Management of the Tema Oil Refinery, TOR, has denied claims that the company has been sold to Chinese-owned Sentuo Oil Refinery. TOR’s reaction followed a claim by the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) that an insider informed it there was a meeting on Monday, April 4, 2024, between the two companies concerning a takeover.
ASEPA said an insider informed it that the meeting on Monday lasted about 3 hours and when it was concluded there was a celebration at Sentuo.
“The meeting, we were informed lasted from 10 am to 1 pm at the premises of the TOR after which there was a large celebration at Sentuo Oil Refinery Ltd to celebrate the outcome of the supposed meeting. The said meeting till now has not been reported in the media and neither has Tema Oil Refinery issued an official statement on the matter,” ASEPA revealed.
As a result, ASEPA hinted that it would invoke the Right to Information Law to compel Tema Oil Refinery and Sentou Oil Refinery to come clean on their relationship.
“ASEPA as a public accountability organisation is therefore activating the Right to Information Law to compel both Tema Oil Refinery and Sentuo Oil Refinery to disclose to the public the nature of the relationship between Tema Oil Refinery and Sentuo Oil Refinery Ltd; whether TOR has been sold out rightly to Sentuo or Sentuo has taken over the management of TOR or certain aspects of TOR’s operations has been handed over to Sentuo.
“The RTI request would also demand from the management of TOR to disclose to the general public the content of the April 4th meeting between both parties and what the ramifications are for the future of TOR.
Read the statement by ASEPA
“TOR as a public institution owes a duty of care to the citizens and as such must ensure that it exercises the optimum level of transparency required under the laws of Ghana in all its operations and management.”
However, Tema Oil Refinery has responded to the claims by explaining its relationship with the Chinese-owned Sentuo Oil Refinery. It said there was no takeover it and there has not been any discussions regarding a sale of all or part of the company.
“Contrary to what has been alleged, no talks have taken place regarding the sale of the refinery, and no ceremony has been arranged to mark Sentuo’s acquisition of TOR.”
Also, TOR said it was committed to restoring the company’s facilities to enable it to resume operations. It, however, explained that it uses some of its storage facilities to store crude for Sentuo.
“The refinery, along with ambitions to enhance its terminal business, is steadfast in its commitment to its objective of restoring and resuming the operation of the processing plants and equipment.
“Currently, Sentuo and TOR work together in the area of crude storage, such that Sentuo pays TOR to store some of its crude oil into the refinery’s storage tanks. When Sentuo is ready to refine the crude oil, TOR pumps it back to Sentuo,” TOR stated.
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