Nana Amoasi VII, Executive Director of Institute for Energy Security (IES) has expressed doubts about the claimant of the cargoes of oil received last Friday saying, it raises suspicion among Ghanaians and market watchers, hence, requested that government comes out clear with any transaction involving the arrival of the 600,000 barrels of oil on the shores of the country.
A release from IES confirmed that Planton Gas Oil Ghana Limited is the importer of the 600,000 barrels of oil that arrived in Ghana last week and has requested for a crude oil storage space of approximately 80,000MT, equivalent to 600, 000 barrels from TOR after nominating the facility as the discharge destination.
Meanwhile, Nana Amoasi in a dialogue indicated that:
600,000 barrels of oil have been shipped to Ghana and currently at the Tema Oil Refinery
“We have become quite suspicious of this cargo and the issues relating to it because Planton is a very small refinery. The refinery capacity is not more than 500 MT per day. And so for this entity to receive a cargo close to 600,000 barrels, it has become quite suspicious. This is the first time Planton is taking a cargo of that size.”
Nana Amoasi VII
A confirmation from IES reveals that the vessel carrying the 600,000 barrels of oil is presently at the Tema port anchorage and awaiting to be berthed at either the Single Point Mooring (SPM) system or the Tema Oil Jetty for onward discharge into the storage tank(s).
Tema Oil Refinery
“The Institute can also confirm that samples of the crude oil have been taken for laboratory testing by nominated Inspectors and Agents, with the support of staff at the TOR facility. The IES can also confirm that the vessel is free from any interception and is only awaiting clearance from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to berth, and start discharge into TOR’s crude oil tanks.”
IES Release
The IES Director said he is not sure if Planton could be fronting for somebody or a different entity. He said:
“We want to see transparency, some form of better particulars on this cargo.”
Nana Amoasi VII
To clear doubts in the minds of Ghanaians and industry watchers, IES called out to the government to speak and clarify issues surrounding the arrival of the crude vessel into the country.
“Government must let Ghanaians know why it failed to block the vessel as suggested by the boss of NPA, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, a few days before the arrival of the cargo.”
IES Release
Prior to this, Bloomberg reported that its tanker tracking data had picked intelligence of a fuel cargo shipped from Russia to Ghana.
Also, the arrival of the vessel contradicts claims by the Head of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Hamid, that any vessel that arrives from Russia will be intercepted.
Dr. Mustapha Hamid, Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority
To this end, stakeholders in the Oil and Gas Sector urged government to be open in its transaction with Russia to avoid putting the economy at risk.
Government of Ghana urged to be open in its transaction with Russia
Nana Amoasi VII urged government to be mindful of its earlier posture of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and direct all its trade transactions in order not to break any protocols that may jeopardize the economy.
“Taking note of the President’s posture on Russia, it suggests that we are unsupportive of Russia and will not cooperate to any element or issue surrounding that country for the sake of Russia attacking Ukraine. So if the President takes this position in the name of the country, that we are uncooperative of Russia, then we should not be receiving a cargo from Russia. Somebody will say that this is a private entity platform receiving a cargo.
“However, if we agree to this situation, it could have some reputational damage and some dire consequence on the country. Particularly when we are going for an IMF programme, we are careful and we must be careful not to engage in any endeavor or venture that may in fact impact negatively on the direction that the country intends to take.”
Nana Amoasi VII