contents editor henry teinor journalist deborah enam apetorgbor marketing cornelius kwame atiase creative design samuel a. mensah (0556125269) web developer michael kwabena afreh publisher energy media group (emg) office: east legon, accra tel: +233 559 300 631 email: info@energyghana.com web: www.energyghana.com dear reader, profound thanks for your interest to read this edition of the en- ergy ghana magazine. it means a lot to us at the energy media group. the next edition of your cherished magazine promises exciting and insightful presentation of happenings in ghana’s energy sector. be sure not to miss it your feedback on this issue of the magazine is greatly welcome, together with suggestions for the next edition: get in touch deborah@energyghana.com deborah enam apetorgbor, journalist. energy ghana magazine henry teinor, editor how promising is the afcfta for africa’s energy? 08 46 56 13 19

editorial hello, w elcome, and compliments from the team here at the energy ghana magazine, your dedicated source of energy sector information.this edi- tion of the magazine features topics and events that matter to you. we bring you an exclusive interview with mr erasmus alexander kalitsi, a retired chief executive and board chair of the volta river authority, as he shares his experiences and thoughts about the beginning and future of the vra. we also discuss the impact of the corona virus pandemic on ghana's petroleum upstream and on revenues for development. on the global front, we feature the iea’s assessment of the global oil and gas market, and on the continent, we look at the africa continental free trade area and its prospects for the energy sector. committed to empowering persons with disability in ghana, we look at how the africa centre for energy policy is advocating for and facilitating the inclusion of pwds in all sectors of the economy, especially the energy sector. with a blend of upstream and downstream news, technology and min- ing news, we bring you key happenings in the industry. relive glorious moments of the 2019 ghana energy awards with spectacular photo shots and recall great memories. find out who the young influencers in the country’s energy sector are, the countries that are taking bold steps to fight climate change and who is leading the bulk distribution industry in ghana. together with reports on pertinent issues, this edition of the magazine makes for an interesting read. ing. henry teinor editor do enjoy!

energy news/africa tanzania outpace nigeria in rural electrification rates tanzania daily news cited dr kalemani stating that a total of 9,001 villages in the country have been connected improved efforts to deploying rural electrification across rural tanzania has placed the east african country in the top slot in the continent, ac- cording to tanzania's minister for energy, dr medard kalemani. tanzania daily news cited dr kale- mani stating that a total of 9,001 villages in the country have been connected; of these 3,559 villages were connected through the first round of phase three rural electrification project (rea iii-1), which is ongoing. he further said that, rea iii-1 will be completed in june 2020 but the govern- ment has agreed with the contractors exe- cuting the project to finish the relevant work two months earlier. as such the con- tractors are expected to hand over the proj- ect to tanzania electric supply company (tanesco) by 30th april 2020. for masasi district, the minister said the government decided to review the ac- tion plan that enabled them to increase the “ initially, nigeria was the leading country by 72%, but we are now leading in the continent, as we have reached more than 74% now," said the minister. number of villages that will benefit from the project in that district. "in the original design, only a few vil- lages were to benefit from this project. this is because other villages fall under the ju- risdiction of councils or cities and not dis- tricts and thus did not meet the criteria since they had the status of streets and not villages," he explained. he further explained that it had never happened before in history to have a dis- trict that had full coverage of electricity in all villages. "but this time, the government has made it; there are 34 districts that are fully covered with power supply, the same spirit will spread countrywide," he said, adding that a total of 11,070 public institutions had also been connected to electricity be- tween 2015 and 2019, up from 3,200 that were enjoying the service in the past. source: www.esi-africa.com july 2020 energyghana.com 07

“ with the secretariat hosted in ghana, the au also expects the country to “design and imple- ment effective strategies and policies that will support the promotion of rapid inclusive eco- nomic growth by boost- ing competitiveness and job creation under the afcfta,” according to joseph atta-mensah, trade integration. wood mckenzie points out that afcfta’s intra-regional trade share of 17% compares poorly to 64% for the european union and 50% for the us- mexico-canada agreement. “these intra- continental shortcomings underscore the extent of lost revenue and development opportunities for african countries. they also highlight the benefits of supporting the afcfta and working to- gether towards its successful implementa- tion,” it said. trade growth of intra-regional trade on the continent is assessed to be generally low as, according to the trade law centre, in 2017, less than 20% of africa’s total ex- ports and imports went to and from the rest of the continent. reasons offered for this include dependence of african economies on commodity production and exports, a supply-demand disparity, tariffs and non-tariff barriers, inefficient trans- port infrastructure, poor trade logistics and high security risks. aside these, there are infrastructural, policy and procedural constraints as well as conflicts with older regional free trade agreements that impede trade. critically evaluating these deficiencies and innovating solutions to address them will elicit the desired outcomes of the afcfta. as mckenzie believes, “while there are still numerous challenges to be resolved, we expect that if the barriers to its effective implementation can be ad- dressed, the next decade will see the growth of the african continental free trade area into one of the world’s most ex- citing new global trading zones.” source: energy ghana ghana, au sign afcfta host country agreement supported through existing platforms such as the regional power pools, the afcfta “provides an entirely new platform to ex- pand these efforts regionally and pursue energy development to relieve the infra- structure restraint.” in line with the agree- ment, accelerating industrial output would undoubtedly rely on the availability, af- fordability and security of energy supplies at a scale for industrial growth. “improved energy trade and energy in- tegration initiatives will boost economic development in africa by reducing trans- action costs and enabling market and eco- nomic conclusively accelerating investment incentives.” collaboration, ghana and the afcfta as part of the first cohort of countries to ratify in 2018, ghana was designated to host the afcfta secretariat which conse- quently bestowed on the country the re- sponsibility of supervising implementation of the agreement. the country has, thus, committed to direct $10 million for the operationalisa- tion of the secretariat while targeting ways to harness the benefits of the afcfta for the government’s vision of a ‘ghana be- yond aid’ through national strategies and programme interventions geared toward exploring the benefits of the afcfta. with the secretariat hosted in ghana, the au also expects the country to “design and implement effective strategies and policies that will support the promotion of rapid inclusive economic growth by boost- ing competitiveness and job creation under the afcfta,” according to joseph atta-mensah, principal policy advisor, macroeconomics and governance divi- sion, economic commission for africa. surmounting the hurdles in perspective, the afcfta is vital for a number of reasons: currently, africa lags behind other regions in terms of regional upon implementation which is expected to begin july 2020, afcfta is antic- ipated to create the world's largest free trade area – a continental market for goods and services, and free movement of capital and persons – with prospects of bringing to- gether 1.3 billion people of 54 countries, in an esti- mated $2.5 trillion eco- nomic league, riding on the back of a strengthened en- ergy sector. n o i l l i b 3 . 1 july 2020 energyghana.com 09

