MANAGEMENT OF Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has instituted investigation into the circumstances under which some scraps of the refinery were disposed of.
According to the state oil processing plant, a committee has been set up by management to look into the deal.
The committee has been tasked to come up with its findings on the matter and if people were found culpable, they would be made to face the appropriate sanction.
Recently, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) issued a statement alleging that some staff of the refinery had ‘stolen and sold’ equipment.
The chamber therefore, called on the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and the National Security to immediately initiate investigation into the matter and bring the perpetrators to book.
“The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been out of production for the entire 2017 and the reasons are pretty uncertain, though it was plagued by an unfortunate fire in the month of January 2017. Management has since then been busy, undertaking maintenance and retooling of the plant for all this while with a promise to resuming production before the end of the year; but that remains largely to be seen as of today, with barely two weeks to the end of the year,” the statement expressed.
It further stated, “The January fire, which caused some damage to some of the boilers, was expected to be fixed in three months but production has still not been achieved, only for some crooks at the refinery to steal and sell some of these same equipment which is currently under investigations, with a committee put in place to produce a report on the matter. The cost of an air cooler tube bundle which is estimated to be around $400,000 or GH¢1,840,000 together with other valuable parts, are believed to have been sold and shared between these crooks with nothing back to the refinery. The 45,000 bpd capacity refinery has been through various challenges with most of it purely man-made – to see the refinery grounded – though Ghanaians continue to pay for these acts of negligence and corruption.”
It concluded that the actions of the crooks resulted in huge debts and losses to the refinery for Ghanaians to pay; of which the consumer, since the year 2004, has been saddled with a 3p/litre levy to defray some of these man-made debts at the refinery, but the debts strangely continue to rise by the day.
Tor Refutes Allegation
However, in a rejoinder sent to DAILY GUIDE, management of TOR asserted that the alleged theft case by COPEC was false, adding that although no such matter had been established, a committee, had been set up to investigate another subject relating to how some scraps were disposed of.
According to TOR, “In view of the above, the management of TOR would like to state that even though no such matter of theft of company equipment as being alleged by the statement, has been established, a committee has been set up to investigate a matter relating to how some scraps were disposed of in the refinery,” the statement, signed by Dr. Kingsley Antwi-Boasiako, Public Affairs Manager of TOR, read.
“Management of TOR would ensure that the right thing is done at all times, and that no acts of corruption would be tolerated at the refinery,” it assured.
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