'LIFT AVIATION FUEL FROM TOGO'

The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has urged Shell Company Limited and Total Oil Company to lift Aviation Turbine kerosene (ATK) from Togo to supply the Aviation industry as a means of solving the current shortage of the product.
The refinery had its stock of the white oil or the finished product depleted when the discharging arm of the intake point at the port developed a technical fault resulting in shortage of stock at the plant.
The Public Affairs Manager of TOR, Mrs Aba Lokko, said the stock of the white product was expected to arrive in the country by the weekend.
She explained that the faulty discharging arm was a delicate equipment that could not be substituted with any other machine.
She explained that though the refinery had a vessel with black oil waiting at the anchorage it could not be discharged of its cargo because of the technical problem.
Mrs Lokko said the refinery had been trying to repair the loading arm since last week when the vessel arrived at the anchorage but had not been successful.
She stated that the refinery had relied on Shell and Total for the lifting of the product from Togo because their Togolese counterparts had been the partners of TOR in the lifting of ATK from the refinery for supply to airlines.
Mrs Lokko was optimistic that it would not be long before the situation would be restored because TOR was in consultation with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and hoped to find suitable cranes to lift the discharging arms for repair works to continue.
She said TOR had just completed a 20,000 cubic metre facility for the storage of the ATK and that would end the problems of shortage of the product.
Mrs Lokko said the refinery currently had the capacity for only one and half weeks stock and therefore it faced such problems when there was a hitch.