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DMEA LNG DMEA

DNG to start South African LNG

bunkering next year

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa’s DNG Energy plans to begin terminal infrastructure and finalising the deliv-
LNG bunkering in 2021 in the Port of Coega in ery of storage and bunkering equipment, he
Algoa is South Africa’s the Eastern Cape, after getting approval from continued.
largest bunkering port. authorities, it said on October 14. DNG’s plans for Algoa involve a 160,000
A licence was issued by the Transnet National cubic metre floating LNG (FLNG) storage facil-
Port Authority, giving DNG the right to moor ity and an 8,000-tonne LNG bunker barge, con-
its floating storage unit (FSU) in Algoa Bay. The struction of which was commissioned in South
company will offer onshore and offshore bun- African Shipyards in 2018. The vessel is the
kering, using ship-to-ship transfers for interna- largest by weight to be built on the African con-
tional trading vessels, and so-called LNG “milk tinent to date. DNG had earlier hoped to begin
run” deliveries within the country. This will bunkering in the second quarter of 2020, but
involve placing LNG in containers and truck- its operations and the permitting process were
ing it to consumers for use in power generation, delayed owing to the coronavirus (COVID-19)
replacing more polluting and costlier diesel. pandemic.
“The licence enables us to respond to envi- Algoa is South Africa’s largest bunkering
ronmental, legislative and business needs for the port, situated on one of the world’s busiest trad-
South African and the international LNG fuel ing routes. DNG estimates that 56,000 vessels
markets,” DNG CEO Aldworth Mbalati said. transit the region each year.
“We are happy to be part of the solution in the LNG bunkering is gaining in popularity
quest to decarbonise the shipping industry by worldwide, in part because of International Mar-
offering LNG as a transition fuel that is safer for itime Organisation (IMO) rules that came into
marine species.” force at the start of this year, lowering the cap for
DNG’s next steps will be completing the sulphur content in marine fuels. ™

TRANSPORT

Cenpower signs gas supply deal with Ghana

GHANA GHANA National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC) country’s capital accounts and have also caused
has agreed to supply natural gas to Cenpower the government to rack up penalties in line
Cenpower said Generation Co. Ltd (CGC), the operator of the with take-or-pay clauses, it said. Now, though,
deliveries would begin Kpone Independent Power Plant (KIPP) near state-owned GNPC will be able to use gas from
within days. Accra. domestic fields to cover most of KIPP’s needs for
Cenpower confirmed the deal in a statement fuel.
last week, saying that it had arranged to buy the This could save the government up to $3bn
gas during negotiations with the Ghanaian gov- over the remaining portion of its 20-year power
ernment. The company explained that this gas purchase agreement (PPA) with Cenpower.
supply agreement (GSA) provided for KIPP, In turn, these savings will put Accra in a better
which is capable of using multiple types of fuel, position to pay down the additional debts it has
to switch light crude oil for gas as its main feed- accumulated under the take-or-pay clauses of its
stock. It also stated that gas deliveries were set to PPAs with KIPP and other independent power
begin within just a few days. producers (IPPs).
The company did not reveal the financial Meanwhile, the deal will also help Ghana
terms of the GSA or say how much gas GNPC meet its environmental goals by facilitating the
would deliver to its plant, which has a generating shift from petroleum products to cleaner-burn-
capacity of 340 MW. It did say, though, that the ing gas. Additionally, it will enable the country
deal would result in substantial savings for the to expand the use of its domestic gas reserves.
government. Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta hailed the
In its statement, the company noted that GSA, saying: “We welcome Cenpower’s com-
Accra has been importing fuel for KIPP under mitment to Ghana and recognise Cenpower’s
agreements with foreign suppliers. These conversion to gas as a significant step in helping
arrangements have been detrimental to the regenerate Ghana’s energy sector.” ™

Week 41 15•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13