industry news upstream the indigenous company in ghana’s deepwaters with a find of over 1.5 billion barrels of oil in its afina well in ghana’s deepwaters, springfield exploration and production limited (sep), not only makes history as the first indigenous and in- dependent african company to achieve such giant feat but also one that made it into world records as one of the top 10 most significant global hydrocarbon discov- eries in 2019. n o s l e r r a b i l l i b 5 . 1 with a find of over 1.5 billion barrels of oil in its afina well in ghana’s deepwaters, springfield exploration and production limited (sep), not only makes history as the first indigenous and inde- pendent african company to achieve such giant feat but also one that made it into world records as one of the top 10 most sig- nificant global hydrocarbon discoveries in 2019. a fairly new entrant into ghana’s oil and gas upstream sector, sep-a subsidiary of the springfield group also made it onto the united kingdom-based ihs markit- a world class intelligence gathering organi- zation- lists as one of five global oil com- panies to have made discoveries in deepwater and the singular indigenous company on the continent. drilling and discovery sep, together with its partners – the ghana national petroleum corporation (gnpc) and gnpc explorco – after its first-ever afina-1 well drilling campaign in the west cape three points (wctp) block 2 offshore ghana, officially pronounced this significant oil discovery in november 2019. the well, sited at a water depth of 1030 meters, was drilled to a total depth of 4085 meters and encountered light oil with a gross thickness of 65 meters, with 50 meters light net oil pay in good quality cenomian sandstones, the company re- ported. moreover, the secondary target in turning age sands was drilled at the edge of the structure and encountered 10 meters of hydrocarbon bearing sands consisting of light oil and gas. by this find, the company more than doubled its discovered oil in place volume to 1.5 billion barrels and added 0.7tcf of gas to the existing discoveries. estimates of the current undiscovered potential of the block is over 3 billion barrels of oil and gas in multiple leads and prospects within various proven reservoir units. earlier in the year, springfield had contracted the ram form titan by petro- c.e.o, springfield, kevin okyere leum geo-services (pgs) -world’s largest seismic vessel- to carry out a 3-d seismic data acquisition on the block. the com- pany subsequently contracted stena uni- com offshore services ghana ltd, one of the world’s foremost independent drilling contractors for a drilling campaign which lasted three months. at the beginning of october 2019 springfield spudded the first of its much awaited new wells off the coast of ghana using the stena forth drillship, one of the most sophisticated vessels of its kind and capable of operating in up to 10,000 feet of water and drilling to a depth of 35,000 feet. the next stop for the stena forth after afina-1x will be the drilling of oak-1x. for springfield, this discovery is in line with their vision of becoming a leading african upstream player with a global focus, and has paid off their efforts in the face of challenges, to which they never suc- cumbed. it also “means increased oppor- tunities to impact the lives of our people positively with the resources,” said chief executive officer of springfield, kevin okyere. beginning operations in 2008 as a frontliner in ghana’s downstream sector, springfield grew to become a bulk distrib- utor in 2010 engaging in the procurement, sale and distribution of petroleum prod- ucts to oil marketing companies (omcs) and refineries in the country. over the next half decade, the company rapidly became one of the leading exporters of refined products to neighbouring land-locked countries; mali and burkina faso. spring- july 2020 energyghana.com 13

industry news /upstream structure development programme was heavily reliant on oil revenues; about 80 per cent of government’s domestic revenue for its capital budget was to be sourced from the abfa. this, therefore, exposes development to significant risks as drop in oil production or price will greatly reduce government's anticipated revenues, with a rippling effect on the ordinary ghanaian. to mitigate these effects of the pan- demic from an oil standpoint, government through the minister of finance proposed some measures to adjust the budget. these included cutting expenditure by over gh1.2 million; lowering the cap on the ghana stabilization fund (gsf); reducing revenue allocation to ghana national pe- troleum corporation (gnpc); and a pro- posal to amend the petroleum revenue management act (prma)-an act prescrib- ing the judicious use of petroleum rev- enues- to allow the use of the ghana heritage fund (ghf) to support the budget, this measure was, however, met with much contemplation and backlash. gnpc the low oil price also means an ulti- mate reduction in gnpc, the national oil company's share of petroleum revenues. projected shortfalls in transfers of oil re- ceipts to the gnpc is ghȼ642million, ac- cording to the finance ministry. the corporation, which was initially pro- grammed to receive an allocation of 30 per cent of the net carried and participating interest (net capi), is now to get half (15 per cent) of the initial allocation in the re- vised projections to mitigate the impact of the low oil price on the budget. this con- measures affect the disposable income of consumers, which harbour implications for revenue collection in the power sector. post-covid in the midst of these concerns, analysts predict the country's post-covid-19 up- stream sector to be likely dominated by tax and regulatory issues, and have, therefore, advised government to put in place prag- matic measures that will ameliorate the situation and reduce the dire after-effects of the pandemic. such measures must include restruc- turing within the oil and gas sector, and also in terms of its linkages which include investment patterns, job creation, among others, as well as the sum total of the global oil and gas value chain in terms of trade and finance. this will afford countries, es- pecially in africa the opportunity to deter- mine how they can insure their economies against crises of such nature. furthermore, some economic experts have advised government to use this pe- riod of the pandemic and global oil price drop to reconsider its dependence on the oil sector. the concern is that the booty earned from the oil sector has become a demotivating factor to develop other growth drivers of the economy. the cur- rent situation, therefore, calls for the coun- try to readjust its priorities, redirecting its focus on non-oil sectors, mainly agricul- ture as giant drivers for growth. “countries like ghana should continue to chase diversification of the country’s growth drivers,” said albert touna mama, the international monetary fund’s country representative in ghana. “that will make the economy more resilient to commodity price shocks.” source: energy ghana “ countries like ghana should continue to chase diversification of the coun- try’s growth drivers,” said albert touna mama, the international monetary fund’s country representa- tive in ghana. “that will make the economy more resilient to commodity price shocks.” sequently leaves the gnpc with less rev- enue for investments and to cater for its programme for 2020. the power & gas sector prior to recording the first confirmed case of the corona virus in ghana, the debt situation in the power and gas sectors was a real concern. gas supply for power pro- duction has been largely reliant on gas supply from the octp partners; which is currently the backbone of domestic gas supply in the country. however, due to challenges with cash flow in the power sec- tor, octp gas has been owed substantial sums (about us$192 million for four months’ supply of gas) before registration of the novel corona virus in ghana. the debt situation is, thus, further aug- mented by the pandemic and its trail of difficulties with revenue accumu- lation. experts argue that if the power sector was unable to pay for gas utilisation before covid-19, how would it meet its payment obligations for gas supply in the midst of the pandemic. the economic impact of the pandemic and the effect of government’s july 2020 energyghana.com 17

