The Institute for Energy Security (IES) is calling on government to come clear on the 600,000 barrels of Russian crude oil aboard MT Theseus.

According to the energy think tank, government must also let Ghanaians know why it failed to block the vessel as suggested by the boss of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, a few days before the arrival of the cargo.  

In a statement, it said the IES has taken note of a roughly 600,000 barrels crude oil consignment that arrived at the Tema port on Friday, February 26, 2023, aboard the vessel MT Theseus, which Bloomberg reports as “Russian Oil to be stashed in Ghana as a pool of buyers shrinks”.

“Documents intercepted by the IES suggest that Planton Gas Oil Ghana Limited is the importer, and has requested a crude oil storage space of approximately 80,000 metric tonnes (MT), equivalent to 600,000 barrels from the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), after nominating the facility as the discharge destination”, it explained.

“The IES can confirm that the vessel in question is presently at the Tema port anchorage and has issued notice of readiness (NOR) to the importer, awaiting to berth at either the Single Point Mooring (SPM) system or the Tema Oil Jetty for onward discharge into the storage tank(s).

"The Institute can also confirm that samples of the crude have been taken for laboratory testing by nominated Inspectors and Agents, with the support of staff at the TOR facility”, it mentioned.

It added that “the IES can also confirm that the vessel is free from any interception and is only awaiting clearance from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to berth, and start discharge into TOR’s crude oil tanks”.

The energy think tanks said it finds as troubling given that a few days ago, the NPA - the regulator of the downstream petroleum sector - had given a strong indication that should the MT. Tedeus crude oil vessels in question enter Ghana waters which will cause the interception of the cargo.

However, instead, it pointed out that the vessel MT. Theseus sits free, receiving the cooperation of state actors, and is likely to discharge into a national oil facility.

“More troubling is the fact that Platon Gas Oil Ghana Ltd processing and distribution capacity is very small, for a size of 80,000 MT crude cargo. The IES finds that between January and December 2022, Platon could the process and distribute just 2,849 MT of Residual Fuel Oil (RFO) and Gasoil, representing just 3.6% of the crude oil consignment under discussion. This raises eyebrows, and the IES is tempted to think that the named receiver of the crude cargo Platon Gas Oil Ltd. is only a frontal”, it added.

Ghanaians can recollect that in late December 2022 the Deputy Minister of Energy Andrew Egyapa Mercer gave another assurance that the Tema Oil Refinery will commence full operation by the end of February 2023.

The IES asked “could this crude cargo aboard MT. Theseus be the first parcel of crude for TOR to start full operation, after two years of shutdown? Could this crude oil consignment be an extension of government’s Gold for Oil Programme?”.