investment across the sector.
The two-day conference has brought together policymakers, industry executives, investors, academics and other stakeholders from 25 countries to discuss regulatory reforms, infrastructure development, energy security, financing opportunities, local content, regional trade, technological innovation, environmental sustainability and the role of the private sector in driving growth.
Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to expanding the country’s petroleum sector through increased oil and gas exploration and production.
He said the government was pursuing an aggressive strategy to boost crude oil and natural gas production through new discoveries while strengthening domestic refining capacity.
According to the minister, both the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and Sentuo Oil Refinery have committed to refining up to one million barrels of Ghanaian crude oil.
Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Republic of Ghana.
He said the initiative would increase value addition, boost domestic gas supply, reduce imports of refined petroleum products and strengthen the country’s energy security.
Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Patrick Kwaku Ofori, said policy consistency, transparency and predictability were critical to attracting long-term investment into the sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC), Riverson Oppong, called for sustained investment in petroleum storage infrastructure, digital systems, local refining capacity and road networks linking ports, depots and markets.
He said strengthening these areas would improve operational efficiency, enhance supply chain resilience and support Ghana’s ambition of becoming a regional petroleum hub.
GHiPCON 2026 is jointly organised by the National Petroleum Authority, the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors and the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition.
Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, on Thursday urged stakeholders in the downstream petroleum sector to work closely with the government to build a more resilient industry amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Jinapor said Ghana had avoided the fuel supply disruptions experienced by some countries in the sub-region in recent years, including during the recent conflict involving Israel, Iran and the United States, but stressed that stronger collaboration was needed to safeguard the country’s energy security.
“Let’s continue to work together so that we can build a resilient system. When the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict began in the Middle East, many people were anxious about Ghana’s fuel supply situation.
However, because of the measures we took, and the work that had already been done, we were able to weather the situation,” Jinapor said at the opening of the 7th Ghana International Petroleum Conference in Accra.
Malaysia’s state energy company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) said its subsidiary, PETRONAS LNG Ltd. (PLL), has signed a seven-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement with Japan’s Shizuoka Gas Co., Ltd.
Under the agreement, which begins in 2032, PLL will supply approximately 0.84 million metric tonnes (MMT) of LNG to Shizuoka Gas, PETRONAS said in a statement.
The agreement extends a commercial relationship between the two companies that began three decades ago and is aimed at supporting Japan’s long-term energy security while providing greater flexibility in LNG supply.
The agreement was signed in Kuala Lumpur by PETRONAS Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Gas and Maritime Business, Datuk Adif Zulkifli, and Shizuoka Gas President Yoshitake Matsumoto.
PETRONAS said the deal would leverage its diversified global LNG portfolio to provide reliable and flexible supplies as customers seek greater resilience amid changing global energy market conditions.
The signing ceremony also marked the 30th anniversary of PETRONAS’ first LNG cargo delivery to Shizuoka Gas.
The two companies said they would also explore opportunities to collaborate on decarbonisation initiatives across the LNG value chain as part of efforts to strengthen their long-standing partnership.
PETRONAS is one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers, exporting liquefied natural gas to customers across Asia and other international markets through its global production and trading portfolio.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has inaugurated a nine-member inter-agency committee to address implementation issues arising from the decentralisation of the country’s electricity market under the Electricity Act, 2023.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission said the committee, chaired by Tegbe, has been given four weeks to review issues raised during a workshop on legal, policy and regulatory harmonisation between federal and state institutions held in Abuja on July 14.
The committee is expected to drive sustained engagement among stakeholders, resolve emerging implementation challenges and support the seamless operationalisation of the Electricity Act, which provides the legal framework for decentralising the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
Speaking at the workshop, Tegbe described the transition to a decentralised electricity market as one of the most significant reforms in Nigeria’s power sector in decades.
“The success of this reform will depend not on institutional competition, but on collaboration, regulatory certainty and our shared commitment to delivering better outcomes for Nigerians,” he said.
