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GNPC expands the search for more oil fields

     

               

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has stepped up the search for more oilfields as it begins work on the Voltaian Basin Project.

The project seeks to confirm the presence of petrochemicals in the voltaian basin that stretches across Volta, Northern, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and Eastern regions.

It is being jointly spearheaded by the Ghana National Petroleum Company and the Petroleum Ministry.

A stakeholders’ meeting to sensitise the chiefs in the Asante-Akim North District and collate their views ahead of the preliminary seismic work has been held at Agogo.

Ananekrom, a farming community near Agogo, is one of the 66 communities in 24 districts, where the seismic line passes and therefore the need to engage the people.

Mr Seth Foli, Environmental Engineer of the GNPC, said the project would take off in March, next year, and would be carried out for two years.

Previous works done by the Geological Survey Department, British Geological Survey, Water Resources Institute and other researches pointed to a potential discovery of oil in the basin.

He said mitigation measures had been put in place to control the impact on the people - land, crops and the ecosystem, adding that, a committee would be set up to ensure that those affected by the activity are adequately compensated.

He gave the assurance that GNPC would do everything to collaborate with relevant state agencies to uphold best international practices.

Mr. Peter Anarfi, the Ashanti Regional Minister, welcomed the project and said it was in the nation’s best interest.

He underlined the need for the country to focus on onshore oil and gas exploration and urged the people to cooperate with the GNPC.

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Ghana turns to tidal waves for power

         

TC’s Energy did a successful test generation of 14MW in March 2015. The plant when fully operational will eventually produce up to 1,000MW by year end. Installation works on the six-power generation converters at the Ada Estuary in the Greater Accra Region have since been completed.

According to a spokesperson for TC Energy Lydia Affum Kyerewaa, the generated power will be an important component of government’s plan to increase the country’s current installed generation capacity of 2,845.5MW to 5,000MW in the medium-term in partnership with independent power producers (IPPs).

Under Ghana’s Renewable Energy Act, 10 percent of power generation will come from renewable sources such as hydro, wind, biomass and solar by 2020 as government is providing incentives to attract more IPPs into the energy sector.

According to the Minister of State in charge of Private Sector Development Rasheed Pelpuo, the solution to the country’s energy challenges lay in the use of renewable energy and the most appropriate are the tidal and sea waves, which research had provnd to be suitable for the shores of Ghana while power from the plant will cost less compared to Ghana’s current main power sources of hydro and thermal energy.

According to TC’s Energy CEO Anthony Opoku, the first power was successfully generated in March but due to some technical challenges the plant was shut down to rectify that problem though the original plan to generate the 1,000MW by December is still on track.

Explaining how power is generated, he said the six-power generation converters would be placed under the sea at the Ada Estuary, where the tidal waves are very high. The pressure emanating from the waves would then be used to generate the power.

According to him, the wave-powered project would produce 14,400 kilowatt an hour per day. “We do not use oil or gas. We only use the waves from the sea and once the initial capital is set in place, the installation proceeds,” as he provided assurance that deployment of the technology will not affect the fishing activities of the residents as the generators are well off the coast and marked with floaters.

Opoku said that Ghana’s wave height of about 2.5 metres is ideal, meaning the plant will not have any problem generating electricity power because “we have all the waves here in Ada. This technology mostly depends on the wave height and that’s why we won’t be worried too much about the power output that will be coming out because we have the waves here at Ada,” he added.

“With this plant, there is no need for gas, oil or whatsoever to operate it. All it needs are the waves from the sea. Once those initial things are set in place, everything else is free. We will use this as reserve energy for Ghana so that even when there is no enough power from the producers, the plant can assist in generating energy,” he disclosed.

The generated power would then be transferred to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for onward distribution to the public at a cheaper rate.

Ghana is the first African country to spearhead the generation of power from the sea with the technology developed by a Swedish company, Seabased Wave Energy. The world’s first tidal power station was constructed in 2007 at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland where the turbines are placed in a narrow strait between the Strangford Lough inlet and the Irish Sea.

Tidal power is increasingly being seen as the most efficient energy source with an efficiency of approximately 80 per cent, which makes it far better compared to ot

West African Region to create market

       
       

Ms Hannah Serwaa Tetteh, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has said the West African region had identified the creation of a market for the free movement of goods of ECOWAS origin, as a priority in the integration of economic and trade affairs.

The creation of a single market, she said, was largely dependent upon a free Trade Area, Common External Tariff (CET), and Custom Union, and that it was in view of this that the sub-region intensified its efforts to implement the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme, and the adoption of the CET in January this year.

