TOR promises enough LPG for the whole country

Dr Kwame Ampofo, Acting Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), on Monday assured Ghanaians that everything possible was being done to get adequate supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) into the country.

Dr Ampofo, who gave the assurance when the Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei inspected work at the Jetty in Tema, said a vessel carrying a total of 5,000 tonnes of gas, would be arriving at the Tema Port at 1200 hours, Monday.

He said, after the delivery and discharge of this first consignment, a back-up of 6,000 tonnes was also expected to arrive in the country next week.

This, he said, would augment the supply of gas as well as offset the current shortage of the commodity on the market.

Dr Oteng-Adjei, who was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Armah Kofi Buah, expressed satisfaction about ongoing work at the Jetty, by a combined team of Engineers from TOR and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA).

He, however, expressed concern about the obsolete equipment at the Jetty, and said it was about time the old machines were replaced with new ones, especially those at strategic positions.

The Energy Minister bemoaned the maintenance culture in the country, and underscored the need for companies and organisations to ensure the regular maintenance of their plant and equipment in order to prolong their lifespan.

The inspection visit of Dr Oteng-Adjei became necessary because leakages along the pipelines at the Jetty last week made it impossible for a vessel discharging a consignment of gas to do so.

At the time the Minister and his entourage arrived at the Jetty, the Engineers had finished repairing the pipelines and were hydro-testing to see whether the leakages were over.

The Engineers told the Minister that with the arrival of the vessel on Monday, it would take about three days to offload and discharge the gas to all parts of the country.

Source: GNA