THE vessel carrying the consignment of 137,000 metric tonnes of crude oil which arrived in the country last Sunday from Warri in Nigeria, has been on an anchorage offshore Ghanaian waters awaiting a confirmation of letters of credit (LC) by the Ghana Commercial Bank.
A a source at TOR told the Daily Graphic at press time yesterdsy that “the GCB needs to confirm letters of credit to enable the vessel carrying the crude to dock at the Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility near Kpone,”
The consignment which was procured by Sahara Oil, according to the source, was a temporary arrangement outside government plans to ensure that TOR resumed its operations.
The absence of crude oil 10 months into the ruling National Democratic Congress' administration has seen the Government and workers of the nation’s only refinery on a collision course, with the latter threatening to embark on strike.
The move saw the President moving in last Thursday to the refinery, to ascertain its true state and also interact with workers for first-hand information on the situation, while assuring the nation of the importance the Government attached to the activities of the refinery, which he described as one of the pivots of the country’s economic development.
The workers’ protest also saw the Tema District Council of Labour issuing a two-week ultimatum to the Government to lift crude oil for TOR to enable it to begin full operations.
Deputy Energy Minister, Dr Kwabena Donkor, as well as the acting Managing Director of TOR, Dr Kwame Ampofo, could not be reached for their comments on the latest development as many calls to their phones went unanswered.
Officials of Sahara Oil who agreed to speak to the Daily Graphic could not be reached either as their chief executive was reported to be in a meeting.
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