Tegbe said electricity remains critical to Nigeria’s economic growth, industrialisation, job creation, digital transformation and improved quality of life, noting that key sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, agriculture, mining, financial services, telecommunications and information technology, depend on reliable electricity.
He said the reform should not be viewed as a fragmentation of the power sector but as a redistribution of responsibilities within an integrated national electricity system.
Tegbe added that continued consultations between federal and state institutions would help strengthen the implementation framework and support the development of a modern, reliable and investor-friendly electricity market capable of attracting investment and improving electricity supply.
The Electricity Act, 2023, allows Nigeria’s 36 states to establish and regulate their own electricity markets, ending the federal government’s long-standing monopoly over electricity generation, transmission and distribution in areas covered by state legislation.
Nigeria’s national grid collapsed twice in four days in January. Generation crashed from 3,825 megawatts to 39 megawatts in minutes — a country of over 200 million people, plunged into darkness, again. If this happened in any serious country, someone would resign.
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Independent System Operator called it a “system-wide disturbance” and moved on. Nobody was fired. Nobody was fined. Nothing changed.
This is not an accident. It is a choice, repeated for decades.
Since 2010, Nigeria has recorded at least 222 partial and total grid collapses. Add a dozen more from 2024 and 2025 alone. Electricity was first generated in this country in 1896. That is 130 years of practice, and we still cannot keep the lights on for a full week. Ageing transformers, some over 50 years old, sit rotting on the network. There is no spinning reserve — no cushion to absorb a shock without the whole system crashing. Gas shortages cripple our power plants routinely, and when saboteurs cut a transmission line, as they did on the 330kV Shiroro–Mando corridor, the response is a shrug.
Meanwhile, the people who could actually fund a stable grid are running from it. More than six in ten manufacturing firms have abandoned the national grid entirely. They are not doing this because they hate Nigeria’s electricity. They are doing it because it does not work.
Manufacturers now spend over ₦45 trillion a year — trillion, not billion — on diesel, petrol and captive generators just to keep their factories running. That is money that should be strengthening the grid. Instead, it is being burned, literally, in generators, while ordinary households are left holding the bag for a grid built to serve industry, not families.
The result? Nearly 19,000 manufacturing jobs lost in the first half of 2025 alone. An estimated ₦10.1 trillion lost every single year to a power sector that cannot deliver power. Ask yourself: how many factories, how many jobs, how many small businesses have to die before this becomes an emergency in Abuja the way it already is in every home that just spent the night in darkness?
And let’s be honest about who is failing here. It is not “the sector.” It is not “legacy issues.” It is a government that keeps announcing new agencies — GAMCO is the latest — instead of fixing the basics: paying gas suppliers on time, holding DisCos accountable for rejecting load, giving NISO the independence the Electricity Act actually promised it. It is a policy establishment that spent the Obasanjo years chasing gas as the silver bullet, and is now chasing solar as the new silver bullet, while the transmission backbone that has to carry either one remains a relic.
Other African countries are not waiting around for miracles. South Africa spent years as the continent’s blackout poster child — “load shedding” became a national joke. By May 2026, Eskom had gone a full year, 365 straight days, without a single power cut. Not because South Africa got lucky, but because Eskom ran a disciplined, multi-year recovery plan, published its performance numbers every week for the public to see, and stuck with it even when it was politically inconvenient. Egypt did something similar — tripling its high-voltage substation capacity in a decade, building new control centres, opening the sector to private capital under a clear legal framework. Egypt now exports power to its neighbours. Nigeria cannot reliably power its own capital.
So spare us the excuses about population size, or vandalism, or “legacy infrastructure.” Egypt and South Africa have their own versions of every one of those problems. What they had that we don’t is a government willing to treat the grid as a national emergency rather than a talking point for the next ministerial press briefing.
