Barely six months into the operation of the new Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) the plant has been shut down due to a break down. The cause of the breakdown, according to the management of the refinery, is minor.

But how minor the problem that has necessitated a shut down of fairly a new plant that was commissioned just last November 2002, can be your guess. When “The Ghanaian Voice” newspaper called the Director of Operations of the Refinery, R. Forson at his office, he refused to disclose the problem.

He just tensely said “The problem was too technical for ordinary understanding.” He added, “it is not strange however, that the RFCC has run down at this short of its operation”. He disclosed that since the plant was commissioned it has experienced several breakdowns and had been repaired.

He boasted: “The technology establishing the RFCC is an “American decent” and I don’t see why a minor breakdown could attract media comments. He was optimistic that the plant would start work last Friday 25 April 2003. But that the optimism when at last Friday they still struggling with the repairs.

The RFCC was dashed when as at last an estimated cost of about $230m (2,070 trillion cedis). President John Kufuor commissioned the RFCC just six months ago in November 2002. The RFCC is a catalytic cracker that converts residual cracker into highly refined and quality fuel products including bitumen.

The nation over the year has been spending billions of precious cedis to import bitumen. When “The Ghanaian Voice” reached Adu Gyuamfi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the refinery, he said he was not in the position to comment on the technical operation of the plant. He therefore referred “The Ghanaian Voice” back to the management of the refinery.

As the chairman’s phone line was out of order, this paper could not find from the Chairman who bears the cost of the repair works on the plant. Whether it was guaranteed and for how many years? Whether the President will be pleased to hear that just after six months, a plant he had commissioned should breakdown severally as claimed by the Director of Operations?

The Board Chairman could not tell who supervised the construction of the new plant whilst the Director of Operations told the “The Ghanaian Voice” that he could not also divulge such information to the public.