BNI, NPA clear BOST MD

Investigations jointly conducted by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) on the sale of contaminated fuel by the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Ltd have exonerated the Managing Director of BOST, Mr Alfred Obeng Boateng, from any wrongdoing.

“It is not the case that the MD of BOST owns the company that bought the product. It is not true that the address or phone number of Movenpina is the same as that of the BOST MD.

 “The investigations so far carried out by the state security agencies and the NPA show that on the basis of previous practice, there was no wrongdoing at BOST on the sale of the five million litres of contaminated product,” the Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko, said at a press conference in Accra yesterday.

“Further to our intention to set up a ministerial committee on this matter, the ongoing investigations by the BNI and the NPA have so far established the following findings, which have informed our understanding and assessment of the situation:

“The contamination of the five million litres occurred on January 18. This was before the current BOST MD assumed office.

“BOST, as a matter of practice, has sold contaminated products as far back as 2014. Over eight million litres of contaminated fuel was sold in 2015 and over 12 million litres sold in 2016. The five million litres sold is less (in quantity) than that for 2015 and 2016,” Mr Agyarko further said.

The minister said the absence of refining capacity at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) precluded the possibility of saving the contaminated product through a refining process.

Sale to unlicensed dealers

He explained that the sale of contaminated products had so far been made to individuals, union members and companies that had largely not been licensed by the NPA.

“From 2015 to 2016, a total of 49 unlicensed companies and individuals bought contaminated products from BOST at GH¢1 or below per litre.

“By selling to individuals and union members, for example, it is clear that by practice a company did not even have to be registered to buy contaminated products from BOST.

“The particular case of Movenpina, which bought the five million litres of contaminated product, was duly incorporated under the Companies Code of Ghana at the time the transaction occurred,” he further explained.

He said there was a market for contaminated products that was quite separate from the normal market for petroleum products and that it was, therefore, not possible to sell contaminated products at pump prices, since they required further processing before utilisation.

Concerns

Mr Agyarko said the ministry was concerned about the yearly contamination of large volumes of products through preventable accidents.

“Our focus now must be on taking all necessary actions to ensure that this is brought to an immediate end,” he said.

He announced that the ministry had asked the Head of the Chemical Engineering Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Lawrence Darkwah, “an acknowledged expert in the field”, to lead a ministerial committee to consult with all relevant stakeholders to review the entire operations of BOST in order to prevent future contamination of products.

Mr Agyarko said the committee had two weeks to present its report.

No cause for alarm

He gave an assurance that the contaminated product had been accounted for, saying it was not delivered to retail stations on the market.

“We wish to confirm that the contaminated product is currently being quarantined at the various depots and does not pose any danger to public safety,” he said.

The minister hinted that the ministry would start the implementation of recommendations from the reports of the current and previous investigations on the sale and discharge of contaminated products.

Recommendations

He said the recommendations included the review and introduction of new regulations on the sale and discharge of contaminated products, the codification and publication of a widely and competitive tender process based on transparent advertisement for the sale of contaminated products.

Others, he said, were the implementation of improved standard operation procedures at all petroleum depots and the management, operation and maintenance of the pipeline systems to prevent future occurrence of such “accidents” of product contamination.

Mr Agyarko further said the reports also recommended the registration and certification of only corporate entities that would be designated to buy contaminated products directly from BOST and that those entities would be required to go back to the NPA to file reconciled records of disposal.

He said the reports recommended that “No unlicensed company, individual or union member can trade in contaminated products any longer.”