Jubilee Field has enough reserves - Tullow

TULLOW Ghana Limited has discounted suggestions that the inability of the Jubilee Field, operated by Tullow, to meet its production target of 120,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) is linked to the capacity of oil reserves in the field.

The company’s Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Manager, Mr Gayheart Mensah, said in an interaction with a group of Ghanaian and Ugandan journalists in the Ugandan city, Kontiki, that the problem “has nothing to do with the capacity of the resource or the field.

“The resource is there. All we need is the ability to bring it out,” he said.

Gayheart Mensah

He equally explained that the shortfall had no relationship with the floatation, production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) Kwame Nkrumah stationed at the Jubilee Field. Rather, Mr Mensah said the challenge was as a result of “sand seeping into the wells and chocking the perforators through which the crude flows into the vessel.”

Mr Mensah’s interaction with the journalists formed part of a training programme organised by the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) for selected journalists from Uganda and Ghana on oil, gas and mining (OGM) issues. It is being support by the Thompson Reuters Foundation, Pens plus Bytes in Ghana and the Africa Centre for Media Excellence (ACME), based in Kampala, Uganda.

 Oil production from the Jubilee Field was initially estimated to peak at 120,000 bopd within the early months of production. The field has since produced at an average of 75,000 to 90, 000 bopd following the start of oil production late 2010, causing Tullow to shift the peak production target of 120,000 bopd to 2013.

That has since generated concerns over the ability of Tullow and its operating partners and the field in particular to achieve the target.

Although Mr Mensah admitted the blocking of wells by sand and a subsequent slowdown in production rates was normal in oil drilling, he said “it is seen as an issue here (in Ghana) because Jubilee is currently our only field.”

To help ease the blockade of the wells by the sand that was restricting the flow of crude into the FPSO, Mr Mensah said Tullow Ghana had redesigned the wells and “passed some chemicals into the well to help dissolve the sand.”

But while that happens, he said the company was also looking at integrating the Jubilee Filed with the Tweneboa-Enyera-Ntoumme (TEN) Project “to boost production rate on FPSO Kwame Nkrumah up to the target of 120,000 bopd.

A successful integration of the three oil fields along the TEN areas with the Jubilee Field – technically called unitisation – is expected to result in an enlarged oil field to be referred to as the Greater Jubilee, he added.

                                   

 

Listing not a priority yet– Tullow Uganda

TULLOW Uganda Limited, the lead operator in Uganda’s onshore oil find, says floating part of its stake in the Uganda Stock Exchange (USE) is currently not its priority.
The company’s Corporate Communications Manager, Ms Cathy Adengo, said in an interview with the GRAPHIC BUSINESS in Hoima, Uganda, that “we do not have a plan to list on the USE now because listing is not our priority at the moment.

“At the moment, our priority is to develop the wells, do well appraisals and test-drillings,” she said.

Cathy Adengo

The company is currently undertaking well appraisals and developments in some of the 46 wells that it has explorative and drilling rights in.

Although the issue of Tullow Uganda floating a part of its stake in the Ugandan exchange was initially proposed, the company’s Corporate Communications Manager said it has been shelved for the time being to enable the company focus more on pressing needs. Those needs, she said included well appraisals, developments and test-drillings.

She could, however, not say if the company will reconsider the possibilities of Tullow Uganda joining the USE anytime soon given that “such a decision will have to be taken by the group – Tullow Plc.”

 A successful floatation of Tullow’s stake on the USE will make Uganda the second African country in which the company’s shares are traded in.

Although Tullow produces oil in six countries across the continent, it is listed only in Ghana, the country that accounts for the group’s largest productions figures in Africa. It is also listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE).

Meanwhile, 16 Ghanaian and Ugandan journalists have completed a 10-day training course in oil, gas and mining (OGM) in Kampala, Uganda.

The course which was interfaced with field trips to oil appraisal and drilling sites in Ugandan’s oil rich basin, the Lake Albert, was aimed at strengthening the quality and quantity of media reportage on the extractive sector in Africa, particular Ghana and Uganda.

It was organised by the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) and supported by the Thompson Reuters Foundation, Pensplusbytes in Accra, Ghana, and the African Center for Media Excellence (ACME), based in Kampala, Uganda. 

All Pure Nature sells Ghana abroad Through sheabutter based cosmetics

All Pure Nature Limited, a local cosmetics enterprise in Osu, Accra, is selling Ghana’s image abroad through naturally handmade body, skin and hair care products from sheabutter. Maxwell Adombila Akalaare takes an insight into her business.




