A substantial percentage of Africa's upstream petroleum activity occurs offshore in high risk environments with attendant environmental concerns. Power demands on offshore rigs are met principally through the use of diesel engines and gas turbines. This adds to the already high safety hazards and environmental threat through greenhouse gas emissions, heat and noise generation. Additionally, petroleum generated power is an expensive venture that can have significant impact on oil and gas project economics. Moreover, some of these offshore locations are so remote that accessibility to petroleum fuel may be challenging. As petroleum exploration and production pushes steadily into deeper, farther waters especially in sub-Saharan Africa, safety, environmental and logistical security may be key for sustainability. Situated almost entirely within the tropics, Africa is a very suitable place for solar energy applications. This study assesses the potential of solar power for offshore oil and gas operations in Africa to mitigate the issues associated with the use of fossil fuel thereby ensuring sustainability of the upstream petroleum industry in Africa. The size of the solar power system that may meet the power requirement of a sample floating storage and production vessel (FPSO) in offshore Angola was estimated. Appropriate areas and extent of potential solar power application on this sample rig were also assessed. This was followed by some cost analysis to compare the two sources of power economically. It was found that solar power can currently provide only a small part of the power needed on offshore rigs primarily due to lack of space and weight restrictions.

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Some commercial businesses in urban areas such as Tarkwa are such working environments which have immense potential of being risk-prone as a result of the usage of energy sources such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). With an ever increasing human population in these urban areas, coupled with a high rate of energy consumption for survival, it is evident that commercial businesses in these urban areas are on the rise with or without requirements of industry standards with regards to LPG usage. Injury free working environment is an essential element for any successful venture. It is necessary to develop risk assessment strategies to decide on priorities and to set objectives for eliminating hazards and reducing risks. The research focus is on assessing the risks or otherwise dangers that are likely to be associated with the usage of LPG by some separate commercial business entities designated within Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality. The data obtained from the businesses studied through the use of questionnaires indicated that all the business entities utilise LPG as major source of fuel or energy. This poses some amount of threat where fire and explosion are concern in their situated locations. This research, in order to identify the extent of existing risk, drew a comparison to associated standards by using a check list. The list entailed numerical values on experts’ viewpoints. The risk rate is obtained and subsequently businesses are ranked in accordance with their risk level or rate as high, medium or low. More than 65 % of the businesses studied lacked adequate good housekeeping and forecourt conditions, hence reducing the chances of clear escape routes. The research revealed that about 27 % of the businesses assessed were low-level risky, 40 % were moderately risky and 33 % highly risky.