GPHA NOT THWARTING EFFORTS OF TULLOW OIL (PAGE 3, AY 22, 2010)

OFFICIALS of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) have denied that the authority is frustrating Tullow Oil in its efforts at constructing a chemical plant at the Takoradi Port ahead of the arrival of the floating production storage and offloading vessel, the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.
According to them, the authority was never aware of any proposal submitted by Tullow Oil for approval for the proposed plant.
They denied that they were engaged in unnecessary bureaucracy to stall government’s projects.
Reacting to allegations levelled against the GPHA by officials of Tullow Oil, the Director-General of the authority, Mr Nestor Galley, who was out of the country at the time the allegations were made, indicated that the authority had co-operated fully with Tullow in all its transactions.
According to him, Tullow, in its application for the lease of an operational area in 2008, indicated that it wanted to install a storage reservoir for the erection of a liquid and dry bulk plant (LBP) to support the development of hydrocarbon resources in the western corridor.
He said in response to the application, the GHPA allocated 1,650 square metres of land to Tullow.
“I can tell you for a fact that there is no delay regarding the leasing, as there is physical and legal possession of the land by Tullow,” he said.
A letter signed by Mr Galley to the Transport Minister, dated May 19, 2010 and spelling out the issues raised by Tullow during the Minister’s visit to the Takoradi Port recently, which was made available to the Daily Graphic, indicated that the GPHA was in the process of renewing the existing lease agreement.
It said putting the issues in perspective, GPHA’s master licence agreement with Tullow, signed on July 4, 2008, for a two-year period was due to expire in July this year.
According to the letter, the licence agreement signed between the authority and Tullow as the operator also covered two other operational areas, an additional operation area and a dedicated berth area for Tullow’s vessels, amounting to 3,795 square metres.
It further stated that Tullow did not apply for land to build a chemical plant, as reported in the Monday, May 17, 2010 edition of the Daily Graphic.
“We are really saddened by such comments, as they have serious international implications on the integrity and reputation of the GPHA, as well as its officials,” Mr Galley lamented.
He said the construction of a chemical plant, apart from the required permit from the GPHA, with the necessary drawings, would also require an environmental impact assessment permit.
The Director-General also intimated that the authority had discussions with Tullow on the renewal of the lease and gave the assurance that the agreement would be renewed ahead of the date of expiration.
It would be recalled that the Daily Graphic, in its May 17, 2010 edition, published that Ghana stood to lose $1 million daily if the chemical plant needed at the Takoradi Port to maintain the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah was not completed before the arrival of the vessel.