A recent study shows that the players in the oil and gas industry is finding new platforms to collaborate on. The buyers no longer trust their own contact database to be the one to find suppliers that gives them the lowest price. Online platforms like OilGasPortal.Com - the oil and gas industry business directory provide the oil and gas industry with the platform they need to source the lowest bidder in minutes. These eBusiness markets are not yet fully recoginzed, but the players using them are certainly the winners in the long term. The study showed that the avaerage supply chain manegment could save as much 30% by actively using such platforms. 

West African Power Pool (WAPP)

In an effort to improve power reliability and encourage private sector investment, ECOWAS has been working to establish the West African Power Pool (WAPP). In October 2000, 14 ECOWAS members signed an agreement to launch a project to boost power supply in the region. The WAPP agreement reaffirmed the decision to develop energy production facilities and interconnect their respective electricity grids. In December 2003, ECOWAS Heads of State signed the ECOWAS Energy Protocol, which provides open and non-discriminatory access to power generation sources and transmission facilities. In order to fully establish the WAPP within ECOWAS, project managers have identified four phases of the project that will be carried out over a 20-year period. The first phase involves laying the ground rules for how the WAPP will function and linking interconnection lines between zone A countries (Burkina Faso, CÔte dIvoire, Ghana, Niger and Togo) and zone B countries (Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone). Completion of the first phase is set for the end of 2006. The second phase (2007 – 2012) includes building missing links along Nigerias coastal line, development of new institutional entities and implementing policies from phase one. Phases three and four (2012 – 2023) involve making the system fully operational. USAID has funded the planning for WAPP which included (1) ECOWAS Vision Statement and Action Plan for WAPP (2) agreements on rules for trading electricity (3) regional regulatory body (4) dispute resolution mechanism (5) mechanisms for cooperation to maintain grid stability and (6) training in energy modeling and forecasting. The World Bank has committed a $350 million credit for the development of WAPP. Of this amount, $40 million has been secured by Ghana to implement the 330 kv Aboadze-Volta transmission line. USAID-funded implementing partners working with ECOWAS and national utility corporations include PA Consulting, Nexant, Associates for International Resources and Development, Purdue University, and the U.S. Energy Association.

Only about one in three ECOWAS citizens currently has access to electricity and analysts predict that electricity demand in the Community will increase by five percent annually over the next 20 years. West Africas total installed electric generating capacity was 9.8 gigawatts (GW) at the beginning of 2003, the majority of which is thermal. Total electricity generation for the region in 2003 was 31.0 billion kilowatthours (Bkwh), with Nigeria (15.7 Bkwh), Ghana (8.8 Bkwh) and Cote dIvoire (5.1 Bkwh) being the largest generators. In 2003, total regional electricity consumption was 28.4 Bkwh, led by Nigeria (14.5 Bkwh, 50.1 percent). Ghana (5.1 Bkwh, 17.8 percent), Cote dIvoire (3.4 Bkwh, 12.0 percent) and Senegal (1.2 Bkwh, 4.3 percent) were the next largest electricity consumers.

West Africa contains approximately 32 percent of Africas total natural gas reserves. Nigeria holds the Communitys largest proven reserves with 185 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). However, proven reserves are also located in CÔte dIvoire (1.0 Tcf), Ghana (840 billion cubic feet; Bcf), and Benin (40 Bcf). Although natural gas is still in early stages of use in the region, several projects are under way that should increase the future use of the resource.

West Africas petroleum refining capacity is concentrated in Nigeria. Nigerias refining capacity is currently insufficient to meet domestic demand, forcing the country to import petroleum products. Nigerias state-held refineries (Port Harcourt I and II, Warri, and Kaduna) have a combined nameplate capacity of 438,750 bbl/d, but problems including sabotage, fire, poor management and a lack of regular maintenance contribute to the current operating capacity of around 214,000 bbl/d. The Nigerian government is granting permits to build several independently-owned refineries in Nigeria. Sapele Petroleum Limited is waiting for final approval to construct a $105-million, 120,000 bbl/d oil refinery in Delta State. The refinery is one of the more probable to be built and could save Nigeria as much as $2 billion in costs for refined petroleum imports. Other ECOWAS refineries are located in CÔte dIvoire(Abidjan, 65,200 bbl/d); Ghana (Tema, 45,000 bbl/d); Liberia (Monrovia, 15,000 bbl/d); Senegal (Dakar, 27,000 bbl/d) and Sierra Leone (Freetown, 10,000 bbl/d). CÔte dIvoires refining facilities consist of the 65,200-bbl/d SIR refinery and an adjacent 10,000-bbl/d asphalt plant (SociÉtÉ Multinationale de Bitumes-SMB) in Abidjan. An oil pipeline connects the SIR refinery to the Lion and Panther fields. The refinery also receives crude oil from Nigeria. The state currently owns 47.27 percent of SIR, and expects to retain a 10 percent interest after privatization. Burkina Faso owns a 5.39 percent stake in SIR, and Total, Shell, ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco own the remainder. The government of Ghana plans to partially privatize its Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in 2006 in order to raise money for infrastructure developments in the country. In addition, plans are being made to increase TORs capacity to 100,000 bbl/d. Currently, TORs 45,000 bbl/d capacity meets about 80 - 85 percent of Ghanas demand for petroleum products. Ghana hopes to raise $6 million from the sale of TOR and other state-run businesses.

