Management of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has dismissed claims by the the Institute for Energy Security (IES) that TOR is facing leadership crisis, a situation that risks the country’s only refinery crumbling.

The Public Affairs Manager, Dr Kingsley Antwi-Boasiako on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM said TOR is scandalized by the baseless claims by the IES, insisting that management and the staff of the refinery are all working in unison to carry out the core mandate of the refinery.

The response by TOR comes after the Institute for Energy Security (IES) alleged that there is leadership crisis, factionalism and mismanagement at TOR, and that lack of due diligence is causing financial loss to the state.

“Today, technical and operational lapses, factionalism, vindictiveness, mismanagement, absence of teamwork, lack of due diligence have consumed Tema Oil Refinery and is causing financial loss to the state. When persons with requisite capacity are sidelined for substandard people to run affairs, the result is chaotic, the IES said in a statement signed by its Principal Research Officer Richmond Rockson.

But Dr Kingsley Antwi-Boasiako told Kasapa 102.5 FM the new management under the able leadership of the Managing Director[MD], Isaac Osei is riding the wave of a successful business, which even explains the reason why the refinery was able to bounce back to resume production in January 02, after the thorough turn around maintenance.

“Right after turn around maintenance, there’s a possibility that few challenges will come up, but we believe in our technicians and Engineers to fix any problem as and when it occurs. They have their eyes keen to the plant. As I’m talking now we’ve received petroleum product into our tanks, and refining crude oil into finished petroleum products. So its unfortunate for Rockson and his people to call workers here as substandard and make claims of some leadership crisis troubling the operations of the refinery.

“What Mr Rockson should know is that the information he may be receiving from some people may be borne out of parochial and selfish interest, and thus he must do well to clarify them before sending the information out to the public domain.”