Alfred Obeng Boateng – CEO of BOST
The Bulk Oil Storage & Transportation (BOST) Company Limited has denied reports that it has engaged in the sale of crude oil to a foreign company, which cost the country millions of dollars last year.
The company, in a recent press statement issued in Accra, signed by Nana Akua Adubea Obeng, Media Relations Manager, advised media houses, as well as civil society groups and interested individuals, which were peddling lies about the company to always avail themselves of the company’s open door policy to verify information they receive about it before pushing those out into the public domain.
BOST said in September 2017, it sold crude oil to a leading global independent energy trading company by name BB Energy, as FOB Tema.
It said the average Brent of the window sale was $56.55 per barrel, adding “that is the world market price that can be verified by anybody and at any time.”
“As FOB sales, BOST gave a discount of $2 per barrel leaving us with $54.55 per barrel.”
According to BOST, it was therefore surprised to hear that at the time of sale, the world market price was $62 per barrel, which was not true.
“This is perhaps one of those mischiefs to distract the smooth operations of the company. The exact quantity ascertained by trading department, TOR and BB Energy was 942,000 barrels and not 1 million barrels as was misreported by some houses.
It stated that the total amount that was due BOST was therefore $51,386,100, adding it had been utilized as follows: “$27,208,016.13 to British Petroleum (BP); $15,000,000 to Mocoh Energy; BB Energy also paid $7,000,000 to BOST’s current account in Ghana with BOST’s UMB account at the head office, which can also be verified.”
BOST’s Finance Department further noted that it had done the accounting and issued the final invoice to BB Energy.
“They are to pay BOST $2,178,084 as final payment to close the transaction.
“The final invoice is always done when the final and total product is discharged or taken from the tank where the exact quantity is determined on the outturn report as certified by a third party.”
samuel10gh@yahoo.com
By Samuel Boadi