Page 8 - AfrElec Week 47 2020

AfrElec GAS-FIRED GENERATION AfrElec

EAIF lends $31mn to Tema

regasification scheme

GHANA THE Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund “The new terminal at Tema is an innovative
(EAIF) has backed a regasification project in approach to securing reliable and cost-efficient
Ghana’s port of Tema with a $31mn loan. gas supply,” Martijn Proos, a director at Ninety
The loan, with a duration of 10 years, will go One, which manages EAIF, said in a statement.
to the project’s developer Access LNG, a joint “The investment by EAIF will contribute to
venture between Helios Investment Partners and reducing carbon emissions, contributing to
Gasfin Development. The pair reached financial Ghana’s long-term energy needs and strengthen-
close on the scheme on November 16. ing its economic stability and economic develop-
The EAIF loan will help cover the cost of a ment efforts.”
floating regasification unit (FRU), due to be The Tema facility, he continued, “answers
integrated with an LNG carrier that will be used Ghana’s need for greater fuel security and opti-
for storage. Both vessels will be permanently mal supply. The project will reduce the cost of
moored. power generation for Ghana’s power sector,
Work on the project’s fixed infrastructure, provide an adequate margin of fuel reserves and
including a breakwater, mooring facilities, a benefit the ongoing expansion of the country’s
subsea pipeline and an 8-km onshore pipeline, electricity and gas grids.”
was financed separately. This infrastructure will Helios partner Ogbemi Ofuya suggested
link the terminal to industrial areas in Tema. The Access LNG could provide additional LNG
gas will be used as fuel at thermal power plants projects in sub-Saharan Africa. The current
(TPPs), providing a cleaner and less costly option low price of gas, he said, means “there is a great
to light crude oil and heavy fuel oil, as well as at opportunity for Access to support markets
other industrial facilities. switching to natural gas as a clean, cheap transi-
The project’s developers originally aimed tion fuel as we push developments to support a
to launch operations in mid-2020, but the new greener, more efficient energy economy.”
schedule is unclear. According to Gasfin, the EAIF represents part of the Private Infra-
terminal will deliver 250mn cubic feet per day structure Development Group (PIDG), backed
(2.58bn cubic metres per year) of gas. by seven donor countries and the World Bank.™

FUELS

Nigeria looks to import fuels from Niger

NIGERIA NIGERIA has signed a memorandum of under- the market for these products,” he explained.
standing (MoU) on potentially obtaining petro- “Therefore, this is going to be a win-win relation
leum product supplies from neighbouring Niger, for both countries. My hope is that this is going
the former’s petroleum ministry said on social to be the beginning of deepening trade relations
media on November 19. between Niger Republic and Nigeria.”
In statements on Facebook and Twitter, the The ministry did not say when supplies of oil
ministry said the non-binding accord covered products from Niger might commence, however.
the transportation and storage of oil products. Nigeria, although it is Africa’s biggest oil pro-
Talks on this subject have been ongoing for four ducer, relies mostly on imports of fuel to meet its
months between Nigeria’s state-owned NNPC demand. This is because its own four state-run
and its counterpart in Niger, SONIDEP. refineries are in a state of disrepair and cannot
Niger’s 20,000 barrel per day (bpd) Soraz operate at profit. They have been closed down
refinery is situated in Zinder, some 260 km from and authorities say they will not re-open until
the Nigerian border. According to the ministry, they have undergone extensive modernisation.
Niger’s domestic fuel demand is only 5,000 bpd, NNPC recently extended an oil-for-fuels
leaving a surplus of 15,000 bpd of capacity avail- swap scheme for three years until 2023. The
able to provide exports. agreement is with 14 trading companies and
Nigerian Petroleum Minister Timipre Sylva refiners on gasoline supplies in exchange for
described the MoU as a “major step forward” for crude oil. Nigeria is also awaiting the launch of
the two countries. a 650,000 bpd refinery in Lekki in 2022, being
“Niger Republic has some excess prod- developed by private conglomerate Dangote.™
ucts which need to be evaluated. Nigeria has

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 47 26•November•2020