The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) has asked the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to address issues concerning the quality of some petroleum products supplied by Sentuo Oil Refinery.

According to the association, many Oil Marketing Companies have raised alarm about the quality and viscosity of some products from the oil refinery company.

“The complaints situate the inability of their petroleum service station pumps to efficiently dispense Sentuo products as well as other quality issues resulting in a significant number of customer complaints effective February 1, 2024”,  a statement from the AOMC said.

The statement stressed that the reliability and quality of petroleum products are of utmost importance to the oil industry and consumers.

“The reported issues at Sentuo Oil Refinery have the potential to not only affect the operational efficiency of oil marketing companies but also negatively impact customer satisfaction”.

“Our members have conducted meticulous inquiries and concluded that no internal malfunctions or procedural errors are to blame for this matter for this matter. Therefore we firmly believe that the root cause of this concern lies with the products supplied by the Sentuo Oil Refinery and BEST Kumasi Depot”, the statement said.

On the way forward, the association urged the NPA to conduct a thorough inspection of the company’s refining processes and quality control measures to ensure adherence to industry standards.

It added that there is the need to review complaints received and take appropriate action against the refinery, if necessary to maintain the integrity of the petroleum supply chain.

“Collaborate with oil marketing companies to identify specific areas of concerns and develop strategies to mitigate the impact of the reported issues.”

“Publicly communicate the findings of the investigation and any actions taken to address the situation to enhance transparency and restore confidence in the industry”, the associated appealed to the regulator.

NPA suspends approval for some products

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has suspended the approval given to Chinese company, Sentuo Oil Refinery to sell some finished petroleum products on the market.

The action is specifically targeted at some finished petroleum products (petrol), with dispute of not meeting industry specifications.

According to the NPA, it took the action last week after its own investigations realised that Sentuo Oil Refinery ended up selling petrol slightly higher than what was originally approved.

The reaction by the NPA follows allegations by two energy think tanks, Institute of Energy Security (IES) and Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) that the authority had allowed Sentuo Oil Refinery to sell sub-standard fuel to some Oil Marketing Companies, resulting in serious damage to engine of vehicles

Speaking to Joy Business, the Head of Quality Control at the NPA, Ubeidalah Saeed explained that the products did not meet the required standard and specifications.

He explained that the situation is not the case of unwholesome products but a case of the products not meeting the required specifications.

“This is not due to the fact that the products were unwholesome but rather, the pressure, is two points higher than maximum requirement”, he stressed.

He added that the situation was compounded by the fact that pressures are mixed at the OMCs and this sometimes delay in checking the specification.

 “…because products are co-mingle at the retail outlet at point, where the pressures were low at these services stations resulting in this challenge”, he said.

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

“We have now reviewed the monitoring regime, and going forward, we will be counter testing all the quality certificate that will be sent to NPA from Sentou Oil refinery” he added.