AfDB President discusses new deal on energy for Africa with German Chancellor, Ministers in New York
Posted September 18, 2015
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina attended a special dinner event with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday, September 25 in New York. Also in attendance were the Presidents of Tanzania, Liberia, Mali, Comoros, Benin and the Prime Ministers of Ethiopia and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The discussions centered on how to improve information and communications technology for growth and development in Africa.
The rapid growth in mobile phones and ICT opens up huge opportunities for
- Mobile money transfers.
- Financial inclusion.
- Agricultural extension.
- Market prices.
- Transparent farm in put distribution.
- Addressing corruption.
- Security.
- Education.
- e-Governance.
- e-Health.
- Enhanced political participation.
- Empowerment of women.
- Smart grids and improved payment systems.
President Adesina discussed the New Deal on Energy for Africa with Chancellor Merkel and the German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Müller, Germany’s Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, and the African Presidents and Prime Ministers. It was agreed by all that solving Africa’s energy challenge, and unlocking its energy potential, is critical for any growth in ICT in Africa.
The African Development Bank was applauded for its new vision to lead on solving Africa’s energy challenge. Chancellor Merkel and all the African Presidents and Prime Ministers welcomed the New Deal on Energy initiative and the leadership of the Bank in working to develop the Transformative Partnership on Energy for Africa. In particular, President Adesina’s call for the establishment of a Bottom of the Pyramid Energy Financing Facility for Africa, to help provide access to clean cooking renewable energy for 700 million Africans, was welcomed by Chancellor Merkel.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia noted that the new vision of the Bank on the New Deal on Energy is exactly what Africa needs to drive inclusive and green growth. Solving Africa’s energy challenge is the single most important priority for Africa.
Benin’s President, Thomas Boni Yayi, also applauded the Bank for its leadership, calling energy for Africa the “alpha and omega” for Africa’s accelerated development.
Chancellor Merkel praised the Bank and noted that the Bank will be a critical partner in delivering greater development impacts for Africa.
Beach Egypt transaction update
Posted September 15, 2015
As announced on 10 August 2015, Beach Energy Limited (ASX: BPT, “Beach”) entered into an agreement with Rockhopper Exploration plc (AIM: RKH, “Rockhopper”) in relation to the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Beach Petroleum (Egypt) Pty Ltd (“Beach Egypt”), whose core asset is a 22% interest in the Abu Sennan Concession in Egypt.
Completion was subject to satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, including waiver or nonexercise of pre‐emptive rights held by existing joint venture parties in relation to the Abu Sennan Concession. Subsequent to announcement, Beach has received notice of the exercise of pre‐emptive rights by one of the existing Abu Sennan Concession joint venture parties. As a result, the conditions precedent for the sale of Beach Egypt cannot be satisfied and the sale of Beach Egypt to Rockhopper will not proceed.
The Abu Sennan Concession pre‐emption period expires on 16 October 2015. At that time the ultimate pre‐empting party / parties will be confirmed. Completion of the sale of the interest in the Abu Sennan Concession under the pre‐emption arrangements is subject to Egyptian government approvals. The acquiring party / parties will pay to Beach US$20.4 million in cash for the interest in the Abu Sennan Concession (subject to adjustments).
Xodus enters Phase 2 of pioneering research into multiphase flow
Posted September 13, 2015
International energy consultancy Xodus Group and Dutch innovation company TNO have completed the first phase of a pioneering joint industry project (JIP) into the dynamic forces which affect the integrity of piping systems, in particular through multiphase flow. The second phase of the project, which is expected to be run across three stages, is now open for new participants to join.
Eight companies were involved in the first phase of the project: BP, Statoil, Total, Suncor, Shell, Lundin, Aker Solutions and FMC. TNO carried out the bulk of the test work at their facilities in The Netherlands, while Xodus managed the programme and developed CFD schemes to be able to reproduce the measured results. Based on the outcome of analyses by both companies, new scaling rules were produced. Additionally, CD-adapco provided software (STAR-CCM+) and carried out simulations in support of the JIP.
Multiphase flow, the passage of more than one fluid, gas or chemical substance through a pipeline, can cause flow induced vibration (FIV). This is an increasing concern on subsea (and topsides) production piping systems. As data is limited in this highly technical arena, the aim of the JIP is to investigate and understand the forces induced by multiphase flow on piping systems, and generate validation data for multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model and analyse its occurrence.
Phase 1 was valued at more than £500,000 and involved testing on a 1.5 R/D stiff bend for a range of flow conditions. The inlet pipe to the bend had three configurations: straight, u-bend vertical and u-bend horizontal. Detailed measurements were made to analyse the forces acting on the bend, pressure and void fraction distributions upstream, downstream and within the bend. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations were carried out to compare test results with a range of flow conditions.
Phase 2 is actively seeking additional sponsors and will look to extend the work carried out in Phase 1 to cover a range of bend radii. It aims to begin in autumn this year. The scope is as follows:
- Testing additional bend configurations.
- Preparation for testing at in service conditions for Phase 3.
- Additional CFD studies.
The goal is to raise awareness of this complex issue and increase knowledge to incorporate into advance screening, simulation and prediction models.
“This project will extend intelligence from small scale laboratory tests to ‘industrial scale’ piping systems,” said Mike Lewis, Global Lead – Computational Fluid Dynamics with Xodus Group. “As E&P activity goes ever deeper and into more extreme environments, and as subsea equipment becomes more complex, with the additional subsea processing for example, the potential increases for FIV to go unnoticed.
“The JIP is addressing this area of uncertainty in the industry and will provide a benchmark in order to carry out more accurate design calculations and prediction work. This will ultimately improve piping integrity, potentially increase production, and mitigate risk in this high consequence arena.”
“The experimental results thus far have given us new insights on how to improve the mechanical integrity analyses of subsea templates,” said Erik Nennie, Project Manager – Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics with TNO. “The outcome of the next phases will further improve the modelling tools for integrity analysis, as both design and operation of subsea templates can greatly benefit from these studies.”