Oil Production in Nigeria

In recent months, Nigeria has experienced increased pipeline vandalism. In October 2005, a pipeline fire in the south-western Delta State of Nigeria resulted in the deaths of about 60 people. This was followed by a December attack, in which armed men in speed boats dynamited Shells pipeline in the Opobo Channel. In January 2006, a pipeline attack from the Brass Creek fields to the Forcados terminal forced Shell to announce a force majeure on Forcados commitments to end-February. Additional attacks made on the pipeline and the Forcados terminal in February made it necessary for Shell to extend the force majeure beyond the end-February date. Shell estimates that more than 450,000 bbl/d of its oil production is currently shut-in because of the attacks. A February 2006 attack on the Escravos pipeline, that supplies oil to the Warri refinery, caused the refinery to shutdown. Officials are unsure of how long it will take to repair the damage. Nigeria had re-commissioned the Escravos-Warri pipeline in January 2005 after 18 months of repairing the damage caused by sabotage during the 2003 Niger Delta Crisis. In addition to pipeline vandalism, Nigeria has seen an increase in kidnappings of expatriate oil workers in the Niger Delta region. In January 2006, four foreign employees of Royal Dutch Shell were kidnapped and then held for 19 days before being released on humanitarian grounds. In February 2006, nine additional oil workers were kidnapped in the Niger Delta region. On March 3, 2006, six of the nine hostages were released, with the remaining three being released on March 27, 2006. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is taking responsibility for the kidnappings and for blowing up a crude oil pipeline owned and operated by Royal Dutch Shell. Despite recent attacks on Shells oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, the companys deepwater Bonga field began producing oil at the end 2005. Bonga is estimated to hold recoverable reserves of 600 million barrels of oil. At peak production, the field will produce around 225,000 bbl/d and 150 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas. Oil from the field will be stored in a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, with a storage capacity of 2.0 million barrels.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was formed to promote economic and development growth in West Africa. Major exports from the region include energy products, minerals and agricultural products. Commercial energy resources in ECOWAS, primarily petroleum and natural gas, are concentrated in coastal and offshore regions. Nigeria is West Africas only significant oil producer. In recent months, Nigeria has experienced increased pipeline vandalism. ExxonMobil produces around 750,000 bbl/d of oil in Nigeria. Nigeria shares a Joint Development Zone (JDZ) with neighboring SÃo TomÉ and PrÍncipe (STP), which contains 23 exploration blocks. In August 2005, Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) brought their Baobab oil field onstream, with initial production averaging 48,000 bbl/d. In 2005, Saltpond Offshore Producing Ltd (SOPL), which is owned by the U.S.-registered Lushann-Eternit (60 percent) and the state-owned Ghanaian National Petroleum Company (GNPC) (40 percent), signed a $5 million redevelopment project that will restart six wells on the Saltpond oil and natural gas field. In 2006, Hunt Oil plans to conduct seismic research on the Sangomar-Rufisque license offshore Senegal. In March 2002, U.K.-independent Premier Oil announced the results of its first exploratory well on the Sinapa prospect (Block 2) offshore Guinea-Bissau. In Benin, U.S.-based independent Kerr-McGee has exploration plans for Block 4, which include 3D seismic research and an anticipated drilling in late 2006. Although the Mano River States (Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone) currently produce no hydrocarbons, sporadic exploration activity is taking place. Nigeria has the majority of oil refineries in the ECOWAS region. West Africa contains approximately one-third of all proven natural gas reserves in Africa. Thermal electricity constitutes the majority of electricity generated in the ECOWAS region.

Norway has a small coal sector, producing only 3.2 million short tons (Mmst) and consuming just 1.5 Mmst in 2004. State-owned Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani controls the sector, which includes two production facilities in the Svalbard Islands (Spitsbergen and Svea Nord). Much of the coal mined fuels a coal-fired power plant there, the only such facility in Norway. In 2004, Norway generated 108.9 billion kilowatthours (Bkwh) of electricity while consuming 112.8 Bkwh. Almost all of Norways electricity generation comes from hydroelectric facilities. Norways peak electricity usage occurs in the winter, as many rely upon electricity for climate control and heating water. Norway has fully deregulated its electricity sector, and there is free and open access to the sector. However, state-owned actors still play an important role, as many generating and distribution companies are partially or wholly state-owned. The largest power producer in Norway is Statkraft, which controls about one-third of total generating capacity. Regional companies control most of the rest, though Statkraft has begun to acquire many of these in order to increase its market share. State-owned Statnett owns and operates Norways national electricity transmission network and international interconnections. Small, local companies control most of the electricity distribution market, with these companies also controlling their respective local electricity grids. Norway is also a member of Nordel, the Nordic power exchange. Nordel is an integrated electricity market consisting of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, featuring a spot market, financial markets for hedging and risk management, and an information clearinghouse.

Canada has a privatized oil sector that has witnessed considerable consolidation in recent years. The largest integrated operator in the country is Imperial Oil, majority owned by ExxonMobil. In 2002, Alberta Energy Company and PanCanadian Energy merged to create EnCana, Canada's largest independent upstream operator.

Canada's total oil production (including all liquids) was 3.1 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2005, while the country consumed 2.3 million bbl/d that year. The country's oil production has been increasing since 1999, as new oil sands and offshore projects have come on-stream to replace aging fields in the western provinces.