The Institute for Energy Security (IES), an Energy Think Tank, has called on the government to immediately probe the agreement between the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and British Petroleum, which they claim has led to a loss of about $24 million to the state.

According to IES, the negotiated deal between the two entities is inimical to the sustenance of TOR and a slap in the face of the taxpayer.

Speaking to Citi News, the Executive Director of IES, Paa Kwesi Anamua Sakyi said punitive actions should be taken against those behind the agreement.

“Since the product was delivered to us in Ghana around $81 per barrel, today, the price of crude oil has plummeted to below $60 per barrel. The difference between these two figures alone is $21 per barrel, so if you took 950,000 barrels you have a lot more than $20 million, and this huge loss to the state excludes that structural charges, financing cost, cost of refining the product, cost of finding a collateral manager to monitor the stocks. We are calling on the government to investigate the circumstances leading to the huge loss to the state and to the tax payer. We are calling on the government to intervene to stop TOR from engaging in further contract which is likely to bring us to where we are today,” Paa Kwesi Anamua Sakyi said.

TOR received the product earlier in October to enable it resume full operations. That was the first time the refinery was receiving crude since December 2016.

In June 2018, TOR was forced to shut down two of its main processing units due to the lack of crude oil to feed the plant.

The development forced the facility to limit its operations to tolling, leading to job cuts.

Source: Citinewsroom.com | Ghana