the low price of oil will test governments in the middle east and africa energy politics the big squeeze/the low price of oil will test governments in the middle east and africa in the history of any nation there are special moments and seminal events,” said president uhuru keny- atta in august. he was celebrating kenya’s entry to the club of oil producers with a symbolic shipment of 200,000 bar- rels. “the first export of crude oil by our nation...marks a special moment in our history,” he declared. politicians love oil. selling it generates easy money for governments; much easier than taxing citizens, who might then de- mand services, democracy and good gov- ernance. petrodollars also lubricate patronage networks. they can be used to buy votes, silence rivals or, if that fails, fund a comfortable retirement abroad. so when the price of oil fell by about 30% on march 9th, to below $32 a barrel (see article), many politicians were aghast. oil prices crashed because covid-19 cut global demand and saudi arabia opened its taps to crush high-cost producers. the consequences for other oil-pumping na- tions will be economic pain and hard choices. the pain will be felt in broad swathes of the middle east and africa. a rehearsal took place in 2014, when oil prices fell by more than half. this time will be tougher, since countries burned through many of their cash reserves during that crash. the most immediate impact will be on government budgets. start in nigeria, where oil accounts for roughly 90% of exports and two-thirds of government revenue. the finance minister has already called for a review of the budget, which was based on an oil price of july 2020 “ politicians love oil. selling it generates easy money for governments; much easier than taxing citizens, who might then demand services, democracy and good gover- nance. petrodollars also lu- bricate patronage networks. they can be used to buy votes, silence rivals or, if that fails, fund a comfort- able retirement abroad. $57 a barrel. yet austerity will prove diffi- cult in an economy so lethargic that it is barely keeping pace with population growth. there is little space for borrowing: 65% of government revenues go to servic- ing existing debt. nonso obikili, a nigerian economist, assumes that the government will simply print money to pay civil ser- vants, which would stoke inflation. the price war will make a mess of pub- lic finances in parts of the gulf, too. oman’s 2020 budget predicted a deficit of 8% of gdp even with oil at $58 a barrel. prices at $30 would send the deficit as high as 22%. bahrain, a middling producer that nonetheless relies on oil for around 75% of public revenue, had hoped to balance its budget by 2022. both will probably have to cut spending and borrow money. their debt loads have soared since 2014, when years of $100-a-barrel oil came to an end. oman now owes more than 60% of gdp, up from 5% in 2014, while bahrain’s debt load jumped from 44% to 105%. wealthier countries can muddle through for years. saudi arabia had bud- geted for a $50bn deficit in 2020. gold- man sachs, a bank, thinks it could now surpass $80bn; other economists put the hole at $100bn. but the kingdom has about $500bn in the central bank, and it can bor- row cheaply, with ten-year bonds trading at yields of less than 4%. saudi debt is 24% of gdp, low by global standards. however, it is a marked increase from 2014, when the kingdom owed less than 2% of gdp. much of this debt is unproductive: gulf states are borrowing to sustain current, bloated levels of spending. the new sultan of oman, haitham, who took power in january after his cousin’s death, would like to dole out largesse. dubai, part of the united arab emirates (uae), has an ex- pansionary budget meant to kick-start a weak economy. some of this will have to be scaled back. expats in dubai are already being hit by lay-offs and salary cuts. con- energyghana.com 19

