An Accra High Court, Commercial Division will hear the trial of an alleged breach of the distribution agreement contract between Dram Oil and Trading Limited and Alfapetro Ghana Limited on June 10, 2025. 

Dram Oil (the Plaintiff) wants an order to recover the sum of USD 887,671.69 (or 11,362,197.63 equivalent, calculated using the March 2024 prevailing exchange rate of GH12.8 to $1) being the principal of under-recoveries money due to it and received by Alfapetro Ghana Limited (Defendant) from the National Petroleum Authority under the category labelled Tranche 1, but which the defendant allegedly refused or failed to pay over to the plaintiff. 

It also wants an order for an interest on the sum of $887,671.69 in Tranche 1, currently standing at 54,458,449.38, being the applicable interest rate of 46 per cent per annum. 

This will include the facility interest rate incurred by the plaintiff on account of the defendant’s default, calculated from December 2013, when the defendant ought to have disclosed and liquidated  

Tranche 1’s payments to the plaintiff in respect of the under-recovery monies they received thereto, until December 2023, when the Amended Writ of Summons and statement of Claim was issued, with the accrued interest to be recalculated at the date of final payment. 

The plaintiff again wants a recovery of the sum of $79,977.26 (or GH¢1,023,708.93 equivalent, calculated using the March 2024 prevailing exchange rate of GH12.8 to USD 1). 

It said this was the principal of under-recoveries money due to the plaintiff and received by the defendant from the Petroleum Authority under the category labelled Tranche 2, but which the defendant allegedly refused or failed to pay over to the plaintiff. 

“Interest on the sum $79,977.26 Tranche 2, currently standing at 3,767,248.87 being applicable interest rate of 46 per cent  per annum,” it said. 

This included the facility interest rate incurred by the plaintiff on account of the Defendant’s default calculated from April 2016 when the defendant ought to have liquidated Tranche 2’s payments to the plaintiff in respect of the under recovery monies they received thereto, until March 2024 when the Amended Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim was issued, with the accrued interest to be re-calculated at the date of final payment. 

Dram Oil wants a recovery of the sum of $1,325,207.45 or the Ghana Cedis equivalent, calculated using the March 2024 prevailing exchange rate of GH¢12.8 to USD 1, being the principal of direct sales proceeds outstanding and due to the plaintiff and received by the defendant from the OMCs but which defendant has allegedly failed to pay. 

It required an interest on the sum $1,325,207.45 in direct sales, which currently stands at GH¢78,028,214.50, being an applicable interest rate of 46 per cent per annum. 

 The facility interest rate incurred by the plaintiff on account of the defendant's default, calculated from December 2013, when the defendant ought to have disclosed and paid to the plaintiff the direct sales of monies received from the OMCs, until December 2023, with the accrued interest to be recalculated at the date of final payment. 

The plaintiff states that sometime in 2012, the Managing Director of the defendant, Mr. Eric Forson, contacted the Chief Executive Officer of the plaintiff, Mr. Randolph Koranteng, to plead with him to consider giving him and his company, the defendant, a distribution contract for some of the plaintiff’s oil trading work which it was undertaking. 

The plaintiff averred that based on Mr. Forson’s pleas of business from the plaintiff and on account of the plaintiff CEO’s willingness to assist Mr. Forson with some business, on or about September 13, 2012, it entered into a distribution agreement with the defendant to distribute 7,100 metric tons of petroleum products which the plaintiff had imported into the country for sale using a credit facility, being Letters of Credit, worth $9,993,529.00. 

The Letter of Credit was issued to the plaintiff by the then UT Bank Ghana Limited (now defunct and taken over by GCB Bank Limited) pursuant to a Trade Finance Credit Facility Line established with the said bank. 

The plaintiff states that under the terms of this distribution agreement executed with the defendant, it agreed to distribute the said products on behalf of the Dram Oil and was also responsible for issuing proforma invoices to oil marketing companies provided by the plaintiff showing the quantity, price and load point of the said product. 

It said it was agreed with the defendant that the defendant was to pay all proceeds realised from the sale of the products into a specific Collection Account at UT Bank established by Dram Oil. 

 ”The plaintiff avers that by so doing, the parties also agreed that the defendant will be entitled to a distribution fee of US$8.00 per metric ton of the products distributed, and for which full payments  

were duly effected to the defendant,” it added. 

It said following the execution of the distribution agreement, sometime after December 2012 and at least by the end of January 2013, the defendant had completed the distribution of the 7,100 metric tons of petroleum products purchased and imported by the plaintiff. 

It said rather that the defendant, through Mr. Forson, had since then allegedly refused, ignored or neglected to pay the full underrecoveries received from the Authority for the distribution of the plaintiff’s cargo, which underrecoveries was due to the plaintiff by reason of the terms of the distribution agreement.