![[From the left] Thomas Abanga (CEO of Abanga Farms & Food Systems), Selma Ashipala Musavyi (Namibia High Commissioner to Ghana), Dr. Benjamin Sasu (Head of Food Safety), Mrs. Chariti Gbadawo (Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration) ), Prof Bani (Board Chairman, Abanga Farms and Food Systems) and Clarence Zamuee (MEATCO Rep)](https://citibusinessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Abanga-Farms-Food-Systems-Limited-360x180.png)
The committee set up to investigate the loss of off-specification petroleum products (off-spec) has urged the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) to investigate the sale of contaminated fuel between 2014 and 2017 to ensure clean products were not deliberately downgraded as contaminated and sold at a loss to BOST and the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The committee which suspects wrongdoings within the period pointed out that the country possibly lost petroleum taxes through the dealings.
“We estimate that about GHS1.52million may have been lost to BOST,” the report said adding that “losses in petroleum taxes have not been estimated.”
The Committee was chaired by Senyo Hosi, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD).
Making more recommendations, the Committee asked BOST to strictly adopt the options to reprocess or blend in the event of an occurrence of off-spec products.
“Off-spec products are not market saleable products and as such, the integrity of the management of its processes must be maintained to ensure consumers are not harmed by any forms of diversions to the open market. Where required, the off-spec products should only be sold to refineries with the capacity to reprocess or blend,” it directed.
The Committee stated that it was advised by the National Petroleum Authority and the Chairman of a Ministerial Committee that investigated the occurrence of this contaminated product (off-spec products) that recommendations in respect of the sub-section had already been made in their report.
Even though the committee requested for the report through the BOST management but it stated that it is yet to receive a copy.
The report noted that on the advice of the Ministerial Committee Chairman and the NPA CEO, it recommended that BOST reviews the recommendations in the Ministerial Committee report and augment them by the recommendations in the report, particularly, recommendations 7, 8 and 10.
“These we believe should culminate into a revised BOST Standard Operating Manual (SOM) for the management of off-spec products”.
It added that BOST must engage the National Petroleum Authority to develop an industry-wide protocol for the management of off-spec products in line with industry best practices.
What is Off-Spec
Off-Specification Product, commonly known as Off-Spec is the most common in the petroleum downstream operations and occurs when process streams fail to meet refinery product specifications, national or international regulations.
Basically, it is the occurrence of any form of hydrocarbons in the depot that fails to meet the specification of any pre-defined petroleum product by the Ghana Standards Authority as a result of the presence of other molecules or the inadequacy of a particular specification characteristic.
In the depot this may result from the importation of products that do not comply with set standards or the creation of slop in the normal course of operations and in rare cases, the contamination of products within the depot.
Slop
Slop is defined as emulsified crude oil or refined petroleum product with water in which solid particles are suspended. It is basically a combination of water, sludge and hydrocarbons in the depot. When separated, the hydrocarbon portion of the slop is also termed as slop.
Slops (hydrocarbons) vary widely in composition and properties and do not meet specifications for downstream saleable or marketable products.
Background
A Committee was, in August 2018, tasked to investigate the loss of over 600,000 liters of contaminated fuel at BOST’s Accra Plains Depot in January 2017.
The Committee chaired by Senyo Hosi, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), urged BOST to immediately recover the payment of some 471,000 litres of off-spec products lifted by Movenpina with interest.
“Recover payment for the 471,000 litres lifted by Movenpina. The payment must not be the nominal value but must include the interest to ensure that the economic value is retained and BOST is not short-changed,” the committee’s report stated.
