.....Major spat over 45,000bbl crude oil contract

THE NEW NPP Government, riding on the wings of zero tolerance for corruption, is facing a severe strain on its creed following a multi-billion cedi crude oil management/lifting contract that has set 15 major oil industry traders on edge. It is also threatening to cast a pall over the ruling party’s transparency/anti-corruption objectives.

The complex deal, which has been kept away from the President, broke out after JAK and a team of Government Ministers and advisers walked away from Abuja last month with re-negotiated and enhanced terms for the sale of crude oil to Ghana.

Chronicle investigations, double-checked with top officials in Ghana and the headquarters of the National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Abuja, established that a lucrative contract to lift 30 to 45,000 barrels of crude monthly from Nigeria to Tema Oil Refinery(TOR) has been given to a company that was registered just a month ago without going through a due process tender procedure.

The company is called Sahara Energy Resources Ltd. and belongs to Nigerian and Brazilian businessmen with powerful links to the Nigerian Presidency The Ghanaians are two private sector businessmen, Dr. Kwame Nyantakyi, formerly Chief Executive of the troubled trading group Inter-Afrique and Securities Discount Company International (SDCI). The other is the even more controversial Ken Ofori-Atta, Chief of Databank Ghana, and Enterprise Insurance Limited.

Mr.Kwame Nyantakyi is a sympathiser of the ruling NPP, but the latter, like his father Dr. Jones Ofori-Atta, deserted the NPP and snuggled close to the Rawlings-Atta Mills Government ending up as official advisers and benefiting substantially from NDC Government businesses like the sale of stocks in 14 Government blue chip companies abroad.

These two gentlemen with the cooperation of Hon K.T. Hammond, MP for Adansi Asokwa and now deputy Minister of Energy-designate, walked to TOR offices in Tema late this February and registered the Ghana wing of Sahara brandishing the name of the Nigerian President and let it be known that they were agents.

Of the 22 companies that have been registered at Tema Oil Refinery for supply, haulage and allied businesses, Chronicle gathers authoritatively that Sahara is the company with the least financial muscle - a purported net worth $20 million, but as one Nigerian oil trader familiar with the company said in Abuja last Thursday, there is suspicion that they may not even be in a position to put up $20 million should there be a major problem.

But sensationally, a letter from the Ministry of Energy to the Chief Executive of Tema Oil Refinery directing that Sahara be given the contract went out last week. Chronicle learnt that Mr. Ofori-Atta was part of the delegation that accompanied the Government team to Abuja and had since made more trips with the National Security Adviser, General Hamidu who like Ken, is also a good friend of President Obasanjo.

The Government team has since felt obliged to Mr. Ofori-Atta and Nyantakyi and have therefore decided to bend the rules of equity and transparency in their favour. ‘Ken has been walking the corridors of the Ministry, dropping names and demanding mandates for consultancy-related businesses...,’ noted one source.

Ken was out to Abuja with Dr. Wereko-Brobby and Hon. K.T Hammond, Chronicle was told when he was sought last Friday. The general understanding is that if the Government insists on fairness and transparency by putting the contract out on tender, all the other companies would beat Sahara and leave the already wealthy Databank chief and his pals out of the gravy deal. Giant multinationals like Shell, Mobil, Total-Fina-Elf are all in the oil business at TOR.

Other multinationals and companies that have paid up the mandatory $20,000 registration fee to do business at TOR include the 8.5 billion Ecu Spanish collosus, CESPA,(They are represented by Mr. E. Addo) Trafigura, a British group represented in Ghana by Mr. Kweku Bediako, the billion dollar Marc Rich Group, a Swiss-American group also represented by Mr. Joe Ampah, Engen of South Africa represented by Mr. James Taylor, British Petroleum-Amoco representede by Mr. Chris Chinebuah, the Adax Group of Switzerland/UK represented by Mr. V. Larbi, Petrobas of Brazil represented by Mr. Dzifah Cudjoe, Glencor represented by Alhaji Alhassan who is said to made representations to the Veep already and Onyx of Switzerland .

But the biggest danger that the unsavoury deal has provoked is a looming disastrous showdown with one of the companies, VITOL.a British/Swiss oil company has dominated the oil business over the years and has subsequently been tagged and targetted by the deal makers. VITOL is represented in Ghana by Mr. John Taylor, a cagey background operator and director of Vodi Motors which also had lucrative business dealings with the past Government. Vodi deals with the audi and Golf vehicle marques.

The award of the contract to Sahara roused the anger of these companies and their local representatives but the biggest loser according to these industry experts is VITOL which is being shoved out from the business even though they hold an existing contract with TOR which expires in October this year.

Mr. Herbert Osei-Baidoo, a major dealer/trader at NNPC and agent for Petronas, another huge Malaysian oil company explained to Chronicle in Abuja last week that the Ghana Government could do whatever she wanted but those politicians or businessmen pulling the Sahara deal could cause a major legal and political storm if they fail to follow the normal terms of abrogating contracts. ‘The new Government, I would advise to desist from this line because it has serious implcations’. And another thing.

Government owes VITOL enough money to disrupt the entire economy and the financial system if the British company calls in its debts. Hon Hackman Owusu, Minister of Foreign Affairs on Friday confirmed to Chronicle that they were in discussions with VITOL, but explained that the current contract is completely different from the one negotiated by the previous Rawlings/Atta-Mills team last year.

The new agreement gives a 90 day credit and suspension of debt repayment of $2.3 million incurred in Nigeria by none other than the debt collecting maestro, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata ex-GNPC boss. Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey who is the anchorman in all these transactions and deals echoed similar sentiments last week. Chronicle investigations shows intriguing disparities.

The Energy Minister himself Hon. Kan Dapaah reached on his way to the airport told Chronicle that he would speak after he returned from Abuja today. Whether the Government would succumb to the pressure from the Nigerian side as represented by Mr. Ofori-Atta and Nyantakyi may be known by Wednesday because, Chronicle learnt that The President had not yet been given the full picture.