Here is what fixing it actually requires, and none of it is complicated: bring industrial consumers back to the grid with real incentives, not slogans. Fund transmission upgrades and spinning reserve capacity like the country’s economic survival depends on it — because it does. Make NISO independent in practice, not just on paper. Stop announcing new agencies and start holding the existing ones accountable for outcomes, not press releases.
Every blackout is a decision somebody in government made, by omission, to let happen again. Every factory that leaves the grid is a vote of no confidence in Abuja’s power sector management. Nigerians are tired of hearing about reform. We want light. Fix the damn grid — or tell us honestly why you won’t.
Adetayo Adegbemle, Executive Director, PowerUp Nigeria
Ghana’s state-owned Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has received 1 million barrels of locally produced crude oil from the Jubilee field as part of the government’s plan to refine domestic crude to strengthen the country’s fuel security.
The crude cargo, aboard the MT Apache, is currently being discharged at the refinery’s oil jetty at the Port of Tema into TOR’s storage tanks.
Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor announced the development on Thursday while delivering the opening address at the 7th Ghana International Petroleum Conference in Accra.
TOR Managing Director Edmond Kombat confirmed the delivery and thanked President John Dramani Mahama for fulfilling his commitment to ensure that a portion of Ghana’s crude production is refined locally to enhance fuel supply security.
In a statement, Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) said the latest crude delivery fulfils President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge to have more of Ghana’s locally produced crude refined domestically.
The refinery said the delivery underscores the government’s plan to strengthen the country’s petroleum value chain through increased local refining.
TOR said the shipment is the third one-million-barrel crude cargo it has received since May 2026, following deliveries of Bonga and Baleine crude.
The refinery said the supplies have enabled it to continue producing petroleum products for domestic consumption and export to regional markets, supporting Ghana’s fuel security and industrial development.
TOR thanked President Mahama for supporting efforts to revive the state-owned refinery.
It also acknowledged Energy and Green Transition Minister John Abdulai Jinapor, as well as trading firms Fujairah and Triangle Trading Commodities, regulators, financiers, logistics providers and technical partners for their support in the refinery’s operations.
The refinery had been largely idle for more than six years and was burdened with significant debt.
The current management undertook a major rehabilitation programme and resumed crude processing in late December 2025.
TOR is currently processing about 28,000 barrels of crude per day. Work is underway to restore its second processing unit, which would increase the refinery’s capacity to about 45,000 barrels per stream day.
Global energy technology company SLB said that its OneSubsea joint venture had been awarded a multi-well engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Eni for Phase 3 of the Baleine deepwater project offshore Côte d’Ivoire.
Under the contract, OneSubsea will supply subsea production systems for 13 wells as part of the next phase of the offshore development.
The scope of work includes the supply of subsea trees, umbilicals, manifolds, multiphase flowmeters and control systems, as well as installation, commissioning and life-of-field support.
SLB said the integrated EPC model is intended to streamline project execution and support the development schedule.
“Baleine Phase 3 brings together scale and execution certainty,” said Mads Hjelmeland, chief executive officer of SLB OneSubsea. “Through our subsea production system technology and by leveraging our established local presence, we are supporting Eni’s efforts to advance a complex deepwater project efficiently while contributing to the long-term development of offshore resources in Côte d’Ivoire.”
The company said project execution would be supported by its operations and local capabilities in Côte d’Ivoire.
Rosatom has installed the reactor pressure vessel at Unit 2 of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, marking another milestone in the construction of the four-unit El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant.
The reactor pressure vessel was installed in its designated position at Unit 2 during a ceremony attended by Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi.
Located on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast in Matrouh Governorate, the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant will be the country’s first nuclear power station.
The facility will comprise four power units, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW), equipped with Russian-designed Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors.
Prime Minister Madbouly said the project was one of Egypt’s largest national infrastructure developments and would help advance the country’s long-term energy strategy under Egypt Vision 2030.
The reactor pressure vessel is a key component of the nuclear reactor, housing the reactor core where the controlled nuclear fission process takes place.