mining news million tonnes of bauxite in awaso with the nyinahin and kyebi sites having 700 million tonnes and 160 million tonnes each. though bauxite was discovered in the country over a century ago, little bene- fit has been derived from it, with an indus- try that can only boast of a single under-performing smelter – the volta alu- minium company (valco) and scattered enterprises in the value chain. however, the akufo-addo-led govern- ment in mid-2017, revived efforts toward the industry in an integrated form, and hence set up the ghana integrated alu- minum development corporation (gi- adec) to oversee, participate in and ensure the integration of local business and labour in the aluminium industry. giadec as a critical stepping stone to realize a ‘ghana beyond aid’, government estab- lished giadec in august 2018 with a mandate to promote and develop an inte- grated aluminium industry in the country. it will assume all state interests across the value chain in the industry and will, thus, hold a minimum 30 per cent stake in any new mine, refinery or smelter together with private investors. the corporation, in partnership with selected private investors, plans to get four mining concessions (one in awaso already in operation plus up three additional – two in nyinahin and one in kyebi) with a com- bined production of about 20 million tonnes of bauxite a year and three refiner- ies with a combined capacity of four to six million tonnes of alumina, that is, refined bauxite, says michael ansah, chief execu- tive officer (ceo) of giadec. he antici- pates the industry to bring about 35,000 new jobs - 10,000 direct and 25,000 indi- rect. valco is also going to get a retouch to to its production capacity increase 35,000 jobs he anticipates the industry to bring about 35,000 new jobs - 10,000 direct and 25,000 indirect. 40 multinational companies. to this effect, the corporation began a competitive bidding process to at- tract worthy investors and has seen expressions of interest from over 40 multinational companies. july 2020 300,000 tonnes of aluminium with the concurrent establishment of two smelters with combined production capacity of up to 500,000 tonnes of aluminium. to this effect, the corporation began a competitive bidding process to attract worthy investors and has seen expressions of interest from over 40 multinational companies. in spite of the numerous benefits that the industry is to bring with assurances of responsible mining, activists still voice out lingering environmental concerns of soil erosion, noise and air pollution, destruc- tion of ecosystem and threats to taking from the earth. valco the volta aluminum company (valco), the largest aluminum company in ghana, was founded in 1961 with a smelting capacity of 200,000 metric tonnes per year of ingots. the 600-acre smelter currently consumes about 3.5% of total electricity generated with power mak- ing up about 34% of total operational cost at five (5) cents/kwh. aside cost, the com- pany has had to battle insufficient and er- ratic power supply which increases the inefficiency of the plant as well as power costs per unit of output. ministry of finance (2016) data shows valco’s non profitability hit an average loss of 19 million dollars between 2014 and s e n n o t n o i l l i m 0 2 the corporation, in partnership with selected private investors, plans to get four mining concessions (one in awaso already in operation plus up three additional – two in nyinahin and one in kyebi) with a combined production of about 20 million tonnes of bauxite a year and three refineries with a combined capacity of four to six mil- lion tonnes of alu- mina, that is, refined bauxite, says michael ansah, chief ex- ecutive officer (ceo) of giadec. the annual $10bn to the economy is to come from bauxite mining, refining and smelting operations as well as contributions from the downstream and allied industries. the ven- ture is also expected to attract foreign direct in- vestments, support mas- sive infrastructure development including roads, schools and hos- pitals, as well set the basis for an industri- alised economy. n b 0 1 $ 2016, mostly owing to high cost of power. indicatively, for valco to operate opti- mally, it requires greater stability and effi- ciency in the supply of power. meanwhile, bauxite ore is currently produced in the country solely by the bosai minerals group, a chinese firm with 80 percent stake in the ghana bauxite com- pany and the government in charge of the remaining 20 percent. a present obstacle for the industry is the poor condition of the country’s railway system which will highly determine the iai’s realization. though the project is significant, civil society groups have advised government to find other sources of financing develop- ment projects in the country and have also urged leaders to consider recycling of alu- minium as an integral part of the iai as well as to live up to its promise of not com- promising the quality of the environment. source: energy ghana energyghana.com 21

students to explore challenges in the en- ergy sector. i feel privileged that my serv- ices are considered worthy enough to merit my selection as a role model for the younger generation. secondly, in partnership with vra, the energy media group (emg), organisers of the ghana energy awards, conferred a lifetime achievement award on me. thirdly, to cap it all, at a special event, hon. albert kan-dapaah, former minister of energy and h.e the pres- ident of ghana, nana addo dankwa akufo-addo, paid high compliments to me on my contributions to ecg and vra. i accept these compliments not for my- self but on behalf of all categories of work- ers who contributed in the past to the success of ecg and vra. it is gratifying that almost 20 years after my retirement, our efforts to be of service to ghana in the past are still remembered. public service work is continuous. chal- lenges never end. there will always be problems as well as opportunities to chal- lenge the current generation. eg: mr. kalitsi, kindly tell us a brief background about yourself and how you got into vra. eakk: i was born in july, 1930 in anyako in the keta district of the volta re- gion. after completing secondary school at zion college, anloga in 1948, i obtained a london university bsc. degree in eco- nomics from the university college of gold july 2020 energyghana.com 25

plots. the resettlement planners had wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of- fered by the project to improve the living standards and economic skills of the set- tlers. this explains why 52 semi-urban set- tlement towns were provided in place of the 740 villages. that attempt at moderni- sation was partially successful. but, with respect to agriculture, it must be admitted that an effort to introduce improvements through mechanised farming in coopera- tives and animal husbandry had failed. notwithstanding the care and prudence exhibited in undertaking the resettlement work, not everyone was satisfied with the final outcome. a flood of complaints con- tinues to be made up to today. these relate to inadequate housing, poor arrangements for farming and inadequate cash compen- sation. other complaints relate to conflicts among traditional leaders grouped to- gether in the new settlements or conflicts between settlers and their hosts. however, the resettlement team evacu- ated 80,000 affected people without social upheavals and especially without loss of lives. this was a significant accomplish- ment for which all groups which had con- tributed the project should be congratulated. to by mid-1966, the dam construction had been completed, power was being gener- ated and most of the people threatened by the flood had been evacuated. in the words of my colleague, the late g. w. amartefio principal welfare officer of the resettle- ment office, “it was far more difficult and delicate to handle resettlement of the peo- ple in the volta basin than the construction of the dam at akosombo,” – volta reset- tlement experience - chambers (1970). vra as an operating institution with start of power generation, the or- ganisational structure of vra began to change from the construction mode to op- erating mode. as part of this change i was appointed director of finance in the mid- dle of 1966. simultaneously, i was assigned oversight responsibility for non-power ac- tivities in general. these included resettle- ment, lake research studies and promotion of water transport. dr. e.l quartey as chief executive it was also at this time that dr. e.l quartey was appointed chief executive, after the retirement of mr. frank dobson. dr quartey was at the time chief engineer of the electricity department of ghana and had been a member of the vra board since its inception. he was a strong per- sonality who shaped and nurtured the au- thority in its operational phase into a highly respected utility. he served for 14 years as chief executive during which pe- riod, his contribution to the authority was outstanding. on him fell the responsibility july 2020 to pursue nkrumah’s dream to use volta power to improve the lives of ghanaians and to spur industrialisation in the coun- try. he defined the transmission and dis- tribution systems of the country, expanded the akosombo facility from 4units to 6units, extended supply to togo and benin and set up interchange arrangements with cote d’ivoire. by persistent pressure, he “ my proudest mo- ment was when as government agent i brought down the union jack at so- gakope on 6th march, 1957 to mark the end of colonial administration of this country and hoisted the newly minted flag of ghana as a mark of our independence. succeeded in having the smelter adjust their purchase price for power from time to time. he started the construction of the kpong hydroelectric dam. in 1971, dr. quartey restructured the authority into two branches: an engineer- ing and power operation branch and an administration and finance branch each under a deputy chief executive. i was ap- pointed deputy chief executive of the ad- ministration and finance branch. i still retained oversight responsibility for non- power activities namely; resettlement works, lake research studies and water transport. as an operating entity, the authority ac- quired a reputation for efficiency, reliabil- ity and effectiveness. it enjoyed a close relationship with many international fi- nancing agencies including the world bank, european, american, canadian and middle east agencies. they responded to the authority’s approach to them for devel- opment support. the following are some of the projects for which the authority successfully mo- bilised financing from the agencies listed above during dr. quartey’s time in office: the kpong hydroelectric dam of 160mw, transmission line to togo and benin and the extension of power line to cote d’ivoire. overseas roles between october 1979 and september 1987, i played varying roles in the utility sector overseas. i consulted for the world bank on water and electricity projects in the western africa region. for the com- monwealth secretariat i provided techni- cal assistance as director, system operations, at the national water com- mission, jamaica. managing director, ecg i returned to ghana on appointment as managing director of ecg, and served until december 1990. at the ecg i led the improvement of financial systems of the company by raising revenue collection, re- ducing line and commercial losses and promoting a rural electrification pro- gramme. chief executive, vra i was appointed chief executive of the vra, on january 1, 1991. i served in this role till july 1998 when i became chair- man of the vra board. the position of chairman of vra had previously been held by dr kwame nkrumah himself when he was president of ghana. i relinquished my formal relationship with vra in 2001. the authority, under my leadership, persuaded the government and society to support the injection of thermal facilities into the generation mix of the country, and successfully mobilised financing and built its first major thermal plant of 330mw at aboadze in the western region. i also led efforts to attract the first-ever purely pri- vate power company, cms energy of michigan-usa, to partner vra and invest their own capital in expanding vra’s ther- mal facilities to 550mw. this was 50% of the combined generating capacity of the akosombo and kpong dams. to achieve this level of success, the at- tributes required are hard work, probity, diligence and respect for individuals whom one needs to relate with. energyghana.com 29