Ms Tetteh made this known when she delivered the keynote address at the opening of the Third National ECOWAS Stakeholders' Retreat at Elmina.

She indicated that ECOWAS Head of States and Government at their summit last year in Ghana resolved to work assiduously towards abolishing resident permit for ECOWAS citizens of member-states.

Ms. Tetteh, who is also the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya West, said the ECOWAS Commission was subsequently mandated to work out modalities for the adoption and eventual introduction of biometric Identity Cards for community citizens by 2016.

She noted that while measures needed to be taken to ensure free movement of goods and services, other measures needed to be initiated to develop the region’s production capacity, remove all constraints and obstacles to intra-regional trade, and improve product quality, to meet international standards.

Mrs Mona Quartey, the Deputy Finance Minister, explained that the implementation of the CET of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), would offer additional incentives to the country’s domestic manufacturing sector.

This, she said, was because more than thousand raw materials currently taxed at 10 per cent would be reduced to five per cent when the CET became operational.

These raw materials, the Deputy Minister stated, include earth minerals, such as calcium and sodium; petroleum oils, such as natural gas and other in-organic chemicals and precious minerals.

The CET is one of the instruments that seeks to harmonize ECOWAS Member-States, and strengthen their common market.

Mrs. Quartey disclosed that the CET gave supplementary protection to the agricultural sector, than any other sector, indicating that more than 55 per cent of agricultural products were found in 20 per cent and 35 per cent tariffs band and none in zero per cent band.

Also, about 90 per cent of the agricultural products were in the 35 band, she stated.

She said a study on the impact assessment of the CET on various sectors of the economy had shown an improvement of customs revenue and that additional amount of the Government’s revenue was estimated to be 1.4 per cent of the total imports value.

The report, she said, showed total imports to be GH?93 billion, with an estimated revenue gain of GH?1.3 billion.

She said eight countries had successfully implemented the CET, while seven others, including Ghana, were about to start.

She said Ghana was working hard to meet the deadline agreed by member-states, and had already undertaken a series of activities to ensure the smooth and successful implementation.

The three-day retreat aimed at formulating a strategic policy document to clearly define Ghana's interest in the CET, and define the role key actors would play in the regional integration process.

It was also to strengthen the capacity of National Institutions to effectively support ECOWAS in the execution of its regional integration initiatives as well as evolve a strategic Plan of Action for proper engagement in the activities of the Community Institutions.

GNPC to begin works on Volta Basin

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is to commence seismic activities on the Voltaian Basin in the Northern Region to determine its hydrocarbon potential.

This is expected to be done after the Corporation has completed its assessment and feasibility studies to determine the quantity and quality of hydrocarbon in the area.

The Voltaian Basin is an about 104,000 kilometres square onshore oil basin, spread across the country, 52 percent of which is located in the Northern Region.

This came to light when the GNPC held a stakeholders forum in Tamale to seek the views of affected communities.

The consultation forum forms part of its Environmental Impact Assessment process required by the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure the views of the affected communities are heard before execution of the project to avoid any future havoc and conflict.

The corporation has already held stakeholders’ consultative forums in 12 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) such as Tamale, Yendi, Nanumba North and South, West and East Mamprusi, Mion, East Gonja, Savelugu/Nanton, Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo and Mamprugu-Moaduri with Central Gonja and Karaga to benefit from the forum.

Speaking at the forum, Mr. Seth Foli -- Environmental Engineer of the Voltaian Basin Project, said the project cannot be executed without notice to the communities though it has been approved by the appropriate authorities.

He said the project will affect vegetation in the communities, such as farming activities; creation of noise and dust will also affect the health status of the people, as well as disturbance of wildlife, archaeological, cultural and religious interests.

According to the engineer, measures will be put in place to ensure that the affected victims are well-compensated in order not to take their source of livelihoods from them, but rather continue life somewhere else.

He assured the views of the public will be addressed for peaceful cooperation when the exercise starts, with the majority of youth in the area benefitting from it.

Though the participants welcomed the initiative, which will go a long way to enhance the economic status of rural areas, they urged the GNPC to ensure fulfilling its promise and complying with rules and regulations of the EPA.

They also advised the GNPC to ensure the project does not affect their water-bodies -- and even where it does, it should endeavour to ensure the people have potable water to drink.

“We will be grateful if they can be free and fair in the course of paying the compensation to avoid any chaos,” they said.

They called on the GNPC to collaborate with the traditional leaders to allocate a better place for some of the farmers to continue their farming activities and earn a living.

