TOR SHUTS DOWN DISTILLATION PLANT...Due to unavailability of crude oil for refining (PAGE 3, DEC 5)

THE Crude Distillation Plant (CDU) of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been shut down again following the unavailability of crude oil for refining.
The plant, one of the refinery’s major facilities for processing crude oil into various finished petroleum products, was shut down at 3:45 a.m. last Monday and remained shut as of yesterday.
Daily Graphic sources at TOR explained that an estimated 450,000 barrels of crude which was expected to be delivered to the refinery from Nigeria on November 26, by VITOL SA, the procuring agency, was not delivered due to the refusal by Ghana Commercial Bank to guarantee the Letters of Credit for the purchase.
Uncertainty, therefore, hangs over the hauling of the consignment belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation.
The source said Ecobank Ghana Limited which guaranteed LCs for the 997,000 barrels of crude at a cost of $78 million procured for TOR by Sahara Energy in October, this year, was still in the process of recouping its investments and was, therefore, unwilling to provide further guarantees for the importation of the new crude.
This led to TOR’s management approaching GCB for the necessary guarantee although the $600 million debt it owes the bank is yet to be settled by Ecobank Ghana, which was contracted by the government and the Ministry of Energy to repay the outstanding debt.
The arrangement with GCB was meant to give Ecobank enough time to retrieve its money before providing further guarantees, the source added.
The refinery’s Residual Fluid Catalytic Centre (RFCC), which has a stock of products that can last for at least two weeks, also faces a possible shutdown if TOR’s management is not able to procure additional crude for production.
This new development has led to renewed fears among workers of TOR.
Meanwhile, the vessel MT Aramis which is in Nigeria to load the cargo, according to the source, is still on anchorage in Nigerian waters awaiting the LCs to enable it to cart the cargo.
The acting Managing Director of TOR, Dr Kwame Ampofo, could, however, not be reached for his comment as several calls to his telephone went unanswered.
TOR’s public relations manager, Ms Aba Lokko, also told this reporter when reached on the telephone that she was in a meeting.