The Acting Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Alex Mould, has admitted there are mild inconsistencies in the accounts of the Tema Oil Refinery. He said this is largely because management of the refinery is yet to obtain an audited report on its balance sheet. Mr Mould however put the debt owed by TOR as at 31st May 2009 at approximately GH¢943 million. “There are no official figures outside the management figures of Tema Oil Refinery,” he stressed. Figures from the oil marketing companies (OMCs) and suppliers, he said, have been different from those presented by TOR. He said the authority has, as a result, directed the refinery to furnish it with the audited report which will become the official working document on the refinery that has been inactive since January 12, 2009. The acting NPA boss called into Joy FM’s news analysis programme, Newsfile, to clarify the controversy surrounding the actual debt owed by TOR. The NPA’s comment comes amid criticisms that the Mills administration is putting out conflicting figures in respect of debts accrued by the refinery. The debts have been brought on due largely to years of under-recovery and governments subsidizing fuel. Government therefore spends more money in acquiring fuel than it receives from consumers. Minority Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday booed at Energy Minister, Dr Joe Oteng, when he appeared before the house to answer queries pertaining to debts being incurred by government as a result of petroleum subsidization. The MPs argued at a press conference later that figures disclosed by the minister conflicted with those stated by other government functionaries; a situation the Minority said was worrying. The amount from the regulatory body must bring to rest the controversy that has been raging over the actual debt owed by the NPA, although the authority believes the amount has to be corroborated. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com