NPA Suspends Sentuo Oil Refinery’s Approval To Sell Some Finished Fuel Products After CSO Concerns

• The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has suspended the approval given to Sentuo Oil Refinery to sell some finished petroleum products
• The director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy, Benjamin Nsiah, told YEN.com.gh that there were multiple lapses in the matter
• Two CSOs accused the Chinese firm of flooding the Ghanaian fuel market with unwholesome petroleum products

The National Petroleum Authority has suspended the approval given to Chinese company Sentuo Oil Refinery to sell some finished petroleum products.

This is after concerns that some of its products were not meeting industry specifications.

The Institute of Energy Security (IES) and Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) accused the Chinese firm of flooding the Ghanaian fuel market with unwholesome petroleum products.

The CSOs said the products were causing damage to vehicles and machinery with key oil marketing brands.

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According to the NPA, it decided to suspend the approval after a probe into Sentuo’s products.

The Head of Quality Control at the NPA, Ubeidalah Saeed, told Joy News that the products were not necessarily unwholesome.

He assured that strict measures have been implemented to check the system to avert the situation where such products will hit the market.

Multiple lapses observed

The director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy, Benjamin Nsiah, told YEN.com.gh the NPA was right to step in.

Nsiah said a thorough probe and research into the concerns.

He, however, expressed concerns at multiple lapses that led to challenges with substandard fuel, including from the state.

"In testing their machines, the challenge may not be coming from them but coming from the NPA for allowing them sell their products onto the market.”

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Nsiah also noted that depots could have also displayed some more rigour.

"At the depot level, there should have bene quality checks on the level of vapour pressure of the products coming from Sentuo so they are not even mixed with other imported products."

About Sentuo

Sentuo has the backing of the Chinese government and was conceived from the Chinese government’s Belt and Road Development Strategy for the oil and gas industry in China and Africa.

The new refinery could refine five million barrels of oil annually.

It will produce petrol, aviation kerosene, diesel, asphalt and lubricating base oil.

The project's first phase will pump out 40,000 barrels of refined products per day.

It is expected to ramp up to 100,000 barrels daily when the second phase is completed in 2025.

The commissioning of this refinery came amid the struggles of the state-owned Tema Oil Refinery and plans by the government to lease it to a private company.

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Plan to lease TOR

The government plans to lease the refinery to Torentco Asset Management Group for $22 million over six years.

YEN.com.gh reported that civil society groups and experts in the downstream petroleum sector have also called on the government to halt the lease of the refinery.

For instance, the Chamber of Oil and Petroleum Consumers said Torentco Asset Management lacks experience running a refinery.

However, some workers at the refinery support the deal and have backed the government's moves. Torentco planned to refine up to 8 million barrels of oil annually and pay $1 million annually to the state as rent under the deal.

Source: YEN.com.gh