"Energy sector a low hanging fruit for political manoeuvring and corruption \u2013 ACEP"

" Energy sector a low hanging fruit for political manoeuvring and corruption \u2013 ACEP \r\n\r\nExecutive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ben Boakye, has said Ghana\u2019s energy sector and to a large extent, the Continent's energy sector is a low hanging fruit for political manoeuvring and corruption by politicians.\r\n\r\nMaking reference to the recent oil bribery case involving Glencore, Mr Boakye averred corruption is rife in the sector making the sector inefficient.\r\n\r\nInefficiencies in the energy sector, he further noted, results in huge debts for the sector.\r\n\r\n \u201cThe energy sector appears to be a low hanging fruit for political manoeuvring and corruption, and the Glencore case is a testament to that (sic),\u201d he remarked speaking during a webinar on Wednesday, November 9, themed High Fuel Prices, Climate Change and Corruption. What is the Link? \r\n\r\nGlencore officials are said to have delivered cash in private jets to officials across Africa, UK prosecutors said as they laid out a web of bribery and corruption orchestrated by the London oil trading desk.\r\n\r\nThe company is said to have paid more than $26m in bribes to secure access to oil cargoes in Africa.\r\n\r\nThe company paid $26m (\u00a323m) through agents and employees to officials of crude oil firms in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast between 2011 and 2016.\r\n\r\nThe UK subsidiary of the mining giant Glencore has been ordered to pay more than \u00a3275m ( $307,516,000 ) in fine for bribing officials in African countries to get access to oil.\r\n\r\nSpeaking further at the webinar and touching on the Tema LNG project, Mr Boakye noted the period in which Ghana critically needed LNG has passed, hence the Tema LNG project at the moment, is to add to already existing excess capacity which will cost the country more.\r\n\r\n \u201cThe critical period for LNG was between 2016 and 2018 before the addition of the Sankofa oil field. Ghana missed those critical periods and it was clear that after 2018, LNG was just going to be excess capacity,\u201d he quipped.\r\n\r\n ACEP projects $72.5m loss from Tema LNG project \r\n\r\nMeanwhile, ACEP has projected a $72.5m loss in revenue from the Tema LNG project by government.\r\n\r\nThe revenue loss projection by ACEP is based on the approved budget for the GNPC by Parliament for this year.\r\n\r\nAccording to ACEP, the Tema LNG infrastructure in its entirety is going to cost government $59.5m.\r\n\r\nThat aside, government is expected to make purchases of LNG costing some $163m.\r\n\r\nThe cumulative cost of the LNG facility and LNG purchases, ACEP further notes, amounts to a total of $222.5m\r\n\r\nHowever, estimated revenue from the LNG project for the year 2022 is $149.95m.\r\n\r\n \u201cThis indicates that GNPC is even preparing to make a loss for the imports of LNG, even assuming that there is a need for the LNG which by the way is not the case,\u201d\u00a0 stated Mr Boakye.\r\n\r\nGovernment, through the Tema LNG import terminal is anticipated import LNG for power generation so as to be able to meet the industry\u2019s demand for electricity which have mostly relied on heavy fuel oils and diesel imports.\r\n\r\nGhana has one of Africa\u2019s highest rates of electrification, yet industrial development has been hampered by unreliable supply.\u00a0Over-reliance on hydro-power\u00a0led to a prolonged crisis in power supply, which included electricity rationing, between 2012 and 2015.\r\n\r\nAccording to the African Develoment Bank (ADB) which is a financier of the Tema LNG project, current natural gas demand in the country is not being reliably met by local gas production or serviced by the West African Gas Pipeline, hence the Tema project will facilitate electricity grid expansion.\r\n\r\nWith the arrival of a floating regasification unit (FRU)\u00a0for the terminal, the terminal has the capacity to receive, re-gasify, store, and deliver around 1.7 million tonnes of LNG a year, about 30 per cent of Ghana\u2019s general capacity.\r\n\r\n "

"Energy sector a low hanging fruit for political manoeuvring and corruption \u2013 ACEP"

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