LOCAL STORIES
GABBY OKERE DARKO IS ONLY BUT A ‘DISTRUBANCE’-SOPHIA AKUFFO
Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has taken a swipe at Gabby Otchere-Darko for his comments against the protest by pensioners following their inclusion in the domestic debt exchange programme.The editor in chief of the Stateman Newspaper earlier had described Madam Sophia Akuffo’s involvement in the picketing as needless saying she was bigger than what she did. Speaking to journalists after joining pensioners to picket at the Finance Ministry again today,
Tuesday, February 14, she said Mr Otchere-Darko doesn’t merit her attention as he is not part of government and for that matter do not even matter. ‘He doesn’t decide for me what I need to do and what I do not need to do. It is as simple as that. I don’t have time for things like that, people like that are not important to me or to my life. He is a disturbance.”
Gabby had said that for Madam Sophia Akuffo to take up a noble cause such as picketing against the inclusion of pensioners in the debt exchange programme but at a such late hour when all was done and for all that publicity, she owed it to herself and her social standing to have understood the issues far better than what she exhibited.
Mr Otchere-Darko said Madam Sophia Akuffo was bigger than what she did.
Ms Sophia Akuffo first joined the group of pensioners to picket at the Finance Ministry on Friday, February 10 against their inclusion in the debt exchange.
Speaking to journalists she said “These are all people who have worked, they have worked very hard, they could have left the country when others were going but they stayed, they worked for the nation.
“We have had our ups and downs. A lot of us were from generations where we were encouraged to save for tomorrow and all that. We have been through times where all your savings become nonsense because of some government policies, then over the years, bit by bit, people have become more confident in the economy and investments.
She has also threaten to take legal action against the state should the Finance Ministry fail to respond positively to their petition to exclude pensioner bondholders from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.
According to her they could all have decided to leave the country but for the love of the country and its growth people like herself decided to stay and still contribute regardless but the government is taking undue advantage of the situation to rip-off pensioner bondholders in such an undignified manner.
RECONSIDER REOPENING DATE FOR SHS FRESHERS- NORTSU-KOTOE URGES GES
Ranking Member on the Education Committee in Parliament, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to extend the February 20 reporting date for freshers into Senior High Schools nationwide.
The Akatsi North lawmaker argued that parents will be financially stressed should the government decide to go ahead with such a short reporting notice for freshers considering that the GES is yet to release the school placements for the 2022 BECE graduates.
The Akatsi North lawmaker argued that parents will be financially stressed should the government decide to go ahead with such a short reporting notice for freshers considering that the GES is yet to release the school placements for the 2022 BECE graduates.
According to him the February 20 date is further going to disrupt the already stressed academic calendar which the GES is trying to rectify by bringing it back to the usual September to July period from the current January to December.
“It is going to affect the calendar because even February 20 is not feasible, and I am of the view that the reopening date should be on March 1.”
He said the prospectus of students varies with respective schools and so ample time should be given to enable parents the time to raise the necessary funds to buy them.
“What you will buy and need to take to the school depends on the school the student will be attending, and I will advise that time should be given to give parents some relief.”
He also urged the government to take measures to resolve the accommodation challenges confronting senior high schools across the country so the double-track system can be abolished.
“Every year, numbers increase, so it should be the priority of authorities to plan ahead and complete all projects on our various school campuses. We should give GETFund enough funds to complete all these uncompleted projects to eliminate the double-track system.”
Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe was commenting on the decision of the Ghana Education Service to return to the old academic calendar which was adjusted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
PARTY MEMBERS SABOTAGGING MY WORKS-G/A REGIONAL MINISTER
Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister has disclosed the reason behind his quietness on the demolition of illegal structures in the capital city.He said some members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) are not happy with the work he is done. Speaking in an interview, Hon. Quartey said these unnamed persons are sabotaging his efforts. According to him, sometimes after he and his task force had gone to clear the city to ensure the free flow of traffic, these persons with “personal interest” in the NPP, will go behind him and ask the traders to go and carry on with their trading activities. He thus asked them to put the national interest first instead of parochialism.
“I have a few things to say. There have been accusations that the President has asked me to slow down on my work as Greater Accra Regional Minister but I want to state here that the President has never asked me to stop what I am doing.