WHILE studying Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1998, young Ms Gladys Amorkor Commey, now the Chief Executive (CE) of All Pure Nature Limited in Osu, Accra, decided to nurture her passion for natural cosmetics into a door to door business.

She thus combined her studies with the trade of moving from one hall to the other, selling and marketing her handmade sheabutter packaged in a customised African Pot.

Her brand name then was Sheabutter in an African Pot.

But even before sellilng at the campus, Ms Commey said she had used her natural tallent and hobby in cosmetic makings to process some skin and body care products for her family.

That passion and hobby for naturally handmade cosmetics has lived on 14 years down the line. That flame has consequently flourished into cosmetics manufacturing enterprise that has its history deeply rooted in sheabutter.

The company currently suppliess bathing soaps to 15 hotels in the country, including the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, exports some of her products to the European, American and African markets while selling some in the local market.

Ms Commey told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS in an interview that her All Pure Nature, which she founded and currently manages also does labelling of gifts for companies and in addtion to making candles from soybeans and bees wax.

In all these, Ms Commey said her All Pure Nature pays a resounding tribute and respect to all sheabutter women in the Northern, Upper West and East regions of the country “for their due deligence and hardwork in handpicking the sheanuts and processing them into butter for us as raw materials.”

Ms Gladys Commey, CEO, All Pure Nature limited

The company, she said has a women association in these regions who use traditional methods to process the sheanut into butter. That naturally processed butter then forms the core ingredient of her All Pure Nature’s cosmetics.

She mentioned bathing soaps, massage oils made from all natural ingredients like sheabutter, cocoa and coconut butter, facial and body care scrubs and washes, hair care soaps and beeswax candles as some of the products manufactured and distributed by the company. Those products, she said are marketed under the brand name, Pure Essence.



HOW ALL PURE NATURE SURVIVES

No business venture in Ghana survives without having to summount various challenges ranging from access to and cost of finance to lack of raw materials and motivation from the relevant financial and regulatory institutions.

But with real commitments from the businessmen and women powered by a passion to move on, most of the nation’s micro, small and medium enterprises are beginning to blossom into big time businesses that will forever stand the test of time. All Pure Nature is one of those.

Its CEO told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS that the company has been riding on her enomous love for nature and zeal to market Ghana abroad through products made and raw materials that are only sourced from natural resources.

“I started making cosmetics from sheabutter when I was 19 years old and the challenges have always been there. But if you love something and do it with all your heart, then you can always expect God to help you succeed no matter how difficult that success may come with,
” Ms Commey said.

She also mentioned the niche market nature of her clientele base in the country and abroad as a key challenge that inhibits the progress of the All Pure Nature cosmetics enterprise. She said few Ghanaians are coming to terms with the fact that cosmetics made from artificial sythetics can, at times, be harmful to their health despite their luxurious looks and scents.

“We have a particular niche market and that is a challenge to us,” she said but added that her outfit was hopeful that “all Ghanaians will begin to aprreciate the distinct essence of natural cosmetics, particular, the Pure Essence brand to their skin and body care needs.

She also dared other hotels and recreational resorts in the country to take up the challenge of suppling their clients with natural cosmetics instead of the artificial ones which she said come with inherent challenges to their users.

With the dull patronage of indegenes to her Pure Essence cosmetics, Ms Commey said the company would focus on increasing supply to the foreign markes, particularly the USA, while consolidating its customer base in the country.

“We will be opening a new sales outlet at the Mariama Mall in the Airport City in June to make our products readily available to locals and tourists around that area,” she hinted. That outlet will add to the Osu sales outlet, making two the number of wholesale and retail shops that sells her company’s Pure Essence brand of cosmetics.



THE FUTURE DREAM OF MS COMMEY

Ms Commey’s All Pure Nature Limited has worn the hearts of many customers and business-minded institutions, both in and outside Ghana, with its distincted services and products sourced only from natural ingredients. That feat has consequently worn the company numerous international and local awards at the various stages of its operations.

Building on those laurels, Ms Commey says she sees “All Pure Nature in the near future growing from stregthen to strength,” an objective she rightly said will not be realised on a silver plate.

But with a wider dream of using her cosmetic brand name, Pure Essence, “to market Ghana to the outside world,” Ms Commey said such an ambition is acheivable, however gradual it may take.

