Shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has hit Tema and its surrounding communities.
The situation, which has culminated in long queues at various lorry stations in the metropolis, has also made commercial activities difficult.
A visit to various fuel vending stations within the metropolis saw ‘NO GAS’ signposts mounted at various sales points.
Commercial drivers have taken advantage of the shortage and are charging commuters exorbitant transport fares.
It took this reporter two hours to fill a gas cylinder on Monday evening, after she had travelled from Tema to Afienya in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region.
Commercial drivers interviewed at the Galaxy Filling Station at Afienya said they had travelled from neighbouring Ashaiman, Tema, Akosombo and Juapong to Afienya to purchase fuel owing to the shortage of the product in those communities.
Daily Graphic sources at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) revealed that the restrictions imposed on the refinery by Ecobank Ghana Limited, which had guaranteed the letters of credit (LCs) to the refinery in October, might have accounted for the shortage of fuel in the system, as finished products from the 999,000 barrels of crude oil were locked up in various storage facilities at the refinery.
It attributed the shortage to the contractual agreements signed between TOR and Ecobank last October which bound TOR, as the receiving agency of the LCs, to ensure that all the money owed it by oil marketing companies (OMCs) was paid before they were allowed to lift products.
Officials of TOR, who had earlier agreed to talk to this reporter, refused to comment on the shortage when they were later contacted.
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