Its installation at Unit 2 allows construction to move to the next phase, including welding of the main coolant pipeline.
“Construction of the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant is progressing at an excellent pace. Just seven months ago, we installed the reactor pressure vessel at Unit 1, and today we are carrying out the same operation at Unit 2,” Likhachev said.
“This milestone enables us to move on to the next key stage – the welding of the main coolant pipeline.”
The reactor pressure vessel weighs more than 340 tonnes and was installed using a 1,350-tonne crawler crane. Rosatom said the component was positioned with an accuracy of one-tenth of a millimetre.
The installation brings Unit 2 closer to the physical start-up stage, when nuclear fuel is loaded into the reactor for the first time.
Under the agreement, Russia will build the plant, supply nuclear fuel throughout its operating life, train Egyptian operating personnel, provide technical support during the plant’s first 10 years of operation, and help establish infrastructure for spent nuclear fuel storage.
The project comes as interest in nuclear power grows across Africa. Ghana is pursuing a civilian nuclear power programme as part of its long-term energy strategy, and experience gained from the El-Dabaa project could inform future nuclear developments elsewhere on the continent.
Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has arrested and detained two officials of the Energy Commission as part of an investigation into a shipment of charcoal allegedly found to have been infused with methamphetamine before being intercepted by Australian authorities, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Investigators believe the two officials may have information relevant to the approval process and the circumstances surrounding the export, prompting their detention for questioning, the sources said.
The identities of the two officials were not immediately available. However, they are understood to be members of the Energy Commission’s Renewable Energy Unit stationed at the Port of Tema.
The Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, Adwoa Serwaa Bondzie, confirmed the arrests to staff and urged them to remain calm, according to an internal communication seen by this publication.
The Energy Commission is Ghana’s technical regulator for the electricity and natural gas sectors and is responsible for issuing licences for charcoal exports.
Read Also:Halliburton Awarded Drilling, Completion Contracts For Suriname’s GranMorgu Project
The investigation is part of a broader effort by NACOC to identify those behind the suspected international drug trafficking operation and determine whether export procedures were properly followed or compromised.
Australian authorities have not publicly disclosed further details about the seizure, and NACOC has yet to announce any formal charges against the detained officials.
Zambia’s government has signed contracts for the construction of 2-megawatt solar power plants in each of the country’s 156 constituencies under the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative.
The projects, which are expected to be completed within 12 months, will add a combined 312 megawatts of solar generation capacity to the national grid.
Permanent Secretary Nicholas Phiri said the 4.3 billion kwacha (equivalent of $238,112,242.00) project, approved by Cabinet in November 2025, will be implemented through a special purpose vehicle, with state-owned power utility ZESCO serving as project manager.
Read Also: Ghana Risks Electricity Imports Without Renewable Energy Investment, Tanoh Warns
The initiative, which will be partly financed through the Constituency Development Fund, aims to increase electricity supply, support agricultural production, stimulate business activity, create jobs and improve the delivery of social services across the country.
Phiri urged contractors to mobilise promptly and said the government remained committed to expanding access to reliable and clean energy.
Motorists in Ghana are expected to pay more for fuel during the second pricing window of July after the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) increased the price floors for petrol and diesel, effective July 16, 2026.
The price floor for petrol has been raised from GH¢12.79 to GH¢13.28 per litre, while the diesel price floor has increased from GH¢13.54 to GH¢14.35 per litre.
The price floor is the minimum approved price at which oil marketing companies (OMCs) are permitted to sell petroleum products. Under the policy, no OMC is allowed to sell fuel below the prescribed minimum price.
The NPA introduced the price floor policy in April 2024 to prevent price distortions and promote stability in the downstream petroleum sector.
According to the authority, the policy is aligned with the Petroleum Pricing Guidelines and is intended to enhance transparency, sustainability and fairness in the fuel market. It said the initiative is expected to create a more predictable pricing structure while supporting fair competition among industry players.
