The Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ben Boakye, has bemoaned the scandals that have characterized Ghana’s energy sector in recent times.

His concerns come after the government has been reported in a shady deal to lease to a group named Torentco Asset Management for $22 million.

Ben Boakye joins other citizens and experts to decry the details of the deal which they deem “unreasonable” and “shady”.

He said: “3 weeks ago, CSOs were pumped about an illicit sale of GNPC’s assets to PetroSA. It turns out that PetroSA was being bankrolled by a local company for the acquisition. Btw, nothing would happen since the alarm & calls 4 accountability. We've moved on to a new scandal, TOR.”

According to the details of the deal, the refinery will be leased to TAM for 6 years where Torentco is allowed to refine up to 8 million barrels of oil a year by paying $1 million every year as annual rent.

The group will also pay an additional rent amount of $1.067 million per month.

Under the deal, TAM will pay $0.5 for each extra barrel if it refines more than 8 million barrels.

However, some have noted that the Tema Oil Refinery is able to generate up to $700 million dollars a year. Therefore, it will be unreasonable for the government to lease it at that cost.

3 weeks ago CSOs were pumped about an illicit sale of GNPC’s assets to PetroSA. It turns out that PetroSA was being bankrolled by a local company for the acquisition. Btw, nothing would happen since the alarm & calls 4 accountability. We've moved on to a new scandal, TOR. #IMF

— Benjamin Boakye (@benboakye) June 19, 2023