Page 12 - DMEA Week 48 2022

DMEA REFINING & FUELS DMEA

ENOC denies reports of talks with Ghana

on accepting gold as payment for fuel

MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA DUBAI-BASED Emirates National Oil Co.
(ENOC) has denied reports that it is in talks
with Ghana on supplying refined fuels to the
West African state in exchange for payment in
gold, Bloomberg reported on November 29.
In response to queries from the news agency,
ENOC issued a firm denial. “This is totally
baseless and incorrect,” a spokesperson for the
company said. “There have been no discussions
regarding this subject.”
Bloomberg sought clarification after Kabiru
Mahama, an economic advisor to Ghanaian
Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia, claimed
on November 25 that officials in Accra had
struck a supply deal with the Emirati company. Mahama claimed on November 25 that Accra and ENOC
Mahama described the deal as “tentative” had struck a deal (Photo: Facebook/@DrKBMahama)
and did not divulge the financial or logistical
details of the proposed transaction. However, he could also have the effect of preventing the fur-
was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that Accra ther depreciation of Ghana’s national currency,
was ready to negotiate with “any international the cedi.)
oil trading company that is interested” and will- To support the new measure, the Ghanaian
ing to accept payment for petroleum products in government has ordered large mining compa-
gold rather than cash. nies to sell 20% of all the gold they process to the
Mahama’s announcement of the deal with country’s central bank, beginning on January 1,
ENOC came one day after Bawumia wrote in a 2023.
post on Facebook that Ghana’s government was It has said that this order will allow it to build
negotiating a new policy that would allow for the up extra reserves of gold bullion that can be used
payment of imported fuels with gold rather than to cover the cost of petroleum product imports
US dollars. and also curb demand for foreign currency fol-
The vice president said the new policy was lowing the cedi’s 57% decline against the US dol-
designed to help bring domestic prices down lar since the beginning of 2022.
while also boosting foreign exchange supplies. Ghana is the second largest producer of gold
(Other observers have pointed out that the plan in Africa. ™

Malabo and Kinshasa agree to

develop jointly-owned refinery

AFRICA EQUATORIAL Guinea and the Democratic The two countries plan to team up to achieve
Republic of the Congo (DRC) have signed a their shared energy objectives, which include
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the construction of an oil refinery in the DRC,
will see the two countries work together to along with storage facilities for petroleum
develop an oil refinery and petroleum product refined products. Regardless of their physical
storage facilities. location, the facilities will be jointly owned by
The MoU was formalised at the Angola the national oil companies (NOC) of Equatorial
Oil and Gas 2022 Conference and Exhibition, Guinea and the DRC, GEPetrol and Sonahydroc
signed by representatives of the Equatorial respectively. The agreement also provides for the
Guinea Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbon two nations to share knowledge and technical
and the DRC Ministry of Hydrocarbons. expertise..

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 48 01•December•2022