IMF holds a 2-day workshop for Journalists

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson has said that training of journalists to enhance efficiency and accuracy in reporting economic issues is very critical to enabling citizen participation in the economic development process.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of a two day workshop organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in conjunction with Penplusbytes and the Institute for Financial and Economic Journalists on economic and finance reporting at the New Media Hub in Accra.

The workshop sought to build the capacity of Ghanaian journalists in exercising an oversight role in the utilization of the fund in the area of macroeconomics and international finance.

Also, in attendance were Samir JahJah, IMF’s resident representative for Ghana, Andrew Kanyegirire and Dieng Ismalia of IMF communications department.

The workshop was facilitated by Mathieu Robbins and James Jukwey who are trainers from Thomson Reuters Foundation. Robbins stated that the training would generally refresh the skills of the participants and empower them to easily and transparently cover financial news in Ghana.

Thirteen business reporters from various media houses took part in the workshop. The media houses include; Joy FM/Multi TV, Ghana News Agency, Peace FM, Citi FM, GBC Radio, Daily Guide, The Finder, Business and Financial Times, Business World, Daily Express, CAJ News Africa and TV3.

Participants generally recounted the importance and impact of the programme in the execution of their tasks in reporting economic issues as journalists.

“This training is an eye opener as I have learnt a lot about the IMF and their operations than I initially knew. It will help me in making informed decisions when I am reporting,” said Mercy Darko of the Radio division of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.

Ghana, France parliament to collaborate to maximizazion of performance

The Parliaments of Ghana and France have agreed to collaborate and share ideas towards enhancing their performance
The two sides believed that the partnership was necessary in helping their respective governments to improve the welfare of their citizenry and ensuring good governance.
The agreement was reached during a recent visit by the leadership of Ghana’s Parliament, led by the Speaker, Edward Doe Adjaho, to the French Houses of Parliament.
As part of the visit, which was at the invitation of their French counterpart, Ghana’s delegation visited the Palais Bourbon, the lower legislative chamber and the Palais du Luxembourg, the seat of the French Senate and upper chamber, where bilateral discussions were held.
The purpose of the visit was to strengthen collaboration between the Parliaments of Ghana and France and to further consolidate the bonds of friendship between their members.
During the visit, Mr. Gilles Carnez, the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the French Parliament, also briefed the delegation on the procedure for the preparation and approval of the budget.
The delegation, which included Mr. Alban Bagbin and Mr. Osei-Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the Majority and Minority Leaders respectively, also met with Mr. John Paul Chanteguet, MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Sustainable Development and Spatial Planning, and President of GLOBE France.
The Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE) is an international organisation comprising parliamentarians from over 80 countries committed to developing and overseeing the implementation of laws in pursuit of sustainable development.
The French Chapter is playing a key role in the organisation of the Climate Change Conference (COP 21) scheduled to be held in Paris in November and December, 2015.
Mr. Chanteguet underscored the need for effective collaboration between Parliaments and other state institutions for the forthcoming COP21, and indicated that the international community should not only be concerned about global economic recession, but the increasing threat posed by pollution and its attendant global warming.
In his response, the Mr. Adjaho thanked France for accepting to host the COP 21 and promised that Ghana would be represented at the highest level.

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Ghana aims to be port of call for West Africa's offshores oil industri

The Atlantic waters off the west African coast teem with oil rigs and support vessels, most a very long way from home.

Ghana, a new entrant to the energy game, wants to provide them with a closer port of call.

Like many resource dependent countries, Ghana wants to grow its economy beyond raw material exports – and hopes a new port and rig repair depot will help it to do just that.

This year groundbreaking begins on the Atuabo Free Port, a US$1 billion facility on the western side of Ghana’s coastline. Here, oil rigs will be towed to be serviced, saving the almost 10,000 nautical mile journey to the Far East where the work is usually carried out. Atuabo will also serve as a free trade port for energy-related industry.

The project is being driven by Lonrho, a UK-based corporation that has invested in African projects for more than a century. Lonrho and its investment partners will hold 55 per cent of the venture, with another 35 per cent taken up by Ghanaian investors; the government will have a stake of 10 per cent.

In April, the China Harbour Engineering Company was awarded a $600 million contract for the project, which is sited 326 kilometres west of Ghana’s capital, Accra, and just 100km west of Takoradi, the centre of the country’s emerging oil industry.

Dedicated free trade ports are something of a fashion among developing economies, which see them as a way to encourage investment.

