Energy

“Going Green Is The Future For Data Centers In Africa” – Jasper Lankhorst

Published

10 months ago

November 22, 2022

Going Green Is The Future For Data Centers In Africa

Jasper Lankhorst is the Group CEO of the Best-Connected Carrier And Cloud Neutral Data Centre In West Africa, Rack Centre

Rashidat Olushola Okunlade Writes

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the best-connected Tier III Carrier and Cloud neutral data centre in West Africa, Rack Centre, Jasper Lankhorst, has restated the company’s commitment to the green economy even as it has vowed to continually enhance its drive for sustainability in its operations.

Jasper Lankhorst made this known at the just concluded 2022 AfricaCom/Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, South Africa.

Speaking during the panel session themed “The Importance of Going Green” for the future of Data Centres in Africa. He explained that Rack Centre, part of the pan-African data centre platform, was undertaking a range of measures that are tailored toward green design principles, some of which include switching from diesel to gas power generation, implementing water-efficient cooling systems, implementing low-energy air circulation system and sourcing local materials and services wherever possible.

According to him, the organisation is switching its power source from diesel to gas, not only to save more than $10 million a year in operating costs but also to reduce carbon footprint, reduce environmental impact and align with global sustainability data centre design trend.

“As a result of these moves, Rack Centre is forecasted to be 35% more energy-efficient than other regional data centres, and 16% more energy-efficient than the global average. It will reduce water consumption by 41%, and there will be a 45% saving in embodied energy in materials used,” he said.

He further noted that, though customers are demanding a sustainable strategy for the business, hence, the choice of going green, though capital-intensive, should be sustainable. They must be as energy efficient as possible and use reliable, low-carbon sources of power to ensure uninterrupted operations, which is in line with the organisation’s prime aim to provide 100% uptime.

Other notable panelists at the session include Mustapha Louni, Senior Vice President, Uptime Institute; Nikki Blake, Business Development Manager for Bergvik; Kevin Kent, Director of Data Center Business Development nZero; Dr. Angus Hay, Regional Executive, Africa Data Centres, and Divyajeet Mahajan, Chief Executive Officer, Distributed Power Africa (DPA), Zimbabwe.

“In addition to the existing Rack Centre LGS 1 data centre in Lagos, which supports 1.5MW of IT power, our campus is now being expanded with a new building, the LGS 2 facility which supports 12MW of IT power. This provides a total IT power of 13.5MW in the Nigeria campus, built using modern, efficient and green design architecture. We have a principle known as KIA – Keep In Africa, and it’s a philosophy we use in our design and the procurement process to make it sustainable with the availability of local knowledge and local skills to be able to build and operate it,” he added.

In June 2022, Rack Centre became the first International Finance Corporation (IFC) EDGE-certified data centre in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It is officially making this the first Green Certified Data Centre in Africa. It is the most connected facility in the region according to its PeeringDB ranking and links every country on Africa’s Atlantic coast.

