Page 13 - DMEA Week 05 2021

DMEA FUELS DMEA

Ethiopia breaks ground on new railway

to improve fuel distribution

ETHIOPIA ETHIOPIA launched construction on February CCECC Ethiopia’s general manager Guo Chong-
1 of a Chinese-backed railway project expected feng said. Awash “will definitely become an
The railway will handle to improve fuel distribution across the country. important transportation hub and will also
up to 1.3mn tonnes per The railway will run from Djibouti, where strengthen the connection between the Addis
year of fuel. fuel is imported, to the central Ethiopian town Ababa-Djibouti railway and the Awash-Kom-
of Awash. The project’s contractor, China Civil bolcha-Woldia railway,” he said.
Engineering Construction Corp. (CCECC), is Tadesse Hailemariam, CEO of the Ethio-
set to finish construction in nine to 12 months. pian Petroleum Supply Enterprise, shared this
It currently takes three or four days for fuel sentiment.
supplies to reach central Ethiopia from Djibouti, “I expect a lot from this project, as this links
and this results in shortages in some parts of the a main rail with the Awash depot and again
country, Ethiopian Transport Minister Awol with the Horizon depot in Djibouti so that the
Wagais said at a launch ceremony. The new line products could arrive inland,” he told China’s
will mean it only takes eight hours. Xinhua news agency. “The hinterland is very
The railway will transport up to 1.3mn tonnes much affected by road transport. So this mini-
per year (tpy) of fuel, and the number of oil mises cost, time and even [ensures] the quality
tanker trains each day would be trebled in the of the product, because the issue of adultera-
future to six. It will replace an older line that will tion and evaporation or whatever cases will be
be decommissioned. Besides its use as a vehicle minimised.”
fuel, Ethiopia also uses a lot of diesel at small- The manager also praised the efficiency of
scale power generators and in the agriculture Chinese contractors, expressing hope that they
industry. would finish the line ahead of schedule.
“When completed, it will significantly CCECC and China Railway Group launched
improve the efficiency of oil transportation, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway at the start of
enhance the operation capacity of the oil depot, 2018, which serves as the backbone of Ethiopia’s
and relieve the pressure of oil supply in Ethiopia,” modernised transport network. ™

Seplat closes funding for Nigerian GPP

NIGERIA NIGERIA’S Seplat Petroleum has closed financ- was a key milestone, noting ANOH’s status as
ing for the ANOH gas processing plant (GPP), national priority project. Nigeria is pushing to
ANOH is on track for which will monetise gas in the country’s Imo expand the role of gas in its economy, to capi-
first gas in the fourth State for use in power generation. talise on its 5.7 trillion cubic metres of proven
quarter of 2021. In a statement on February 1, privately owned reserves. It wants to increase gas use in electricity
Seplat said it had raised $260mn in debt from a and heating, vehicle transport and in household
consortium of IBTC Bank, United Bank for cooking, and expand gas-based petrochemicals
Africa, Zenith Bank, FirstRand Bank, Mauritius production.
Commercial Bank, Union Bank of Nigeria and ANOH is on track for first gas in the
FCMB Capital Markets. Thanks also to $420mn fourth quarter of 2021, Seplat said last Octo-
of equity funding provided earlier, the project is ber. Shell is handling the necessary upstream
now fully funded, the company said. development.
The ANOH GPP will handle up to 300mn The project “will be a significant supplier of
cubic feet (8.5mn cubic metres) per day of gas gas to Nigeria’s power sector, supporting local
from oilfields in the Seplat-operated OML 53 employment and the cleaner generation of
block and the Royal Dutch Shell-led OML 21 power for Nigerian homes and businesses,” the
block. This gas will be used to replace dirtier and ANOH operating company’s managing director,
more expensive diesel-fired power plants. Okechukwu Mba, said. “We conservatively esti-
Seplat is developing the project through a mate that the gas from AGPC will be enough to
joint venture with state-owned NNPC. Its overall generate electricity for more than 5mn people.”
cost is now estimated at $650mn, down from an Seplat will continue diversifying its business
original projection of $700mn. and invest more in gas, its CEO Roger Brown
The company said the closure of funding said. ™

Week 05 04•February•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13