Energy Transition in the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the way forward

Vice President of the Republic of Ghana

H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia

Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana

Minister of Energy

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh is the Honourable Minister for Energy of the Republic of Ghana. He is also the Honourable Member of Parliament for Manhyia South Constituency in the Ashanti Region since 2009 and served as the Minister of Education of Ghana from January 2017 to January 2021. Dr. Prempeh is a qualified medical doctor and surgeon. He studied Human Biology and Medicine at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (BSc) and a master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology from the Netherlands Institute of Health Sciences (MSc). He further studied Leadership and Government at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Dr. Prempeh has worked as a Medical Doctor in Ghana and the United Kingdom. He is a Surgeon and a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of the United Kingdom. He was also the Minister of Education

Chief Executive, National Petroleum Authority

Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid

Chief Executive, African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA)

Anibor O. Kragha

Anibor Kragha is the Chief Executive of the African Refiners and Distributors Association and with the mandate of its ninety-one members across the continent, he leads execution of the Association’s core objectives.

His work centers around championing efficient, economic, and sustainable investments across the African Downstream supply chain, promoting African energy security and most importantly developing a unique and practical roadmap to effectively transition Africa’s current primary energy mix towards a more sustainable, lower-carbon footprint over time.

Before taking the helm at ARDA, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)’s Refineries directorate – overseeing the operations of the four NNPC refineries with total installed refining capacity of 445,000 Barrels per Stream Day. During his tenure he developed and secured financing for the refineries rehabilitation plan and successfully coordinated the kickoff of the Port Harcourt refinery complex rehabilitation project.

At NNPC, he also served as the Inaugural Group General Manager (GGM) – Treasury, managing treasury operations and inter-company funding arrangements for the NNPC Group. In this role, he coordinated the implementation of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative across all NNPC Strategic Business Units (SBUs).

Prior to NNPC, he spent 12 years at ExxonMobil, working his way up through various roles across audit, commercial and treasury in Nigeria and the US. His final role was as the upstream treasurer for ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria, leading the day-to-day operations of the organization’s treasury function

Originally from Nigeria, he began his career as process engineer with the Polaroid corporation in the US before completing MIT’s leaders for Global Operations (LGO) dual degree fellowship and returning home in 2003.

Outside his formal roles, he spends a significant amount of time mentoring the next generation of energy professionals in Africa. He also enjoys fine dining, architecture, and interior design.

Chairman and Co-founder of The Roman Ridge School

Mr. Frank Adu Jnr.

Mr. Frank Adu Jnr. is the Chairman and Co-founder of The Roman Ridge School. He is a retired banker having worked in the Banking sector for 30 years. He served as the Managing Director of CAL Bank Limited for 20 years, and currentlyserves on severalboards including Legacy Bonds Limited (LBL), the Foundation for Orthopaedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS), Quality Insurance Company Limited (QIC), TLG Capital, the University of Ghana Enterprises Limited (UGEL), the GAB Health Insurance Company Limited, andLead ForGhana(LFG).He recently retired from the Board of Metropolitan Life Company Limited and is a Trustee of the Achimota Golf Club,as well as the Millennium Excellence Foundation (MEF) Endowment Fund. He was also Chairman of the National Health Insurance Council and the Ghana Stock Exchange. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Geography as well asan MBA in Finance. In 2013, an Honorary Doctorate Degree was conferred on him by the University of Ghana for his contribution to tertiary education. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, an alumnus of the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme, SAID Business School, Oxford, and also an alumnus of the Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon(ODADIE).In 2018, the Africa Leadership Magazine named him the Africa Banker of the year. He has been recognized by the Ghana CEO Summit and inducted into its Hall of Fame (2018). In 2021, the Ghana Institute of Architects conferred on him an Honorary Membership of the Institute in recognition of his selfless contribution and support to the field of Architecture in Ghana. Mr. Adu is an avid sportsman who has distinguished himself in cricket, polo and golf. He is a past captain of both the Accra PoloClub and the Achimota Golf Club. He plays a major role in youth development in Ghana.

Managing Director, CITAC

Gary Still

Gary has 30 years of experience in the oil business in marketing, trading and supply with the Shell group and Trafigura. Throughout his career, he has traveled extensively in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Joining CITAC in 1999 shortly after its inception, Gary has been heavily involved in the development and promotion of the company both inside and outside of Africa. He has participated in many commercial and technical feasibility studies on African oil products storage depots, fuel feedstock supply options, market entry studies, supply chain logistics and refinery crude processing.

Drawing on an extensive network of contacts in Africa and the international oil trading community, Gary has responsibility for business origination, market intelligence and client liaison. He is a regular contributor to the CITAC Africa monthly market report.