In 2019, the Southern Swamp Associated Gas Solutions project was commissioned, and the SPDC JV is planning to reduce associated gas flaring further through its Forcados Yokri gas-gathering project, of which large parts are set to be completed in 2022. Despite such efforts to reduce continuous flaring, unfortunately flaring intensity (the amount of gas flared for every tonne of oil and gas produced) at both SPDC- and SNEPCo-operated facilities increased in 2021 owing to short-term operational issues. Flaring from SPDC-operated facilities increased by around 5% in 2021 compared with 2020. The increase was primarily because of the extended outage of the gas compression system in SPDC’s shallow-water operations. The system was restored and became operational from January 2022. Flaring at SNEPCo-operated facilities rose by around 160% in 2021 compared with 2020. This was mainly because of an increase in flaring on the Bonga floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Repairs to a flex-joint on the Bonga FPSO’s gas export riser in the second quarter took longer than expected, in part because of weather conditions. While repairs were under way, the FPSO continued to produce oil and therefore flaring was necessary for safety reasons. The repairs were safely concluded in July 2021. Although flaring intensity levels rose in 2021, SPDC and SNEPCo over the last 10 years have almost halved the combined amount of hydrocarbons they flare from 1.5 million tonnes in 2012 to 0.8 million tonnes in 2021. This reduction is the result of a strict flaring reduction management process and both SPDC and SNEPCo will continue to work in close collaboration with joint-venture partners and the government to make progress towards ending routine flaring of associated gas. NIGERIA LNG EXPANSION UNDERWAY Global demand for LNG continues to grow as the world increasingly seeks reliable supplies of lowercarbon energy. Shell’s investment in Nigeria’s gas infrastructure for export is expected to help 6 This is according to a data provided by global research and consultancy business Wood Mackenzie. the country benefit further from revenues. Shell Gas B.V. and its partners took a final investment decision in 2020 on a new LNG processing unit – known as Train 7 -- at NLNG. The expansion is expected to create around 12,000 jobs for Nigerians during construction and stimulate growth of the local oil and gas service sector, with 55% of engineering and procurement of goods and services being sourced in-country. Train 7 is expected to ensure Nigeria’s continued place as a global player in a lower-carbon energy source. Once operational, Train 7 will add around 8 million tonnes per annum of capacity to the Bonny Island LNG facility, taking the total production to around 30 million tonnes per annum. In 2021, NLNG began awarding procurement and construction contracts. Early works started at the site. The first phase of the worker village is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2022 and the new material offloading facility ready for use by the end of 2022. NLNG’s Train 7 is expected to come onstream in the middle of the 2020s. KEY LICENCE RENEWED FOR DEEP-WATER SNEPCo has interests in four deep-water blocks in the Gulf of Guinea, two of which it operates. Today, nearly one-third of Nigeria’s deep-water oil and gas production comes from the Bonga and the nonoperated Erha fields.6 Since production began in 2005, Bonga alone has produced more than 950 million barrels of oil with the 2021 average oil production per day at 105,000 barrels. The Bonga FPSO vessel has a total production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day and 150 standard cubic feet of gas export per day. In 2021, the availability of the FPSO vessel increased to 80% from 70% in 2020. In addition to Bonga, SNEPCo’s exploration activities have led to several significant discoveries of oil and gas over the last two decades, including the Bolia and Doro fields (Shell interest 55%). Nigeria Briefing Notes Helping to power Nigeria’s economy 13 In the right investment climate, SNEPCo believes that there are opportunities to expand. In 2021 the OML 118 (Bonga) production sharing contract was renewed and the lease extended for 20 years. Bonga North and Bonga South West Aparo (BSWA) oil fields are two such potential opportunities. Bonga North is a proposed tie-back project to the existing Bonga FPSO with Phase 1 comprising 14 wells. BSWA is a development of a new FPSO with Phase 1 comprising 23 wells. SUPPORTING RENEWABLE ENERGY STARTUPS Millions of Nigerians are excluded from the country’s power grid and Shell Companies in Nigeria have established and provided substantial funding for a not-for-profit, impact-investing company called All On. Operating as an independent company, All On works to bring reliable electricity – often from renewable energy sources -- to off-grid urban and rural customers. This support aims to build a solid pipeline of viable businesses that can create the scale required to address Nigeria’s access to energy gap. In December 2019, SPDC and SNEPCo made a significant additional 10-year financing commitment of $160 million in All On, bringing the total commitment to $200 million. By the end of 2021, All On had provided investment capital to over 40 renewable energy start-ups in its portfolio – an increase of more than 30% from 2020. One such company is Infibranches Technologies Limited, to which All On has committed $2 million, which is expected to enable the indigenous technology company to expand sales of solar home systems via its more than 13,000 agent banking partners across Nigeria. With the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, the All On Hub was established in 2020 to provide nonfinancial support and build the capabilities of off-grid energy entrepreneurs. In 2021, the hub supported 81 ventures – nearly double the 41 supported in 2020. Also in 2021, All On, Odyssey Energy Solutions and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet launched a $10 million equipment financing facility as part of the DART pilot programme in Nigeria. 7 Hydraulic flying leads support the delivery of hydraulic fluid and/or chemicals between subsea equipment. 8 Subsea trees are an assembly of valves and other components used to monitor and control the production of a subsea well. DART will combine demand pooling, aggregated purchasing of solar equipment, and access to affordable finance to unlock economies of scale for solar companies, achieve cost savings for end-users, and accelerate the growth of the renewable energy sector in Nigeria and beyond. DEVELOPING LOCAL CONTENT AND SKILLS Shell Companies in Nigeria contribute to the growth of Nigerian businesses that can provide technical and support services to the industry. This includes the manufacture of tools and technical kits, the operation of helicopter flights in the Niger Delta, and strategic partnerships between foreign and local companies to stimulate technology transfer and capacity development. While there are government-required programmes in some areas, such as the Nigerian and Community Content Strategy embedded in the Assa North/Ohaji South gas development project, Shell Companies in Nigeria deliberately seek to contract local businesses wherever possible. In 2021, Shell Companies in Nigeria awarded $800 million worth of contracts to Nigerian-registered companies. Of these, 92% were companies with at least 51% Nigerian ownership. SNEPCo has awarded major engineering and construction contracts to companies that are indigenous, have local staff, or possess domestic capabilities in the country. At present, the manufacture and rebuild of hydraulic flying leads7 (HFLs) is being carried out in-country by wholly indigenous companies. Pressure Controls Systems Nigeria Limited, another Nigerian company, continues to refurbish old subsea trees.8 Sometimes, a lack of access to capital hinders Nigerian companies from competing for and executing contracts effectively. Shell Companies in Nigeria have provided access to nearly $1.6 billion in loans to 901 Nigerian vendors under the Shell Contractor Support Fund since 2012. These loans help improve their tendering opportunities.

About Rack Centre: Rack Centre is the best-connected Carrier and Cloud neutral Tier III constructed Facility Certified data centre in Africa. Established in 2012, the company focuses solely on providing best-in-class data centre colocation services and free interconnection between carriers and customers. Knowing this gives customers a technically superior, physically more secure, and lower-cost environment for their information systems.

The Carrier and Cloud neutrality advantage allows customers to manage traffic to get better value, lower latency, and higher resilience and creates an open market for partnerships between customers, networks, cloud and content providers, the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, and managed service providers.

