National Petroleum Authority, Ghana

In spite of fire outbreak……..
TOR assures of constant fuel supply
The Management of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has assured the public of constant fuel supply in spite of the fire outbreak at the loading gantry of the refinery on Tuesday. TOR has accordingly constituted a committee comprising representatives of key stakeholders in the petroleum industry to advice on alternatives measures to ensure that fuel supply is maintained throughout all the fuel depots nationwide. These came to light during a fact finding mission by the Board of Directors of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to the refinery after Tuesday’s fire outbreak which claimed one life, injured two and damaged the main loading rack of the refinery.
Addressing the Board of NPA, the General Manager, Commerce, of TOR, Dr. A.K. Doku said the extent of damage and the cause of the fire outbreak were yet be fully determined but said the fire started during one of the loading sessions for premix fuel into Bulk Road Vehicles (BRVs) killing one person and burnt large portions of the loading gantry which has currently been shut down. However, he hinted of an elaborate programme in place to ensure that fuel supply is not affected.
According Dr. Doku, there was no need for panic since TOR was in the process of kick starting the discharge of products to depots in Takoradi, Akosombo and the Afram Plains to service Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) thereby preventing the possibility of shortages on the market. Already, some Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) have loading gantries which are serviceable to the OMCs which are another reliable means of supplying products to the market. The Refinery is putting measures in place to secure the supply of LPG to the market since its loading rack was also affected by the fire. Dr. Doku assured the visiting NPA Board that in the cause of the week, the alternative means of supplying LPG would have been in place. Welcoming the Board of NPA to TOR, the Deputy Managing Director of TOR in charge of Engineering and Production Dr. Ali Abugre, appreciated the concern NPA has shown in these difficult times and was optimistic that in the next two weeks, situation at TOR would return to normal. Dr. Abugre requested NPA to furnish TOR with the stock positions of BDCs to inform strategic decisions of whether NPA should engage suppliers to augment the local stock position. Responding, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National petroleum Authority (NPA), Kojo Fynn, expressed regrets at what has happened but was satisfied with the arrangements made by TOR to secure the supply of products to the market. He called for stiffer safety regulations to forestall future occurrence.