- … IES picks up two additional nominations
Five years after its formation Nana Amoasi VII continue to lead and grow the Institute for Energy Security (IES) brand, positioning it as the most referenced energy think-tank in the country.
Under his leadership, the IES continue to research and advocate on energy security and sustainable energy exploitation, while developing and delivering top-notch data, skills, knowledge, and good practices for the Ghanaian and the global energy landscape. The IES platform keeps churning out original and valuable content that moves conversations forward, instigate connections and shapes industry discussion with insightful thought leadership.
It is therefore not by accident that the Ghana Energy Awards 2021 has nominated the Executive Director of the IES Nana Amoasi VII for the “Energy Personality of the Year” among other 11 eminent personalities in the Ghana energy industry. In the same award scheme, the Amoasi-led IES have been nominated for two other awards, the “Energy Institution of the Year”, and the “Rising Star of the Year.”
Aside these, the IES has been recognized with a nomination for two awards by the Ghana Oil & Gas Awards 2021, in the category of “Policy Activist of the Year” and “Consultancy Company of the Year.”
Nana Amoasi VII over the past year has served as resource person on many platforms in the media and energy space, with the most recent being the West African Clean Energy & Environment Trade Fair & Conference (WACEE’21) organized by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana.
Mentorship
In the past year Nana Amoasi VII has groomed many young Ghanaians into Energy Analysts, focusing on energy research, analysis and policy critique for purposes of leading discussions on energy security issues, and propagating the linkage of energy to food, water, health, human rights, environment, and climate. One of such persons is Mr. Fritz Moses who has been nominated by the Ghana Energy Award for “Rising Star of the year.”
Through the IES platform, some of these young personalities have been hired by companies such as Halliburton Ghana and Lambark Gas, as professionals in the Ghana energy space.
Advocacy and Policy Critique
Under his leadership as the Executive Director the IES has grown to become a household name, publishing projected fuel prices every forth-night for the Ghanaian oil market for purposes of planning and influencing government’s policies in the downstream petroleum sector. Beyond that, the IES keeps advancing qualitative and quantitative research and publications on the entire value chain within the local and the global energy market, for purposes of providing the most effective and efficient solutions to today’s energy challenges.
Nana Amoasi VII remains an influential personality in the energy sector, freely and rigorously enquiring into the condition of the Ghanaian energy system, into the workings of government, energy sector players, political and economic systems, and all those areas that impact on the energy system. He does this to keep government and policy-makers in check, and to promote an effective, efficient, and sustainable energy sector.
Over the past year, Nana has diligently analyzed and evaluated government’s energy policies, and proposed policy alternatives where necessary, alternatives that are expected to produce novel results. He contribute to civil debates, the expression of logical disagreement on energy issues, and knowledgeable discussions to matters of national importance.
The consistent fuel price hikes, the challenges with respect to the workings of the State refinery, the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), and other allied agencies, have consistently been raised by Nana, while he proffers solutions to the issues.
Petroleum Upstream Sector
In the upstream sector of the energy industry, Nana Amoasi VII over the past year has expressed concerns on how the natural gas sub-sector is gradually becoming a fiscal burden to the Ghanaian economy, and the need for drastic change to government’s policy on gas, in order to reduce the huge financial risk it exposes the economy to. He called for the government to frame its policies and to build the necessary infrastructure to optimize the benefit of indigenous natural gas resources, and that until this is done the economy would not experience the growth so much desired.
Following the exit of ExxonMobil from Ghana and the possibility of the country’s hydrocarbons becoming stranded on the back of the energy transition, Nana proposed strategic options for the country to pursue to exploit the resources for the benefit of the citizenry. Nana Amoasi proposed that Government may consider reviewing its fiscal regimes, review petroleum agreements (PAs), resource the national oil company GNPC to achieve Operatorship status, devoid of the usual political interference.
In mid this year, Nana led the IES to rigorously push for the unitization of Springfield’s Afina well and ENI’s block as directed by the Government of Ghana (GoG) some 20 months ago, arguing that the unitization may partly serve as a response to the exit of the multinational oil companies from the domestic petroleum market. IES argued that a lack of co-operation between Eni and Springfield in Ghana risks losing the State US$6.34 billion. IES’ study found that Ghana stands to derive upwards of US$8.4 billion from the unitization of the Sankofa and Afina fields, as opposed to US$2.065 billion that will be earned from the production from the Sankofa fields, assuming no incidence of unitization.
Following the proposed deal to allow the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to acquire significant stake in Aker Energy’s two oil blocks, Nana Amoasi reiterated that the deal could best be described as a strategic defense for the economy in the long term. According to him, the threat posed by the energy transition to Africa nations, including Ghana, demand an appropriate policy response, which must be internal in nature. As a result the GNPC must be positioned technically and financially right to be able to exploit the country’s hydrocarbons with limited support from international oil companies (IOCs).
