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Ghana raises clean energy capacity by 40%, as gas flows at Sankofa

Production of natural gas has started offshore Ghana, from two of the four deep-water subsea wells in the Sankofa field, connected to the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel “John Agyekum Kufuor”

Published

6 years ago

July 10, 2018

Africa News Watch

The gas producing part of the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) Integrated Oil and Gas Project, is scheduled to provide 180Million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d) for at least 15 years, “enough to convert to gas 40% of Ghana’s current power generation capacity”, according to a statement by the World Bank.

“After the final steps of commissioning of the offshore facilities, production will gradually flow via a dedicated 60km pipeline to the Onshore Receiving Facility (ORF) in Sanzule, where gas will then be compressed and distributed to Ghana’s national grid”, says ENI, the Italian giant who is the project operator.

The headline price for sale to power generation companies is of $9.8 per Million British Thermal Units ($9.8/MMBtu), or roughly $9.2 per thousand cubic feet ($9.2/Mscf).

The World Bank is heavily involved in the $7.7Billion OCTP project, largely because of this gas component. The bank helped devise a payment mechanism “that ensured all the receipts from the on-sale of the Sankofa gas to the power sector in Ghana flowed to a single designated account from which the private sponsors would be paid in priority for their share of the gas. Should there be any payment shortfall under the Gas Sales Agreement, the sponsors would be able to access an escrow account funded by GNPC with the equivalent of 4.5 months of gas sales ($205Million)”.

“OCTP is the only deep offshore non-associated gas development in Sub-Saharan Africa entirely destined to domestic consumption”, ENI reports. “The project has a strategic relevance: gas from OCTP can help Ghana shift from oil-fueled power generation to a cleaner power source, with financial as well as environmental benefits, and contribute to the Country’s sustainable economic development”.

ENI operates OCTP with 44.44%. Partners include Vitol 35.56% and GNPC 20%.

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VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

4 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.