profile

profile bui power authority was established by an act of parliament, bpa act 740, 2007 with a mandate to plan, execute and manage the bui hydroelectric project, which in- cludes generating of electrical power for general industrial and domestic use, constructing a transmission system that links to the national grid, and supplying electrical power to certified and licensed util- ity companies. the company also undertakes the promotion of ac- tivities that ensure the provision of facilities for multi- purpose uses such as agro businesses, fisheries and tourism. bpa’s mission is to develop, deploy and sustainably utilize the resources of the black volta and other re- newables to derive the optimum national benefits pri- marily by providing electricity at base price to spur industrial and agricultural production and impact the lives of millions. part of its vision is to manage and operate the bui generating station most efficiently for optimal results, and to also develop and expand other renewables (solar) and become renewable energy leaders, as well as to initiate studies leading to the development of mini hydro plants, especially on the western rivers of ghana. the company also looks forward to optimally utilizing natural resources within its territory for national eco- nomic growth and eventually the development of the bui city (industrial and tourism city). operations the bui hydroelectric project, now the bui gen- erating station (bgs), is a peaking plant with a capacity to generate 404mw of hydro-generated power, which is evacuated from the company’s 161kv switchyard. the company is set to add 250mwp of solar energy to ghana’s national grid. in this regard, the switchyard has been ex- panded to evacuate 250mwp of solar-generated power. the initial 50mw solar project which commenced in april 2019 is expected to be op- erational in 2020. bpa has completed the construction of the tsatsadu micro hydropower plant, the first in ghana, which has the capacity to generate 45kw of power with the possibility of adding another 45kw capacity turbine. tsatsadu falls, on which this plant is constructed, is located at alavanyo- abehenease in the hohoe district of the volta region. corporate social responsibility the bui power authority considers its social responsibility a priority and, therefore, is mind- ful of giving back to society, particularly to its neighbouring communities. to this extent, it has in place a corporate social responsibility policy to govern its commitments to areas such as education, health medical social and cultural support, as well as sports. the project affected persons (paps) continue to benefit substantially. 24 energyghana.com june 2019

gea’19 in pictures ghana energy awards’19

events /ghana energy awards’19 in pictures

personality profile salma okonkwo (board chair, ubi group) & female energy personality of the year 2019 okonkwo grew up in accra, one of 14 chil- dren born to a real estate agent and devel- oper mother and a cattle-dealer father. she graduated in 1994 from the loyola marymount university and later worked for an oil and gas company sahara energy group, accra in 2003. focusing on bringing liquefied petroleum gas to the hard-to-reach region of northern ghana where many families still rely on burning firewood for energy, she started trading diesel and petroleum wholesale in 2006. a contract to supply fuel to dallas-based kosmos en- ergy came in 2007, followed by one with hess in 2008. achievements by 2008, ubi opened its first retail gas station. it soon owned 8 outright and managed another 20 through partnerships. that caught the eye of singa- pore-based multinational firm puma energy, which had 2017 sales of $15 billion from operations in 49 coun- tries. puma acquired a 49% stake in two of ubi group’s subsidiaries (retail gas stations and wholesale fuel dis- tribution) in 2013 for about $150 million. after the partial acquisition in 2013, okonkwo started developing her solar company. she estimates the company will spend about $100 million—financed by roughly $30 million in loans—to create 100 megawatts of solar power by early next year. construc- tion started earlier this summer. the plan is to add an- other 100 megawatts by the end of 2020. the project is also personal for okonkwo. half of the solar farm will be located in her father’s village in northern ghana. the rest will be spread out throughout the north, which is ghana’s poorest region, according to unicef. the or- ganization says the area has seen the smallest progress in terms of poverty reduction since the 1990s. blue power energy blue power energy (bpe) is an energy service com- pany specializing in renewable energy. blue power energy is the first green electricity suppliers that spe- cializes in green energy production. blue power energy is geared towards powering ghana and sub-saharan africa’s economic growth through providing electricity. healthy, vital communities are an essential part of our vision of creating a sustainable energy future for ghana and sub saharan africa. bpe makes solar power hap- pen on green field and brownfield sites. as an inde- pendent developer, bpe combines the very best locations, technology and partners for the creation of responsible and sustainable solar projects. in northern ghana, blue power energy is developing a large scale solar pv farms to provide electricity that will support nedco and in turn provide power to cover over sixty percent of the total land area of ghana. bpe also generates power for dapaong in togo, as well as the border towns of po, leo and yuoga in burkina faso. the large-scale pv farm is the first utility-scale solar energy project in bolgatanga, northern ghana. okonkwo’s ultimate goal is to bring cheap energy to northern ghana through the solar farm, which she hopes will incentivize companies to create lasting jobs there. the pv farm is generating enough electricity for 50,000 homes. source: energy ghana july 2020 energyghana.com 45

