TOR Shutdown Was Deliberate - TOR Boss

The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Mr. Ato Ampiah has denied widespread media reports that the nation’s only refinery has shut down its plant temporarily for lack of crude oil.

Speaking to the Host of the Citi Breakfast Show, Moro Awudu following a report in the Times Edition of Thursday August 12, Mr. Appiah explained that what TOR has done is a ‘planned shutdown’, which according to him, is different from a shut down.

‘‘A planned shutdown means that, we knew we will shut down’’ he added. He also denied reports that the supposed blackout has lasted for the past one and half weeks.

Explaining why the plant was shut down, the Acting CEO who has served in office for close to two months said it is imprudent to keep the plant running at sixty percent just for Ghanaians to know that they are running. ‘‘My belief is that we should put our plant to run at a very high economic profitability. So we have agreed that this plant was going to be tested beyond it’s to reduce cost per unit. If you produce at a lower capacity, your cost goes up and this time that there are other companies importing fuel, TOR cannot compete without being efficient. So we tested the plant at the end of June to try to lift it beyond a 100% production.

''At the end of June we tested the plant to 95% production, and let me say gladly that in July the Crude-Distillation Unit (CDU) gave 109%, and the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) GAVE 107%, hat was good news for Ghana and TOR''.

‘‘The advantage of stopping is that we will take out time to do all the little maintenance that we need to produce at high capacity. When we start and get to that capacity, this plant shouldn’t look back again, and this plant should look at being competitive at the border for export’’ he added.

Mr. Ampiah further denied reports that the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation GNPC has refused to provide the refinery with crude. He said arrangements have been made with GNPC to offer crude to TOR for August and September.

He noted that although TOR’s financial standing is still not the best, financial institutions now have confidence in the company and are willing to offer them letters of credits (LCs) to purchase more crude on its own. He however refused to name the new banks.

He said TOR will come out more commercially viable by the time key maintenance works are complete in the next few weeks.

‘‘That plant shutdown you see is positive for us and there is nothing negative about it. And I believe that Ghanaians will be happy that now we are thinking of creating a company which will be internationally competitive’’ he said.