Deputy Energy Minister explains cause of fuel shortage

Oil supplies to Ghana delayed, resulting in the latest shortages Deputy Energy Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor has blamed the latest fuel shortages on the late arrival in Ghana of a fuel vessel last Saturday. The minister said the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) expected a delivery on Thursday but this was delayed for two days, resulting in the latest shortages. Motorists in different parts of the country have been complaining about their inability to get fuel to refill their tanks. While promising that supplies will be normalized by the close of the day, Dr Donkor said the financial strain on TOR coupled with the unwillingness of financial institutions to provide letters of credit to guarantee the importation of crude oil has made it difficult to store oil beyond three weeks. Dr Donkor disclosed these at a press conference in Accra on Monday. He hinted that government has struck a deal that would ensure the country has adequate supplies. Dr Donkor also stressed that discrepancies in documentation covering the 90-day oil guarantee struck with Nigeria earlier this year has also been resolved. This means Ghana will receive about 60,000 barrels of crude on a ninety-day credit basis in a short while. Following the oil crisis that dogged the country during the first quarter of the year, President Mills travelled to Nigeria to strike a deal with President Yar'Adua to supply 60,000 barrels of crude oil to Ghana, on a ninety day credit basis. Although the deal was supposed to be implemented a few weeks after President Mills’ visit, Ghana has yet to take delivery of its first supplies from Nigeria three months on, prompting fears that the deal had hit a snag. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana