Glencore accused of illegally importing and storing oil in Ghana

One of the world’s largest commodity giants, Glencore, has been accused of unlawfully importing and keeping oil in Ghana.

This allegation was made during a High Court hearing between Glencore and Springfield Energy, a Ghanaian oil distribution company.

Glencore is taking legal action against Springfield for allegedly refusing to pay in full after agreeing to buy 24,000 metric tons of fuel and gas oil.

Glencore argues that Springfield sent a letter suggesting their withdrawal from the contract after they opted to pay for nearly half the consignment in July 2015.

According to Glencore, the two parties reached an agreement in April 2016, where Springfield pledged to pay $2.7m in bits.

Springfield in their defense revealed that Glencore’s sale agreement proved to be “illegal and thus unenforceable”.

Springfield argued that Glencore “does not hold any license by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) of Ghana to engage in any business activity in Ghana’s downstream petroleum industry. It is therefore illegal for the claimant to hold any products under any throughput agreement in Ghana.”

Springfield said they confirmed in April this year that Glencore was operating in Ghana without a license.

Springfield is, therefore, demanding partial reimbursement of the money it paid to Glencore on the grounds of “unjust enrichment”.

Prior to this development, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in a recent letter sighted by Citi News, mentioned Glencore as one of many companies operating without a license in the country’s petroleum industry.

Glencore is reported to have been involved in importing petroleum goods for several clients in Ghana, an action which violates section 11 of the National Petroleum Authority Act, ACT 691, 2005.