Already other African countries have such facilities or are developing them, says the Atuabo development manager, Steven Gray. “These dedicated ports ensure that the needs of the oil and gas industry are addressed in a way that ensures efficiency and reduction of operating costs, and so will it be for Ghana,” Mr Gray says. “Also the market assessment suggests substantial interest for a dedicated oil and gas freeport in Ghana. The pipeline of tenants on the project is very strong.”

Angola has its Sonils facility; Nigeria the Onne oil and gas freeport, and South Africa is developing a rig repair depot at Saldanha Bay near Cape Town.

Atuabo intends to eventually become a regional hub for oil and gas companies operating in the area, with corporate, logistical and manufacturing facilities. Most rigs now must travel 20 days to South Africa for repairs, increasing costs and delays for upstream operators in the Gulf of Guinea, Mr Gray says.

And because South Africa has port constraints, only a limited number of rigs can be accommodated.

This means a far longer journey to Singapore or Indonesia for those unable to secure a berth in Cape Town.

According to South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority, about 120 rigs move along the African coastline each year. They are usually in transit to and from ports in South East Asia and the Middle East, for servicing. Many of these could theoretically be repaired closer to their operating grounds along the African coast.

Due to the sheer size of even a modest rig, few ports can accommodate more than one or two at a time. Pressure is likely to grow on regional depots as exploration increases. In June the World Bank gave the nod for $700m funding to underwrite exploration of oil and gas offshore Cape Three Points in the western region of Ghana.

According to RigZone, an international database, the offshore fleet for west Africa now consists of 93 rigs, with just under 60 per cent of these in active use. There are also several hundred support vessels plying between ports and rigs.

Manning a rig at sea is not especially labour intensive but once they enter port, they become a hive of activity as contractors race to complete as many repairs and refurbishments as possible. With up to 1,000 people working on a docked rig at a time, the implications for job creation in Ghana are significant, Mr Gray says.

“With a project of this nature the obvious benefits will be the creation of jobs by the economic activity in the formal sector both direct, indirect and also attracting foreign direct investments, thereby contributing significantly to Ghana’s GDP.”

While the planned port will provide longer-term economic opportunities, in the meantime the country has had to secure outside aid.

The IMF’s $918m aid programme with Ghana is on track and the government has met almost all performance criteria, a senior fund official said last week after an initial review mission.

The programme, which began in April, aims to stabilise the economy. The IMF held its forecast for Ghana’s 2015 GDP growth at 3.5 per cent and said the country was on course to exceed its 2015 deficit reduction target with 7.2 per cent expected versus 7.5 per cent forecast previously.

The IMF forecast 2015 inflation at 13 to 14 per cent, as against its previous target of 12.5 per cent but said the country would probably meet its 2016 target of 8 per cent.

Even though the oil price has reduced the rig count worldwide, demand for local repairs remains brisk, says Jules Lambert, the chief executive of the west Africa-focused Rig Repairs International. The company operates in locations such as Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and the Republic of Congo.

“Most of the rigs operating off west Africa have previously worked elsewhere; older rigs operating in other fields are replaced with newer technology, and sent here. So, because they are not new, they require a lot more maintenance.”

Work needed includes everything from light repairs to full overhaul. He notes that dispatching rigs to Dubai, South Korea or other facilities has declined substantially as more work is done locally.

Typically, an operator would dispatch a rig to a port that was closest to its next assignment and, as long as demand off the African coast was strong, so would the need for local ports grow.

The rapid expansion of regional repair depots had also led to direct skills transfers.

“As the oil business took off and people began making money off it, a good work force has developed. The level of expertise in the region has reached the point where our company hardly uses expats anymore,” Mr Lambert says.

Still, as with any venture capital investment, there are risks. The region is still struggling with a piracy problem that has affected supply ships off the coast, if not the rigs themselves. In addition, a chronic shortage of electricity in Ghana and elsewhere has hampered industrial investment.

Developments such as these are part of a trend towards companies active in Africa investing in infrastructure and manufacturing capacity. AP Møller-Mærsk, the owner of the world’s largest shipping container line, says it will bid to build and upgrade ports in Africa, according to reports.

At the same time, Mærsk is working on a $1bn development of Ghana’s main container terminal, Tema.

This includes construction of four new berths and a quadrupling of port capacity. According to Mærsk research, growth in non-commodity trade is increasing at about 5 per cent a year – pointing to a diversification which extends beyond the shipping of raw materials.

“Africa is moving up in the value chain,” says Lars Reno Jakobsen, the company’s senior vice president for Africa.

“People can now probably afford things they couldn’t earlier on. Underlying sentiment is positive. You are still seeing quite healthy growth.”

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