Page 14 - AfrOil Week 42

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil

“The licence enables us to respond to environ- African Shipyards in 2018. The vessel is the larg-
mental, legislative and business needs for the est by weight to be built on the African conti-
South African and the international LNG fuel nent to date. DNG had earlier hoped to begin
markets,” DNG CEO Aldworth Mbalati said. bunkering in the second quarter of 2020, but
“We are happy to be part of the solution in the its operations and the permitting process were
quest to decarbonise the shipping industry by delayed owing to the coronavirus (COVID-19)
offering LNG as a transition fuel that is safer for pandemic.
marine species.” Algoa is South Africa’s largest bunkering
DNG’s next steps will be completing the port, situated on one of the world’s busiest trad-
terminal infrastructure and finalising the deliv- ing routes. DNG estimates that 56,000 vessels
ery of storage and bunkering equipment, he transit the region each year.
continued. LNG bunkering is gaining in popularity
DNG’s plans for Algoa involve a 160,000 worldwide, in part because of International
cubic metre floating LNG (FLNG) storage facil- Maritime Organisation (IMO) rules that came
ity and an 8,000-tonne LNG bunker barge, con- into force at the start of this year, lowering the
struction of which was commissioned in South cap for sulphur content in marine fuels. ™

INVESTMENT
NOCK facing major financial woes

KENYA THE National Oil Corporation of Kenya ($13.8mn) loan.
(NOCK) is struggling to remain afloat amidst Morintat reminded legislators that NOCK
serious financial troubles, according to local had succeeded in striking a deal with KCB on
press reports. repayment of the two credits in April. Under
Company officials told members of Kenya’s that agreement, he said, the firm was supposed
Parliament during a hearing earlier this month to be able to consolidate the debts and suspend
that state-owned NOCK appears to have sus- payments until February 2021, ahead of mak-
tained losses of KES1.3bn ($11.96mn) in the first ing a lump sum payment. But in August, he
half of 2020, up from the KES300mn ($2.76mn) said, KCB retreated from the agreements and
loss reported in the same period of last year. It demanded that the company pay off its debts.
also owes its suppliers KES628mn ($5.78mn) In these circumstances, he said, NOCK can-
and has seen shareholder equity drop from KES- not survive without government help. “As a way
1.62bn ($14.9) to KES280mn ($2.58mn) during forward, the [government should] consider pro-
the last year, they said. viding funds to finance working capital require-
Gideon Morintat, NOCK’s CEO, said at the ment for financial year 2020/2021, estimated to
hearing that the company needed a bailout from be KES3bn [$27.59mn]. This can be staggered,”
the government. With KES3bn ($27.59mn) in he was quoted as saying by Business Daily.
emergency funding, NOCK could cover its As of press time, Kenya’s government had not
KES628mn ($5.78mn) worth of obligations to responded directly to NOCK’s request for addi-
suppliers and offset the KES5.3bn ($48.75mn) tional money. However, members of the Senate,
worth of principal and interest owed to two the upper chamber of Parliament, did order
creditors, he said. He named those two creditors Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu to carry out
as the Kenyan Central Bank (KCB), which has a forensic audit of the company’s unpaid debts.
extended a loan of KES3.8bn ($34.95mn), and No word was available on when that audit might
Stanbic Bank, which has extended a KES1.5bn be completed. ™

The state-owned company sustained larger losses in the first half of 2020 (Photo: NOCK)

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 21•October•2020