Petroleum Downstream Sector
Nana Amosi VII has repeatedly advocated for the re-organization and development of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), an institution he believes has been bed-ridden with inefficiency, poor leadership, rising debt, lack of vision and commitment on the part of government.
Following the sacking of Mr. Francis Boateng and his deputy Ato Morrison in June this year, Nana Amoasi called on Government to concern itself with increasing the refining capacity, increasing the utilization capacity, and reviewing the plant configuration, if any form of profitability is expected.
On funding of the refinery to undertake the numerous works outstanding, Nana advised Government to forego part of its stake in the business to private hands. This according to him is to reduce the level of political interference, and most importantly to provide the needed cash-flow for projects and operations of TOR.
On the continued price increases in fuel, Nana Amoasi has advised that the country must explore a long-term and more sustainable ways to curb the consistent and persistent rising of fuel prices on the local market and suggesting that Government must bring TOR back to life to help manage the supply and price risks posed by the international oil market. He also stressed the need for the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company to be managed well and be able to keep strategic fuel stock for the country to help cushion fuel consumers from rising fuel prices.
Following the introduction of new margin increments on the price per litre of petroleum products at the various pumps in late April 2021, Nana held a strong position that the moves were unnecessary and insensitive, resulting in the reversal of the increments by National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in less than a week. The withdrawal of the new margins on petroleum products in the view of the IES was necessary to give respite to Ghanaians amidst the covid-19 hardship in the country.
Power Sector
Nana Amoasi VII‘s concerns for an efficient and effective power sub-sector is widely expressed, particular on power losses and outages, Government’s indebtedness to power producers, procurement challenges, and the seeming political interferences in the sector.
The call has consistently been made for ECG and NEDCo, as a matter of urgency interrogate their cost profiles for transmission and distribution, value addition and others, to place them on the path of recovery and profit-making.
In August 2021, when the ECG and GRIDCO locked horns over sale of power for industrial use, Nana Amoasi VII attributed the conflict between the two to the huge debt ECG owes GRIDCO, and called on the Energy Commission to resolve the matter because power sector conflicts is not a good for power supply reliability. He proceeded to call for a reference to the national electricity grid code system which defines the rules of engagement for key energy stakeholders such as ECG and GRIDCO.
Reacting to the changing global energy demands, Nana Amoasi has called on the Government to also establish the Renewable Energy Authority to help streamline activities within the subsector. In his view, the establishment of the authority would facilitate the formulation of policies and regulations to guide operations in the sector. This has been followed by calls from Nana Amoasi VII, for more partnerships between the Government and the private sector regarding the increasing use of renewable energy in the country.
Nana Amoasi in April this year called on Government to start taking steps towards developing a comprehensive national policy and roadmap on hydrogen energy to stimulate capital spending on new infrastructure, and to give impetus to the drive for a greener economy, spur sustainable economic growth and development post the pandemic era. For Nana, the falling cost of renewable energy coupled with European Union’s plan to import most of its hydrogen in the future present a great chance for Ghana to get on the front foot in the green energy race, particularly when the country is noted for rich solar and wind resources.
On issues of universal access to electricity in the country, Nana has for the past year been concerned about the slowdown in access. He has intimated that for Ghana to reach its 100 per cent electricity access target by 2025, it has to grow access by about 3 per cent on a yearly basis, with reliance on mini-grids.
IES recognitions
Through his leadership, the IES has received many international recognition in the past years. Aside being selected to participate in the “Energy Transition – Germany’s Policy on Hydrogen” to represent West & Central Africa, the IES has also been nominated severally for awards by the Ghana Energy Awards, and the Ghana Oil & Gas Awards secretariats.
In late 2020, IES was adjudged the “Policy Activist of the Year” by the Ghana Oil & Gas Awards for the Institute’s resilience in demanding for the right measure be out in place in Ghana’s energy sector.
In May this year, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) received a World Climate Clock – the first of its kind in Ghana, for its leading role in the fight against climate change. The World Climate Clock shows the amount of the world’s energy supplied from renewable sources, currently at 12 percent and slowly rising. A timer counts down the years, days and seconds that scientists estimate are left to reach net zero carbon emissions and avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
Community Development
Nana Amoasi VII, the chief of Ekumfi Abor and Ankobeahen (chief of staff) of Ekumfi State in the Central Region, is also concerned with the development of Ekumfi where he serves as a traditional Chief. He has been engaging in educational and health outreaches within the community where he has donated many teaching and learning materials, health related materials to schools and the clinic in the Abor community.
In September this year, Nana successfully blended tradition and modernity when he organized puberty rites for young females within the community to usher them into adulthood and educate them on how to take care of themselves.