feature /covid 19 pandemic cant burden from the utility service providers. also positive is the minister’s claim that some of the amount for the sub- sidy response had been paid. this will go a long way in helping government to fully focus on the esrp program and its imple- mentation. sector debt and esrp after all, the esrp is still considered as a strategically important direction and a priority to the government of ghana. the programme may suffer some delays in implementation though during this pe- riod. ecg debt to independent power producers (ipps) is estimated at $1.5 mil- lion. any further debt incurred may push ghana close experiencing intermittent blackouts as threatened by the ipps for some time now; the more reason why government must honor its promise to pay for the total cost of the subsidies on time. one of the key objectives of the pro- gramme is to make the energy sector fi- nancially viable. reducing excess capacity charges from the ipps power generation is pivotal to reducing revenue shortfall to government. as it stands now, capacity charges may increase as many industries and businesses, who form more than half of electricity consumers, are now slowly re-opening after the partial lockdown was lifted. with many industries and business closed during the partial lockdown, the cost of excess power being produced by the ipps and not being used would likely lead to an increase in capacity charge paid to these producers. this is because industries consume more than half significant amount of power distributed. the volta aluminium company (valco) is still the single largest consumer of electricity in ghana. as at 2017, operating at 20% below capacity, it accounted for 3.5% of total electricity consumption. even after the lift- ing of the partial lockdown, most indus- tries have not started producing at optimal capacity yet. demand for electricity in ghana also depends on the weather condi- tions prevailing. the way people use elec- tricity, to a significant extent, depends on whether the conditions prevalent are warm or cold. less debt, the better ghana finds itself in uncharted waters. with an energy sector already reeling under debt, any decisions made by govern- ment during this period will have long term effects on the economy and the en- ergy sector for that matter. the ipps are a critical stakeholder in the sector and are owed a lot by utilities service providers and government as part of take or pay agree- ments. capacity charges are a significant part of the debt owed by government. if there are any existing excess capacity due to reduced demand of electricity, there is july 2020 that the ipps and other plants have been given special permissions by the ministry of energy to bring in equipment and ma- chinery that would aid their production so as not to inhibit the supply of energy to the populace and industries. the same applies to expatriate technical persons who may be needed by companies in the production of power. the effect of this will also mean that their operations do not suffer and that they do not bridled with maintenance and operational costs. this period has also been a period of in- trospection for government especially with regards to effects of the slump in oil prices on local production and revenue. govern- ment would need to do an assessment of the sector as many livelihoods are tied to it. it is important to point out that the president’s directive to suspend the pay- ment of water bills and subsidize electricity bills for three months is very welcoming. this will significantly lessen the burden of many households during this period. elec- tricity bills constitute a significant propor- tion of household expenses. we expect the government, in the coming weeks and months, to map out plans and strategies to support local businesses, by making sure there is reduced interruption in the supply of electricity as businesses try to recover, especially in the manufacturing sector. this is the way to go if we want to speed up the recovery of the economy. by lawrence amevor associate consultant ch business consulting ghana energyghana.com 47 his excellency nana addo dankwa akufo-addo, president of the republic of ghana demand for unserved areas which this could be channeled to. these include 1d1f, steel industry expansions, vehicle assem- bly plants, street lightening, mines, alu- mina and bauxite processing. b5 plus, a steel production plant, alone requires 100 mw to operate optimally. recently the company has complained of inadequate and erratic power supply. it is hoped that in government’s efforts to reduce the financial predicament of ghanaians during this period, it honors its obligations to ecg, nedco and vra by paying for the cost of the subsidies on util- ities on time. this will most likely have a positive effect of not increasing the debt in the sector being addressed by the esrp measures it is also quite welcoming news to note

opini n hsse guidelines to promote energy sector safety the ministry of energy in mid- 2019 launched a comprehensive health safety security and envi- ronment (hsse) manual with guidelines on how to ensure employee and workplace safety for energy sector organi- sations. intended for the sector’s regulators and service providers, the manual is particu- larly to ensure that companies in the en- ergy sector have generally accepted minimum requirements to guide them in the development of their respective oper- ational procedures and processes in man- aging health, security and environment issues. safety, for instance, the upstream industry has greater safety issues hence, by law it is im- perative for every operator in the oil and gas sector to submit health and safety plan as part of their plan of development sub- mitted to government before they are con- sidered to operate in the country’s upstream industry, said deputy energy minister, mohammed amin adam at the launch of the manual. “ my only note of caution,” says amewu, “is that users of this manual should consider it as a minimum requirement and not necessarily a suffi- cient condition in addressing all hsse issues in the sec- tor.” he also adds that users bear in mind that hsse is a line responsibility and hence people cannot be absolved from accountability with the mere excuse of compliance to this manual.” july 2020 minister of energy, john - peter amewu funded by the uk aid with technical as- sistance and logistical support from the ghana oil and gas for inclusive growth (gogig), the manual was developed in tune with the ministry’s quest to promote sound and sustainable hsse practices in the development of regulations, standards and procedures for the energy industry, in ensuring minimal negative impact of en- ergy sector activities on property, environ- ment and national reputation. energy minister, john-peter amewu says the ministry regards competences in hsse as an activity that must conform to an accepted policy direction, hence broadly addressing these issues in the en- ergy sector with the manual “will help put the ministry, regulators and service providers on the same page for purposes of understanding the issues and ensuring compliance to the requirements of this manual.” regulators are, consequently, expected to support service providers establish pro- grammes and protocols for meeting re- quirements of the manual. the ministry also wants regulators to recognise as well as provide incentives to service providers who avail adequate resources to support such programmes that are in line with in- dications in the manual. in this regard, therefore, regulators, upon the ministry’s advice, are to produce key performance in- dicators for service providers to help as- sess the value of compliance to the manual in the bottom line assessments. “my only note of caution,” says amewu, “is that users of this manual should con- sider it as a minimum requirement and not necessarily a sufficient condition in ad- dressing all hsse issues in the sector.” he also adds that users bear in mind that hsse is a line responsibility and hence people cannot be absolved from accounta- bility with the mere excuse of compliance to this manual.” the manual segmented into four sections, the man- ual consists of hsse management system – with requisite tools to implement pur- poseful management system to bring hsse targets to reality; standard operat- ing procedures (sops) – basic require- ments to ensure consistency in daily operations of any facility; incident notifi- cation and investigation – system to en- sure notification, incident investigation and reporting of results; and record re- tention standard – retention period for documents relating to hsse management in any organisation. drafters of the manual included repre- sentatives from the ministry of energy, the sector’s regulatory bodies, industry groups and organisations, as well as government institutions and related agencies. source: energy ghana energyghana.com 49