Rack Centre’s clientele includes 53+ telecommunication carriers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), global Tier 1 networks, and pan Africa international carriers, including direct interconnections to all five undersea cables serving the South Atlantic Coast of Africa including Equiano and in the foreseeable future 2Africa and every country on the Atlantic coast of Africa.

Energy

Shell Announces Executive Committee Change

Published

1 month ago

August 29, 2023

Business Echo Magazine

Rashidat Okunlade Writes

Ronan Cassidy, Shell plc’s Chief Human Resources and Corporate Officer, will step down with effect from 31 December 2023, and leave Group service thereafter.

Rachel Solway, currently Executive Vice President, Human Resources Organisation Development & Learning, will succeed Ronan with effect from 1 January 2024 and will be based in London.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan said: “I’d like to thank Ronan for his 35 years of distinguished service to Shell. In his eight years on the Executive Committee, Ronan has helped steer us through transformational change and several exceptional events, including the Covid-19 pandemic, with wisdom, integrity, and foresight. He has championed employee engagement, ethical leadership diversity, equity, and inclusion, and will leave having helped change Shell for the better.

“Rachel will bring a deep commitment to performance culture, and great energy and care for people, to this role. As we deliver more value with fewer emissions in the coming years, through a focus on performance, discipline, and simplification, Rachel will help us collectively realise Shell’s full potential.”

Energy

NLNG Visits President Tinubu To Deepen Collaboration, Ease Of Doing Business

Published

1 month ago

August 23, 2023

Business Echo Magazine

NLNG Visits President Tinubu To Deepen Collaboration, Ease Of Doing Business

The Board of Directors and Management of Nigeria LNG Limited paid a courtesy visit to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

During the visit, Chairman, NLNG Board, HRM King Edmund Daukoru, CON, expressed profound gratitude to President Tinubu for his unwavering support in bolstering Nigeria’s position in the global energy landscape. He acknowledged the crucial role NLNG has played in Nigeria’s economy, noting the need for government support in resolving some challenges the Company is presently facing.

Speaking at the visit, the MD/CEO of Nigeria LNG Limited, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, stated that since inception, NLNG has contributed enormous revenue to the government through dividends and taxes, noting that the FIRS declared the Company as the largest tax-paying Company in 2022.

Mshelbila also emphasised that NLNG’s Domestic LPG (DLPG) Scheme has guaranteed LPG supply, availability, and affordability and has also stimulated the development of different parts of the DLPG value chain in Nigeria, with 100% of produced LPG volumes from NLNG dedicated to the domestic market, supplying about 40% of Nigeria’s domestic LPG demand.

He stressed that challenges around pipeline vandalisation have constrained NLNG’s production with consequent loss of revenue to the government. Besides, multiple taxation from various government agencies and the Finance Act, which is being amended yearly, distorts corporate planning and puts business on the back foot, stifling investor confidence and investment opportunities in the sector.

President Tinubu, in his response, thanked NLNG for the visit and commended NLNG for its steadfast commitment to excellence and immense contributions to the GDP, acknowledging the critical role the Company plays in Nigeria’s economy.

Tinubu affirmed the importance of Gas not just as a transition fuel but also as the fuel for the future, assuring that the Gas Sector would get priority attention in this administration. He assured the Board that all encumbrances to the progress and development of Nigeria’s industrial citizens as well as any further impediment to the business practice in the oil and gas sector would be swiftly removed.

President Tinubu emphasised that for the oil and gas industry to thrive, all stakeholders in the value chain, especially the host communities, need to be engaged and carried along to enable the government to build confidence and trust. He urged the Board and Management of NLNG to continue to collaborate with the government to ensure that issues can be resolved quickly and efficiently while reiterating his administration’s commitment to ensuring that businesses thrive to generate economic prosperity and sustainable development.

Energy

NLNG Plant Is Not Shut Down, Report Is False And Misleading

Published

1 month ago

August 19, 2023

Business Echo Magazine

Rashidat Okunlade Writes

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has stated that the operation at its plant on Bonny Island is ongoing, despite a Force Majeure that is still in effect.

It said that the Force Majeure, caused by the unavailability of major liquids evacuation pipelines, was due to acts of sabotage and vandalism and had not halted the overall operations of the company.

The company’s attention was drawn to a report on 17th August 2023 titled “NLNG prolonged shutdown threatens gas production,” published in one of the national newspapers.

NLNG General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mr Andy Odeh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday 18 August 2023.

“Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) states that the report is false and misleading.”

“NLNG reiterates that operation at its plant on Bonny Island is still active despite a Force Majeure, which still subsists due to the unavailability of upstream gas suppliers’ major liquids evacuation pipelines occasioned by sabotage and vandalism.

“The plant continues to produce LNG and LPG commensurate to the feed gas it receives from its upstream gas suppliers. Its cargo loading operation also continues without interruption. The latest cargo from the Bonny plant sailed on 17^th August 2023 to the St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, carrying 140,000 M3 of LNG.

“NLNG remains committed to collaborating with key stakeholders to minimise the impact of the consequent gas supply shortage.