Ecobank to guarantee settlement for TOR crude

The refinery has not been refining crude for some time now

Ecobank Ghana has agreed to guarantee payment for nearly a million barrels of crude oil meant for the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).

The refinery would however first have to put in the necessary requests before Sahara Energy would release the consignment.

The consignment of crude has been on a super tanker at the Tema Harbor since Monday because the owner of the cargo, Sahara Energy is demanding the usual letters of credit any importer would require as guarantee that it would get paid for the delivery.

Attempts by government and TOR yesterday to get Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) to provide the needed guarantee failed because the refinery is already heavily indebted to the bank to the tune of some $600 million and the new guarantee would have taken the level of indebtedness beyond unacceptable limits.

Joy News sources say Ecobank will provide the letters of credit to cover more than 80% of the cargo which in total is worth over $70 million.

The sources add that because of the magnitude of the transaction the Bank of Ghana (BoG) had to grant Ecobank Ghana a special dispensation before it could undertake the transaction.

What is left is for TOR to put its documents together in order to formally request for the letters of credit and as soon as this is done, Ecobank will fulfill its side of the agreement to enable the refinery take delivery of the products.

Ecobank Ghana and its investment wing, Ecobank Development Corporation (EDC), incidentally, are the two bodies contracted by government to restructure the refinery's debt to enable it resume normal operations.