Africa Cleaner Mobility Focal at Sustainable Mobility Unit, UNEP

Jane Akumu

She is currently with the Africa cleaner mobility focal at Sustainable Mobility Unit within the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). She joined UNEP in 2004 and has been working towards environmentally sustainable transport in Africa. Through the introduction of cleaner road transportation fuels and matching vehicle emission control technologies; and promoting new and emerging transport solutions including soot-free buses and electric mobility. The objective is to reduce localized and global air pollution.

Prior to joining the UNEP, she worked for the Government of Kenya, first at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning on international trade issues, and then at the Ministry of Energy as head of the Petroleum Monitoring Unit.

Jane Akumu holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Arts degree in Economics from Carleton University in Canada.

Senior Research Fellow, ISSER, University of Ghana

Dr. Simon Bawakyillenuo

Dr. Simon Bawakyillengo is a Human Geographer. Currently he is a Senior Research Fellow and the Head of Statistics and Survey Division at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. He attained his PhD in Human Geography and MSc in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Hull, UK, in 2007 and 2003, respectively.

His research interests cover areas such as forms of energy and their interrelationships with health and the environment; energy policy; renewable energy dissemination and utilisation discourses; climate change; environmental policy and governance; green economy; and political economy.

Since 2011, he has been an editorial board member of the Local Environment (The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability) and served on several national steering committees including, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Programme, SWITCH Africa Green (SAG) Project and Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) in Ghana.

Executive Secretary, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, Ghana

Dr. Ishmael Ackah

Ishmael is the Executive Secretary of PURC. He also serves as the Chairman of the Regulatory and Legal Committee of Ghana ‘s Electricity Market Oversight Panel. He was the Regulatory and Electricity Market Expert at USAID West Africa Energy Program, Deloitte Ghana. He worked as the Head of Policy Unit, at the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, where he coordinated research and advocacy on sustainable energy management and petroleum revenue management. Ishmael was the Technical Advisor on Energy and Petroleum Policies to the Minister for Planning. In this role, he led the team that developed the energy and petroleum sections of the 2017 and the 2020 Coordinated Programme for Economic and Social Development Policies. Ishmael was the first Coordinator of Local Content at the Ghana Energy Commission where he initiated an industry wide baseline study before the full implementation of the Local Content Regulations. Related to this role, he served on the technical Committee that is reviewing Ghana’s Energy Policy, and was member of the technical sub-committee of the Energy Sector Recovery Program. Ishmael was awarded the Rising Star Award, at the 2017 Ghana Energy Awards. In addition, he was selected for 2018 Australian Awards Africa, for Energy and Mineral Economics. He has a keen interest in energy research and serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Institute for Oil and Gas Studies, University of Cape Coast and the Department of Economics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He has provided research consultancy for the African Development Bank, United Nations University, IHS Markit, GOGIG/OPM, the Natural Resource Governance Institute, the National Accreditation Board, SNV and SEND Ghana among others. He has published more than 45 peer-reviewed papers in high impact journals in Science Direct, Wiley, Springer and Taylor and Francis publishing houses. Ishmael’s vision is to facilitate the delivery of sustainable energy services that balances business growth, public sector goals and community concerns.

Research Fellow, ISSER, University of Ghana

Aba Obrumah Crentsil

Aba Obrumah Crentsil is a Research Fellow with the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economics Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana. Her research focuses on the interactions between populations and their environments (climate and energy), evaluation planning, urban planning and how to accommodate research in above fields by using planning supporting systems such as geographic information systems (GIS) and other computer-aided planning tools.

Aba also have over 8 years’ experience in conducting both quantitative and qualitative research. She has a PhD in Development Studies and BSc. in Natural Resource Management from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Co-Convenor and Junior Fellow IFG 4, September – December 2020

University of Ghana

Associate Professor & Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Ghana

Prof. Daniel K. Twerefou

Daniel K. Twerefou is an Associate Professor and lecturer at the Department of Economics, University of Ghana. He has consulted for the National Institutional Renewal Programme on the Social Impact Assessment of public sector reforms.

He was also a member of an expert group constituted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa on the Sustainable Development Report for Africa under the theme “Managing Land-Based Resources for Sustainable Development.”

He has served as the dean of the School of Applied Sciences, Accra Polytechnic, and the Policy Seminar Coordinator of the Economic Policy Management Program of the Department of Economics. Dr. Twerefou is a member of the Economy of Ghana Network-Development Economics and the Economic Society of Ghana. EDUCATION1996 – 1999: Ph.D. (Economics), Moscow State Academy, Moscow, Russia.1994 – 1996: MSc. (Mathematical Economics), Russian Friendship University, Moscow.1989 – 1994: BSc. (Mathematics), Russian Friendship University, Moscow.1985 – 1987: Higher School Certificate – General Certificate Examination “Ordinary” and “Advanced” Level, Pope John Secondary School, Koforidua, Ghana.

