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Much is expected of Joe Biden after he is sworn in on 20 January; some of the anticipated policy shifts the United States’ 46th president and his administration may deliver, others they may not – including reversing some controversial policies promoted by his predecessor.

Nigeria is proving to be a testing ground for trucking gas on African roads, while Circle Gas’s LPG-based cooking solution is building up a consumer base in Kenya and Tanzania. Africa remains a frontier market for ‘virtual pipelines’ and other innovative uses for gas, but business models are evolving to create some vibrant new industries, writes Jon Marks.

Ghana’s imposition of a unitisation deal on Eni and Springfield E&P highlights the government’s impatience at delays in developing hydrocarbons resources, but may also reveal an element of resource nationalism as the state throws its weight behind a homegrown energy company, writes James Gavin.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has announced the completion of a major retrofit of the 160MW Kpong hydropower plant, which will extend its operating lifetime by 30 years. The recommissioning of Ghana’s second largest hydropower station was marked by a ceremony held on 26 October in the presence of President Nana Akufo-Addo. Rehabilitation of the plant, which was financed by the French Development Agency, began in October 2014.

President Nana Akufo-Addo on 10 October inaugurated the 6.5MW Lawra solar PV plant in the Upper West region. Akufo-Addo officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for both Lawra and its larger sister project, the 13.5MW Kaleo solar PV plant, in February.

Ghana Gas held a ground-breaking ceremony on 7 October for a new LPG bottling plant at the coastal town of Axim in the Western Region.

Ghana’s Ministry of Finance announced in late September that Cenit Energy Ltd has agreed new terms for its 126MW dual fuel power plant. The government has been attempting to drive down the cost of power by renegotiating power purchase agreements (PPAs) with IPPs. After fact-finding consultations earlier in the year, talks with operating or near-operating IPPs have moved on to more substantive negotiations, and Cenit is the first to reach agreement.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation still plans to sell its assets in Ghana – comprising 24.077% of the Jubilee field and 17% of the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme integrated oil and gas project – after Total pulled out of a wider sale deal.

Aker Energy has said that while it put a final investment decision for the Pecan field on hold in March, it has been working with the government on revised plans for a phased development using a redeployed FPSO vessel to reduce costs. “Aker Energy and partners are currently assessing several FPSO candidates for redeployment, and the final selection will be based on technical capabilities and cost,” the company said in a 5 June statement.

Total has pulled out of a deal to take over Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s Ghana assets after the US independent’s new owner Occidental Petroleum Corporation sought to sell its African holdings. The move, announced by Total on 18 May, follows the French major’s announcement that it would not be taking over Anadarko assets in Algeria’s producing Berkine Basin, another of the four deals included under the purchase and sale agreement (PSA) signed in August 2019.

Energy minister John Peter Amewu has written to Eni Ghana and local explorer Springfield E&P directing them to hold talks on unitisation of their Sankofa and Afina fields. Citing what it said was technical evidence that the reservoir straddles both blocks, the 9 April letter said the companies should hold talks within 30 days on a process leading to the joint operation of the two fields and gave them 120 days to provide the ministry with a draft agreement.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 13 April charged the managing director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) with orchestrating a bribery scheme to help a client win a power plant contract in Ghana. The SEC alleges that US-Ghanaian citizen Asante Berko – a former Goldman Sachs employee who was appointed TOR managing director in January 2020 – violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by arranging for his firm’s client, a Turkish energy company, to funnel at least $2.5m to a Ghana- based intermediary to bribe government officials in order to win an electrical power plant project.

Aker Energy Ghana issued a letter of intent (LoI) on 20 February to Yinson Production West Africa and its related companies for a FPSO for the Pecan field development. The LoI is for a bareboat charter agreement with FPSO owner Yinson Gazania Production Ltd (YGPL) and an operation and maintenance agreement with Yinson Gazania Operations Ltd for an initial ten years, extendable to 15 years.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched the construction of two solar power plants totalling 17MWp at Kaleo and Lawra in the Upper West Region on 4 February. The projects are being developed by the Volta River Authority with €22.8m ($25m) of funding from Germany’s KfW.A presidency statement said the 13MWp plant in Kaleo was due for completion by December, while the 4MWp project in Lawra would be completed in June. The projects, the first grid-connected solar power plants in the Upper West Region, will supply enough power for 32,000 households.

Aker Energy has given Fugro a contract for geotechnical and geophysical surveys over the Pecan field on the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points Block. The surveys will obtain seabed and sub-seabed information to facilitate the planning and emplacement of the Pecan subsea infrastructure and FPSO, Fugro said. Aker Energy decided in October to change its strategy after failing to win approval for a plan for development and operations (PDO) covering the full Greater Pecan area.