The NPA added that the decision to implement the policy followed recommendations from stakeholders in the petroleum industry.
Data published by the authority showed that international prices of refined petroleum products increased marginally during the pricing window.
The benchmark price for gasoline (petrol) rose from $922.24 per metric tonne to $970.63 per metric tonne, while diesel increased from $901.09 per metric tonne to $974.40 per metric tonne.
The increase in international refined product prices contributed to the upward adjustment in Ghana’s domestic fuel price floors for the latest pricing window.
Ghana’s Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with its local unions, marking the refinery’s first such agreement since 2018.
The agreement was signed on July 9 in the presence of the refinery’s Board Chairman, Nayon Bilijo, and a member of the Board of Directors.
TOR’s management team was led by Managing Director Edmond Kombat and his deputy Alhaji Mustapha Abubakar, while the unions were represented by officials of the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers’ Union (GTPCWU), the Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance Workers (UNICOF), and leaders of the refinery’s local unions.
The refinery said the agreement reflects its commitment to improving employee welfare and recognizes competitive remuneration as a key factor in motivating staff and sustaining productivity.
TOR said all relevant stakeholders participated throughout the negotiations as part of efforts to promote transparency, good governance and inclusiveness.
“This collaborative approach reflects management’s commitment to fostering constructive labour relations, promoting staff welfare, and supporting the professional growth and development of its workforce,” the refinery said in a statement.
Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) has been awarded integrated drilling and completion contracts for the GranMorgu deepwater development offshore Suriname, the oilfield services company said.
GranMorgu is operated by TotalEnergies. The long-term agreement covers drilling and completion services for the offshore development.
Halliburton said it will deploy an integrated digital and automated execution model combining planning, engineering and operations to improve efficiency, optimize well placement and reduce well construction costs.
The company said it will use integrated digital workflows, real-time data and remote operations to support drilling and completion activities, with the aim of improving delivery and enhancing hydrocarbon recovery while lowering overall project costs.
Halliburton said the project will also support local capability development through infrastructure investment and collaboration with local suppliers.
“The award reflects the value of integrated execution, collaboration and digital technology in complex deepwater developments,” Franco Delano, Halliburton’s vice president for the Caribbean, said in a statement.
“The GranMorgu project demonstrates how aligned teams and advanced well construction capabilities support the safe and efficient delivery of wells while maximizing asset value for our customers,” he added.
“Without sustained public and private investment, it will be difficult to build the infrastructure, technology and human capital needed to support Ghana’s long-term energy aspirations,” he said.
He said the NPA continued to implement policy and technology-driven initiatives to regulate, supervise and monitor downstream petroleum service providers, improve compliance, ensure a reliable fuel supply, guarantee fuel quality and promote investment across the sector.
The two-day conference has brought together policymakers, industry executives, investors, academics and other stakeholders from 25 countries to discuss regulatory reforms, infrastructure development, energy security, financing opportunities, local content, regional trade, technological innovation, environmental sustainability and the role of the private sector in driving growth.
Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to expanding the country’s petroleum sector through increased oil and gas exploration and production.
He said the government was pursuing an aggressive strategy to boost crude oil and natural gas production through new discoveries while strengthening domestic refining capacity.
According to the minister, both the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and Sentuo Oil Refinery have committed to refining up to one million barrels of Ghanaian crude oil.
TOR thanked President Mahama for supporting efforts to revive the state-owned refinery.
It also acknowledged Energy and Green Transition Minister John Abdulai Jinapor, as well as trading firms Fujairah and Triangle Trading Commodities, regulators, financiers, logistics providers and technical partners for their support in the refinery’s operations.
The refinery had been largely idle for more than six years and was burdened with significant debt.
The current management undertook a major rehabilitation programme and resumed crude processing in late December 2025.
TOR is currently processing about 28,000 barrels of crude per day. Work is underway to restore its second processing unit, which would increase the refinery’s capacity to about 45,000 barrels per stream day.