400kw german-funded waste-to-energy plant to treat waste, generate power renewables waste-energy plant, ethiopia the german federal ministry of education and research (bmbf) has committed €5.8 million for the construction of a 400 kw hy- brid waste-to-energy (wte) power plant that will produce electricity from waste produced in the country. the plant will be sited at atwima nwabiagya in the ashanti region. as part of the country’s renewable en- ergy plan, incorporated into the 31 nation- ally determined contributions, the project is intended to “transform waste into en- ergy using hybrid solar photovoltaic, bio- gas and pyrolysis systems,” said professor kwabena frimpong-boateng, ghana’s minister for environment science and technology and innovation. it is expected to help the country find longstanding solution to the challenge of its solid waste management by treating waste and generating power from it. “this is an environmental and sanitation project, which would help us clean our environ- ment and generate energy that would com- prise solar, biogas and pyrolysis gas,” he added. pyrolysis is a thermo-chemical process that results in the production of gas from waste, which can then be used to generate electricity. aside generating gas for electricity which would increase inclusion of renew- able energy and contribute to reduce cli- mate change, the project will also produce and use compost, to be sold to and utilized by farmers to boost agriculture, hence re- ducing reliance on mineral fertilizers. the project, which will be commissioned september 2023, is research-based and is to be undertaken collaboratively by three german research partners, six ghanaian research centres, two german and three (bmbf) the german federal min- istry of education and re- search has committed €5.8 million for the construction of a 400 kw hybrid waste-to-energy (wte) power plant that will produce electricity from waste produced the country. in m 8 5 € . local industrial partners respectively. anja karliczek, the german federal minister of education and research, said prof. kwabena frimpong boateng, minister, mesti the project is a great opportunity to utilize ghana’s 12,000 tonnes daily waste output while creating employment. with innova- tive solutions fashioned by german re- searchers, collaborating with fellows in ghana, the project’s success is assured. if successful, ten more plants of up to 5mw power output will be constructed by 2040 in separate regions of the country, she said. the pilot plant will be built and operated within the four-year life span of the proj- ect, noted professor frimpong-boateng. as part of the project, a policy guideline doc- ument on the hybrid waste-to-energy sys- tem and business models for hybrid solar pv, biogas and pyrolysis plants would be advanced. project benefits according to reports, the project will train two post-phd fellows, three phd fel- lows, ten masters’ students, and 20 univer- sity professionals on hybrid biogas pyrolysis systems for waste treatment, to enable them to lead and mentor other african countries in the design, construc- tion and maintenance of biogas/biomass plants. pyrolysis and processes associated with the waste-t-energy technology are said to give off by-products such as biochar and digestate which can enhance agricultural activities in farming communities, while related activities are expected to bring sus- tainable jobs for ghanaians. meanwhile, using bioenergy for electric- ity generation instead of fossil fuel would contribute to decrease greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions, stressed prof frimpong- boateng. source: energy ghana july 2020 energyghana.com 49

special rep rt a people-first approach: ghana's covid-19 response in the oil & gas sector responses to the coronavirus pandemic's effects on the oil and gas industry has been unique to each economy, es- pecially as the sector already suffers from an existing challenge of project fi- nancing and a constant demand for skilled personnel. ghana's first response priority in this direction is the safety of the people working in the sector, as well as the safety of the people in communities where the exploration and production activities take place. to this end, gov- ernment has engaged oil companies in the country to prioritise the safety of the people on both sides and religiously up- hold all national safety directives laid out to combat the virus. for oil and gas companies that have required support with personnel to continue operations, the government has assisted with such arrangements, as with tullow ghana, to bring in more staff to facilitate their drilling work. though the country, in its efforts to allay the impact of the pandemic on the industry, is not offering fiscal reliefs in terms of royalties or corporate taxes to companies in the sector, government has ensured some cost uplifts and tax credits to support entities in the sector stay competitive. ghana's deputy en- ergy minister in charge of petroleum, dr mohammed amin adam, asserts that the country's fiscal regime is quite robust, and thus inherently caters for ment, dr amin maintains that the effect of global oil price on the cost of deliver- ing oil projects in the country is mini- mal, as presently, the breakeven price of jubilee is around $12 per barrel and sankofa around $20 per barrel. the im- pact on companies in the sector is there- fore tolerable. the ministry of energy is also considering extending exploration periods for oil companies in return for an accelerated work programme after the pandemic, in efforts to help compa- nies make up for lost time. among other responses, government is also considering a proposal to intro- duce the sliding scale system in the oil and gas industry. this implies a system where lower prices, for instance corre- spond directly to the amount of royal- ties to the state. such a system is expedient as an incentive for invest- ments into the sector when it hits a low tide, especially when there is exposure to extreme price volatility. these measures are hoped to alleviate burdens imposed by the pandemic on companies in the oil sector during these times. for dr amin, ghana's economy is highly diversified and thus not oil-re- liant. oil revenues make up for 1.2 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (gdp) and about 12 per cent of total revenues, for which reason the country cannot be counted among its oil-dependent neighbours. source: energy ghana dr mohammed amin adam, deputy energy minister in charge of petroleum some of these challenges. the regime has some provisional elements such as the 'additional oil entitlement' that ap- plies to companies which achieve rate of return beyond a given threshold. an- other provision also allows for compa- nies to carry over their losses for five or ten years-as in the case of exxonmobil's contract. being a really competitive environ- july 2020 energyghana.com 53

