The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited has rejected claims by the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) that, it lost GHS23million in revenue following the sale of 1.8million litres of crude oil at a discount.
According to BOST, the allegation is unfortunate and misleading and must therefore be treated with the contempt it deserves.
“One is left wondering what could have informed the current BOST to undertake such a poor wasteful transaction leaving the company with a net loss of over GHS 23million,” Duncan Amoah, convener of COPEC alleged.
It further claimed that on the international market, Quaibo Crude is sold at Brent plus $0.85 per barrel as the official price, and, therefore, BOST has caused financial loss to the state by selling its own at a discount of $2 per barrel.
However, sources at BOST have set the records straight, making nonsense of COPEC's claims
“BOST has offers for such distress cargoes at a discount of $4 per barrel. Any person competent in the industry would have asked for the details before issuing this illogical and baseless statement. Thus keeping the crude for such a period may affect the quality and for that matter the yield, hence the assay is a factor in pricing,” the sources noted.
“Is he [Duncan Amoah] saying that BOST should have waited till that time [January 2018] before selling the product? That certainly would not have been a prudent business decision at all.
“If that is what he thinks, then it is equally advisable for BOST to wait and sell it somewhere in the year 2050, perhaps, the price of crude may hit $150 per barrel. Such moves cause potential damage to the reputation of his fellow human beings and the very company that belongs to all of us.
“It should be noted here that part of the other parcel of the crude, Ten Crude, was refined before TOR broke down. The remaining was given back to the supplier to set off our indebtedness to them. So where from all these allegations.
“We are appealing to the media and the general public to ignore [Mr Amoah] for the state's sake.
“Every day, BOST’s management is having crisis meetings because of these false and misleading publications thereby preventing us from concentrating on our core mandate. Ghanaians and the media should not allow these falsehoods to derail us. Anybody can pass by BOST for every information,” the statement said.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com