“The Vice President has also not told me to stop the work I am doing, neither has the entire Presidency done so but I will say that there is an internal sabotage from my own party and that is what has led us to where we are.
“Both the President and his Vice are happy with my work but some people in the party are sabotaging Henry Quartey,” he said.He added, “I am not perturbed and will do the best I can for God and country.”
FATE OF GHANA’S OIL HANGS IN A BALANCE
Solutions expect Ghana’s total liquids production to see moderate growth in the near term, with crude, NGL and other liquids production increasing from 142,440 barrels per day (b/d) in 2022 to 145,390b/d in 2024 following recent investments in the Jubilee and TEN fields by Tullow Oil.
While these investments would prevent significant short-term declines, the key upside to Ghana’s long-term oil production outlook is the 110,000b/d Pecan Field development, the future of which is currently in limbo following a dispute over the involvement of Russia-based Lukoil.
Provided that the controversy surrounding Lukoil’s participation is resolved and a final investment decision is achieved by the end of 2024, we expect Ghana’s oil production to grow to nearly 200,000b/d by 2029.
These investments consist of a multi-year drilling campaign at the Jubilee and Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) fields, which currently account for approximately 80 per cent of Ghana’s upstream output.
In 2022, Tullow’s investments included four new wells (three water injectors and one producer). In 2023, Tullow plans on introducing six wells, which will come online by the third quarter.
These investments will enable Ghana’s oil industry to reverse natural declines and moderately boost short-term production with production at the Jubilee field expected to exceed 100,000b/d in 2024.
To maintain this level of output, a total of 49 production and injection wells are planned to be introduced to the fields by 2030. As of February 2023, Tullow plans to invest approximately USD300mn in Ghana to support these projects.
Jubilee Field boost to prevent declines in 2023
Further progress on the Final Investment Decision (FID) in the Pecan development is essential for Ghana to return to pre-pandemic levels of oil production (which averaged 197,000 b/d in 2019).
The Pecan field, which is part of the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points licence block, has an estimated reserves of 334mn boe. It is operated by Aker Energy, who maintains a 50 per cent stake while the other partners include Russia-based Lukoil (38 per cent), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) (10 per cent), and Fueltrade (two per cent).
The development of the field has faced a variety of headwinds over recent years such as concerns over the capital cost of the project and the size of GNPC’s stake.
However, the key barrier since February 2022 has been the participation of Lukoil. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aker Energy has been hesitant to put forward its updated Plan for Development to the Ghanaian government and commit to FID whilst Lukoil is involved in the project as the risk of sanctions levied on Russian oil and gas companies could limit Aker’s ability to work with Lukoil and interfere with operations at the field. According to media reports, Aker CEO Øyvind Eriksen noted that development plans would not be passed to Ghanaian authorities until Lukoil’s participation was resolved.
To overcome this hurdle, Aker has recommended that Lukoil divest their share. As of February 2023, the latest update on the dispute indicates that Aker is continuing a dialogue with Lukoil and the Ghanaian authorities to come to a solution and has not put the project itself on hold, instead just delaying their development plans.
Provided that the controversy surrounding Lukoil’s participation is resolved and FID is achieved by the end of 2024, we expect Ghana’s oil production to grow to nearly 200,000b/d by 2029.
Given the willingness of the Ghanaian government to support the project, potential for breakthroughs and compromise in the negotiations between the partners, and the higher oil price environment, we believe that FID is still possible despite the dispute, but is not likely to be reached until 2024 at the earliest.
In terms of sanctions, as of February 2023, Lukoil is subject to US energy sector sanctions under Executive Order 13662, which prohibits investment in upstream projects abroad where Russian-based oil and gas companies have participating interests of over 33 per cent.
Aker seeks to comply with all international sanctions. Despite Lukoil’s 38 per cent stake, the restrictions levied on Lukoil would not apply to the Pecan field development as the project was initiated before January 29, 2018.
Given this exemption, it is still possible that the project can proceed with Lukoil still participating, though we acknowledge significant downside risks from the historic record of delays.
We forecast that it will take 35 months from FID for the first oil at the field, meaning that if FID is reached in 2024, production will begin in 2027 at the earliest. With this in mind, we forecast that Ghana’s oil production will grow to a peak of 198,190 b/d by 2029, before declining by an average of three per cent a year until 2032 due to the lack of other projects in the pipeline.