The management of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been directed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor to suspend its proposed partnership agreement with Tema Energy and Processing Limited.

The OSP, in a letter dated November 21, 2023, and addressed to the Managing Director of TOR, Daniel Osei Appiah, said "it has commenced an analysis of the risk of corruption in respect of the proposed partnership."

The Office thus directed TOR to furnish with all the necessary documentation regarding the proposed agreement on or before the close of Tuesday, December 5, 2023.

“You are directed to immediately suspend the proposed partnership agreement, ongoing negotiations, operations and all other ancillary activities arising out of and consequent upon the proposed partnership agreement until you are otherwise advised by the Special Prosecutor” portions of the letter said.

Find the letter below:

It is unclear what has necessitated this decision by the OSP, but in recent times, the staff of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) have been up in arms against five of their colleagues and two board members for allegedly registering an entity by the name ‘TOR Workers’ Charity Fund’ to confidentially take up shares in the TOR-Torentco deal without the concerns of the over 500 workers.

The TOR Workers’ Charity Trust, according to the aggrieved workers, was to allegedly aid Torentco Asset Management Limited (TAML), which had been renamed Tema Energy and Processing Limited (TEPL), as the new lessee for the proposed transaction.

The TOR Workers’ Charity Trust, according to the angry workers, was registered on August 29, this year.

They have accused two Board Members, two management staff, two UNICOF executives, and one junior staff of allegedly conniving in registering the fund in a grand scheme to ensure that the controversial TOR-Torentco deal goes through.

Although the Tema Oil Refinery has a capacity to refine 45,000 barrels of oil per day, its operations have been inconsistent.

The refinery has incurred losses for years, facing a lot of management crisis and political interference apart from its struggle with obsolete equipment.