That, she said will be acheived through concerted efforts by the company to gain more roots into the foreign markets by improving on the quality and style of its numerous sheabutter sourced products.

In addition, Ms Commey says she intends to create more employeable opportunities for the youth through adjoining businesses in her cosmetics manufacturing enterprise.

Currently, All Pure Nature Limited employs 12 people in its maufacturing plant aside the four groups of artisans it has engaged in sheabutter making, bamboo designs among others.



ADVISE TO THE YOUTH

Ms Commey is an Executive Board member of the Association of Ghana Industries’ cosmetics sector. And her advsie to the youth is simple: “Do what you love and turn your hobbies into businesses.

“For if you are happy with your business or whatever that you do for a living, then you will always be able to please your customers with it and the returns will benefit you and the business more,” she added.

But in doing all these, Ms Commey said “rely on God for guidance in whatever situation you find yourself in.”

Ms Commey is on info@allpurenature.com

To contact the reporter on this story:

Interest rates to remain stable - Banks

Current developments in the financial sector suggest that the problems of limited funding from financial institutions to businesses could worsen into the year. Maxwell Adombila Akalaare writes




INTEREST rates charged on loans taken from commercial banks are unlikely to climb up despite the Bank of Ghana (BoG) pulling its policy rate up by a 100 per cent basis points.

That is as a result of most commercial banks’ less reliance on BoG funds to support their individual loan portfolios.

The president of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB), Mr Asare Akuffo, who confirmed this to the GRAPHIC BUSINESS in an interview, however, added that the rates could firm up in the long run.

His comments trail an earlier decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the BoG to hike its policy rate from 12.50 per cent to 13.50 per cent, citing pressures on inflation and its long term effects on the economy.

The policy rate is the rate at which BoG lend cash to financial institutions in the country to enable them (the financial institutions) carry on with their respective financial intermediations with the business community and individuals.

A high policy rate, in most cases, always correspond to hiking cost of credit to businesses as more banks will very likely pass on the extra cost incurred on the BoG funds to their loan customers.

The hike in BoG’s policy rate came at the back of a harsher credit regime as revealed by the 2011 quarter four findings of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Business Barometer Survey (BBS) which was released last month. As result, many business executives feared the difficulties in accessing credit could worsen as interest rates will quicken up.

The Executive Secretary of the AGI, Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah said in an interview that the association was “not very happy with the BoG decision to increase the policy rate.”

He said his outfit rather expected the bank to have reduced the rate to ease the various credit issues facing businesses in the country

With the policy rate now hiked by a 100 basis points, Mr Twum-Akwaboah said anxiety among the business community that interest rates will go up could heighten as Central Bank funds to banks get costly.

For now, the AGI Executive Secretary said the association was “cautiously looking at BoG’s current action on cost of credit” saying that previous trends suggest that the policy rate has “some implications on the cost of and access to credit in the country.”

President of the GAB however said the situation in the country was different as a few banks relied on BoG funds to loan to prospective loan seekers.

He explained that while the base rate (the rates at which banks are supposed to charge all loan customers) of small banks are calculated base on the cost of their individual funds and a customer’s assessed risk, those of the bigger banks with large pool of funds is heavily influenced by treasury (T) bill rates.

Thus, should T-bill rates be pegged higher, bigger banks will very likely pull their base rates up vice versa.

Consequently, Mr Akuffo said “the base rates of some banks are unlikely to go up” in line with the upward adjustment of the policy rate.

“We would have to wait a little longer to see what the effect will be on the cost of borrowing to the banks first,” he said.

Unless the hike in the policy rate filters into the cost of bank’s funds, the GAB president said businesses can be expected to borrow at the current rates from their banks.

Mr Asare Akuffo, President, GAB

In the long run however, Mr Akuffo who doubles as the Managing Director of HFC Bank Limited and president of the Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF) said interest rates will pull up in response to the various economic challenges that an election year like this comes with.

“It is true that interest rates will go up but not in the short run. The rates may start going up after two or three months time when all these factors have started causing ripples to banks’ operations and cost of funds in particular,” he said.

Despite the unexpected short term rise in cost of credit to businesses as assured by the GAB president, the issue of banks charging higher rates to make astronomical profits still remains.

The AGI, the umbrella body of businesses in the country, last month accused the country’s financial sector of inefficiency; a trait the association said is heavily influencing the cost of credit to businesses nation-wide.

If banks were efficient, the association said they would have mobilised more funds at cheaper costs and lent them back to businesses at competitive rates.