No Crude Oil From Nigeria Until December

The Refinery Unit of the Tema Oil Refinery should not expect to start work soon, at least, not until the end of the year. This is because the government to government Oil Agreement between Ghana and Nigeria has suffered a severe setback because of some technicalities. Nigeria signs Oil deals on quarterly basis and until the end of the current quarter, there is no guarantee that Ghana can lift crude from Nigeria. Besides, information available to Citi News suggest that Sahara Oil, which until recently was lifting Crude from Nigeria has been side stepped and that could result in the delay. The National Petroleum Authority has spoken on the matter after weeks of speculation since TOR Boss Dr. Kwame Ampofo announced that Ghana was to take delivery of Crude from Nigeria on October 8th 2009. In an interview with Citi News, the Executive Secretary of the National Petroleum Authority, Mr. Alex Mould disclosed that Crude Oil can only be delivered sometime by the end of the year. �Nigeria programmes their crude oil over two months period and as such the earliest we would get crude oil from Nigeria in this particular contract with the government will not be anywhere earlier than mid December.� He said. The Tema Oil Refinery in the interim continues to import Finished Products at very high cost to the state. Fuel stations across the country are reporting intermittent Fuel Shortage. But Alex Mould says Ghana still has reserves that could last three weeks. �Every week we receive tankers of gasoline and gas oil. We have adequate provision of fuel in the country and there are adequate supplies at the depots. Mr. Mould explained that the shortages being experienced across the country are due to the fact that �not all oil marketing companies are listing products from the bulk distributing companies� due to the fact that they do not have credit facilities with them. Alex Mould intimated however that the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation is currently making arrangements with their Nigerian counterparts to ensure that �we get a cargo by early or late December.