Areas of specialization includes Environmental and Natural Resource Economics in relation to climate change, sustainable development and Green Economy, Development economics related to poverty/income distribution, Labour market flexicurity, social insurance and social dialogues, Financial Economics with emphasis on the stocks markets. 

Head of Division, Macroeconomic Research Studies, ECOWAS Bank for Investment & Development.

Dr Joseph Kwadwo Asenso

Dr Joseph Kwadwo Asenso is the Head of Division, Macroeconomic Research Studies at the ECOWAS Bank for Investment & Development He is an experienced economist with a demonstrated history of working in the public sector. Skilled at Negotiations, Strategic Planning, Budgeting, Project Structuring, Modelling, Forecasting (GDP, natural resource revenue, etc.) and Research.

A strong finance professional with a PhD focused on Economics. Former Head of Energy, Oil and Gas Unit of Ghana’s Ministry of Finance: extensive focus on matters pertaining to power (renewable and thermal), oil and gas issues, petroleum revenue management, project finance and project risk mitigation.

His educational background isUniversity of Liverpool, Master of Business Administration, Ōita University PhD Economics & University of Ghana MPhil Economics.

CEO, Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors

Dr. Patrick Kwaku Ofori

Dr. Patrick Kwaku Ofori is the CEO of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors. He is a Chartered Sports and Exercise Psychologist and an experienced Management Executive with a varied background. He has over sixteen (16) years of experience spanning Higher Education, Research, Human Resource Management, Procurement, Corporate Social Investment, Regulatory & Compliance, Lobbying, Government and Stakeholder Relations and Crude Oil Marketing and Trading.

Dr. Ofori is a Commonwealth Scholar and an International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS) Scholar. He was the founding Head of Department of Sport Science, University of Cape Coast. He holds a PhD in Sport Psychology from the University of Stirling, UK, and an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Loughborough University, UK.

He also holds a master’s degree in Accounting & Finance and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with Sociology both from the University of Ghana.

In his previous role as Crude Oil Trader, he oversaw market research to support the pricing, trading, and branding activities and ensured effective promotion of Ghana’s Crude Oil in conjunction with its Partners. He also provided additional Executive and Psychological support to Business Executives.

Patrick has previously led teams to develop and maintain a diverse range of highly effective relationships with key political and government stakeholders relevant to the business priorities.

He facilitated appropriate dialogue with business leaders and coordinated various reports for external agencies such as the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), EITI, NRGI, International Finance Corporation (IFC) World Bank, including rating agencies.

Patrick has partnered institutions to explore the strategic potential of education and sports as their Corporate Social Responsibility.

Deputy Commissioner, Petroleum Operations GRA Customs Division

Mr. Baffour Yaw Asare

Coordinating Specialist, Human Environment & Transport Inspectorate (ILT)

Marietta Harjono

Marietta Harjono is the coordinating specialist for the Netherlands Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) which is part of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

Since 2017, Marietta has been involved in ILTs research and publication on the quality of on-road fuels blended in the Netherlands and destined for West Africa. She led the ILT project on reviewing the quality of used vehicles exported to African countries and the author of the report that was published in 2020.

She is currently involved in the drafting of the second edition of three reports published by ILT on fuels and used vehicles. She is also engaged in research and implementation of the EU regulation on Due Diligence obligations for EU importers of tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold. Requiring companies to ensure they import minerals and metals from responsible sources only.

Prior to joining the ILT she worked as a freelance researcher and project leader on environmental topics.

Marietta holds a master’s degree in Human Geography from the University of Amsterdam and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science.

Deputy Director, Environmental Quality Standards, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Mr. Emmanuel Appoh

Mr. Emmanuel K-E. Appoh is an Ag. Director and the Head of Environmental Quality of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ghana.

He holds Diploma in Marine Science, BSc. in Biological Sciences, and MSc. degrees Environmental Science respectively.

He is responsible for Environmental Quality Management in Ghana (including air and motor vehicle emissions issues). He is air quality Local focal point officer; Co-chair of the Urban Health Initiative; Manager of the World Bank Pollution Management and Environmental Health programmes, Temporal Technical advisor to WHO Global Air Quality Guideline Development Group (Representative for Africa); Project Manager of UN Environment Sustainable Low Transport emissions; representative for ECOWAS/Ghana sulphur in fuel reduction programme; Resource person for  the development of a 5-year Roadmap for the Implementation of  the 2009 West and Central Africa Region Framework Agreement on Better Air Quality; Manager of Accra Mega City Air Quality Management and Communication Planning; and Researcher.  

Extensively conducted air quality monitoring using both Regulatory Grade and Low-Cost Sensors and contributed to some air pollution health-related assessment in Ghana Using BenMap-CE Tool, participated in the CCAC methane reduction and SNAP-SLCP programmes.