No fuel crisis - 19 OMCs CUT OFF* They owe TOR GH¢54

Front Page: Daily Graphic, September 30, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
FUEL supply to 19 oil marketing companies in the country has been cut by the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) for accumulating a debt of GH¢53,820,245.41
Explaining the hiccup in fuel distribution which struck the country at the weekend, a highly placed source close to TOR told the Daily Graphic that the situation was not due to shortage of fuel, insisting “we have enough reserves to meet the demand”.
It said apart from the 19 oil companies which were heavily indebted to TOR and whose supplies had been completely cut, two other companies had been put on what it termed “allocation” list in which case TOR would determine the quantum of petroleum products to supply the two companies and not what they would request for.
The 19 firms are Excel, Galaxy, Havilah, Manbah Gas Co. Ltd, Nasona, Sonnidom, Top Oil and Universal.
Others are Deliman Co. Ltd, Q8 Oil Gh. Ltd, Unique Oil Co. Ltd, Sky Petroleum Ltd and Merchant Oil.
The rest are Lambark Gas Ltd, Champion Oil Co. Ltd, Rural Energy, AP Oil and Gas, Deebabs Energy and Trading and Jusbro Petroleum Co. Ltd.
The two companies which have been put on allocation by TOR are Fraga Oil and Glory Oil Ltd.
The source said stoppage of supplies and those on “allocation” supplies took effect from September 24, 2009.
It said the decision to stop the supplies to those companies was part of the government’s efforts to clean TOR’s books.
It noted that because of TOR’s huge indebtedness, most banks had been reluctant to raise Letters of Credit for TOR but everything possible was being done to ensure adequate fuel supply to feed the market.
The source said but for the delay in the delivery of fuel last week, there would not have been any hiccups anyway and added that TOR suspected that some filling stations decided not to sell on hearing of shortages in some other fuel stations, particularly those in the northern part of the country.
According to the source, such firms wanted to cash in and take advantage, especially in the event of any upward price adjustments.
The source said officials of the National Petroleum Authority would be inspecting those fuel stations claiming they did not have fuel.
To further address the situation in which last Thursday’s supply, for example, was delayed, TOR has pumped almost six million litres of gasoline onto the market since Saturday.
At a press briefing on Monday, the Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Kwabena Donkor, announced that the government had also opened letters of credit and secured payment arrangements for the supply of crude oil to the TOR in two weeks.
"We have opened the letters of credit and payment is guaranteed," he said.
The supply of the crude to TOR would enable the organisation to refine the product for the first time since September 2008.