special report / empowering pwds “ benjamin boakye, execu- tive director of acep, said his organization is under- taking these efforts for per- sons with disabilities in order for them to con- tribute meaningfully to the development of society. the centre wants persons with disabilities to be partakers in economic opportunities offered by the extractive sector and to ensure that they benefit equally from revenues and resources from the sector. of ghana, the national disability policy, implementation has been short of desired. persons with disability face exclusion across several sectors including access to health care, education, economic open- ings, decision making and access to infor- mation. pwds indicate that obstacles impeding their inclusion comprise the lack of assis- tive devices to make them effective in any work environment, the lack of which pre- vent employers from hiring their services, particularly in the extractive industry. ad- ditionally, there is no database on skilled members and they lack opportunities to work in salaried employments. records indicate an esti- mated number of 900,000 people living with disabili- ties in ghana, meaning 3% of the entire population suf- fers some form of disability. this number, according to experts, is likely to shoot up as the population grows older and the instances of chronic conditions which create impairment and dis- ability continue to rise. 0 0 0 0 0 9 , l e p o e p the country. a real source of concern is the inadequacy of public sensitization on the need for pwds to be given a fair chance in job opportunities, employment in state services, and the need to foster a good working relationship between the general public and pwds. policies as part of inclusion measures, govern- ment has established the accelerated oil and gas capacity programme to provide skills to the youth and empower ghanaian businesses to compete favourably in the oil and gas industry. additionally, there is a policy directing all oil companies to de- velop gender and disability policies to in- tegrate pwds into their operations, to which some organisations were already adhering, according to dr mohammed amin adam, a deputy minister of energy. government, he said, is also planning to acep’s report identified poor funding of interventions, limited involvement of pwds in policy and decision making processes, poor implementation plans, limited research on disability limited ac- cess to information as some more perti- nent factors which hinder the successful implementation of pwd interventions in july 2020 designate some quota of petroleum rev- enue in support of persons with disability, as he believes they need to be empowered with the requisite skills and expertise needed to be gainfully employed in the ex- tractive industry. interventions so far, acep’s interventions targeted at pwd inclusivity have included transcrib- ing the ghana extractive industries trans- parency initiative (gheiti) report into braille for the visually impaired to gain ac- cess to its contents. in collaboration with relevant state agencies, the centre has been holding se- ries of stakeholder engagements aimed to address disability exclusion in the country as well as inclusion efforts particularly in the extractives sector. the national coun- cil on persons with disability, the ministry of gender, children and social protection and the ghana federation of disability or- ganisations are partners with acep in this drive. to enhance pwd inclusion at all levels and in all sectors, acep suggests the timely discharge of budgetary allocations, participatory decision-making on disabil- ity policies, properly piloted and pre- tested planned implementation of programmes, improved research on dis- ability issues and access to information. source: energy ghana energyghana.com 55

top5/young male influencers in ghana’s energy sector quality policy, fighting illicit fuel trading, regulatory interven- tions such as the imposition of taxes on petroleum products to curb the diversion of the products onto the local markets, revi- sion of petroleum product export guidelines to stem illegal ac- tivities, among others. mr hosi makes several contributions towards the energy sec- tor in the country with constant media presence discussing is- sues of great national import. by dint of his contributions to the sector, senyo hosi was honoured with the osagyefo young leadership at the 2018 ghana energy awards, and also recog- nised with energy business leadership award at the 2019 ghana energy awards. benjamin boakye, executive director, acep benjamin boakye is an energy gover- nance professional with the africa cen- tre for energy policy. he is currently the executive director at the centre. prior to this, he served as the deputy execu- tive director. benjamin has made contributions to the extractive sector governance in ghana and africa with a focus on corpo- rate, institutional development, fiscal and contract governance and the evolu- tion of legal frameworks for the effective management of extractive resources. he has also consulted for the world bank, undp and other research institutions in the resource sector. as executive director, he leads his team at acep to organise the annual africa oil governance summit which brings together petroleum sector stake- holders across the continent to deliber- ate on matters affecting africa’s upstream business. benjamin also has extensive experi- ence in power sector reforms. he cur- rently chairs the stakeholder committee of the millennium development au- thority (mida), advising the mida board on the implementation of the power sector reforms. benjamin holds an msc from the uni- versity of dundee, uk, in energy stud- ies and ba hons. in sociology and information studies from the university of ghana. michael bozumbil, ceo, petrosol mr. bozumbil has been the ceo/chair- man of the board of directors of pet- rosol since 2006, when he founded the company. with about twenty (20) years' experience in petroleum down- stream business management starting from fuel retail outlet management through field operations supervision to senior level management and consul- tancy, he has a fine blend of experience which cuts across various categories of oil marketing companies (omcs) — multinational (shell), pan-african (oando) and indigenous/ghanaian (nasona oil and pacific oil ghana) -- which he uses to provide leadership and direction for the management team. mr. bozumbil previously served as the managing director, pacific oil ghana ltd; head of marketing, nasona oil company ltd; marketing represen- titive/area manager, oando ghana ltd; and a station manager under shell ghana ltd and played a key role in growing these companies and won a number of awards for his contribution to the growth of these companies. he has also consulted for a number of oil marketing companies in ghana. he is currently the vice chairman of the governing board of the association of oil marketing companies (aomcs) and represents the aomcs at the level of the private enterprise federation (pef), the national apex body of ghana's business community. he also previously chaired the legal & ethics committee as well as served as a mem- ber of the strategic oversight commit- tee of the aomcs. he is also currently a member of the executive committee of the ghana employers' association. he is a product of the gimpa busi- ness school, ghana institute of man- agement & public administration (mba-marketing), the university of ghana business school(ma, marketing strategy—entrepreneurship & brand management). he also holds bachelor of arts degree in economics & sociol- ogy from the university of ghana. july 2020 energyghana.com 63