Seven Generations Energy Ltd. acquires 118 net sections of additional montney lands
Seven Generations Energy Ltd. ("7G" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that since the beginning of 2014, it has, through several separate purchase and swap transactions, increased its Montney land holdings by a net 118 sections. The net cost to 7G for these transactions was approximately $29.5 million cash and other consideration. The acquisitions also include a road accessing 7G's core lands between the Kakwa and Smoky Rivers.
7G's net land holdings (all in the Kakwa River Project area) are now approximately 547 sections, including 516 sections (approximate) of petroleum and natural gas rights in the Montney formation, a net increase of 29% since the beginning of 2014. Most of the newly acquired land is proximal to the Company's existing acreage.
Geothermal will lower power costs
If you visit the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa in Iceland, you will be able to take a dive into a natural hot water swimming pool that is heated directly from the belly of the earth. This lagoon is testament to Iceland’s geothermal energy that generates more than 90 per cent of Iceland’s electricity. Kenya too has its fair share of geothermal energy. Hot water springs are a common attraction in places like Lake Bogoria in the Great Rift Valley. You can even boil an egg in these hot springs. But much more than this, you can power a country with the related steam that shoots from the depths.
This steam is so powerful that it has been generating Kenya’s geothermal-powered electricity for more than three decades now. Indeed, Kenya was the first country in Africa to generate electricity from geothermal sources.
This sector has since grown so much that last year in 2013, geothermal generated 773 MW of electricity, second only to hydro which was generating 820 MW. Geothermal has, therefore, played a big role in the country’s electricity access rate of 56 per cent in urban areas and 12 per cent in rural areas.
West Africa’s power sector must be reformed
Electricity reform is needed in Africa to ensure effective regulation, says the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA). According to Mrs Ifeyinwa Ikeonu, a Regulatory Council member of ERERA, reform is a necessary step to any meaningful regulation of the electricity sector.
She shared ERERA’s experience on electricity regulation with the participants, including the delivery of its mandate, the scope of the institution’s responsibilities and powers, its relationship with the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) and the national regulatory agencies in ECOWAS member states, as well as with the other ECOWAS institutions on energy. These include the West African Power Pool (WAPP), the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA), the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the Energy Directorate of the ECOWAS Commission.
Africa’s biggest investor touts new energy plan, including shale
The Public Investment Corp. plans to lead investment in energy projects in Africa by buying into South African shale gas projects and helping to fund what could be the world’s biggest power generation complex in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The continent’s largest money manager, which is based in the South African capital of Pretoria and has 1.6 trillion rand ($152 billion) under management, will buy stakes in energy companies operating in Africa, its chief executive officer, Elias Masilela, 49, said in an April 1 interview in Johannesburg.
“We have taken the decision that we will play the lead in the energy space,” Masilela said. “Energy is one of the biggest barriers for the continent and if we don’t deal with it, it is going to deal with us.”
Africa’s two biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, are among countries on the continent suffering power shortages that are restraining economic growth. The PIC’s focus on energy comes as South Africa explores developing shale projects in its arid Karoo area and attempts to develop the Inga hydropower complex on the Congo River are revived.
