Mr Edwin Provencal, the Managing Director (MD) of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), says the Company has taken delivery of 5, 450 12-inch pipelines from the United States of America procured in 2009.

Speaking at a BOST special facility tour at Tema Port on Tuesday, he noted that the “pipelines were left at the mercy of the weather for 12 years” due to lack of funds and expressed joy that, they had finally arrived to serve their intended purpose.

The pipelines, expected to be used to expand the petroleum transportation line from Tema to Akosombo comes at a total cost of 73.78 million dollars.

The MD explained that the pipelines were secured by the Government of Ghana through the EXIMBANK United States of America facility in 2009 to expand the capacity between Tema and Akosombo from six inches to 12 inches.

That, he said, would enhance the storage capacities of the Accra Plains, Kumasi, Buipe and Bolgatanga depots.

“It is expected that BOST will through the installation of this new line attain its target of meeting the ever-increasing demand of the landlocked countries in the Sahelian region at the lowest possible transmission cost”, he stated.

He said, in line with the President’s vision of making energy affordable, and as part of the four-year strategy of BOST to become operationally efficient, the Company looked forward to improving the proportion of product volumes carried through the cheapest transportation channel – the barges and pipelines.

“With an initial refurbishment of the existing 6-inch line between Tema and Akosombo and the Buipe Bolgatanga Pipeline, which stretches more than 270 kilometres, we are confident that this new pipeline will increase the volume from Tema to Akosombo by three-fold to increase the turn-around time of the barges. This will tremendously improve the utilization and turnover of our marine assets,” he added.

According to Mr Provencal, the installation of the new line was also expected to increase the utilisation of the Mami Water depot, which also served as a booster station between Tema and Akosombo.

He reiterated BOST’s commitment to ensuring the availability of petroleum products at the right prices to drive the economy in the right direction, saying, “In the next few quarters, the Company is poised to increase its storage infrastructure to increase the volumes of product it can store for the nation to meet our demands during odd times.”

He said a properly functioning BOST would surely serve as an instrument for maximizing gains to be derived from the Africa Free Trade Continental arrangement through the importation and re-export of petroleum products in the West African sub-region, which would shore up reserves and contribute to the stability of our exchange rate.

Mr Provencal noted that the construction of the pipeline would create at least 500 new jobs in the economy.

“Work starts in August and is expected to be completed within 18 months,” he said.

He commended the Government for providing BOST with the needed space to meet the cost of maintenance of storage and transmission of infrastructure and to continue serving the interest of the public.

Mr Ekow Hackman, the Board Chairman of BOST, said the delivery of the pipelines would not only bring about transformation to the Company’s fortunes but it would also provide fuel security to the nation.

He appreciated the efforts of all stakeholders, former and current leaders at BOST for working assiduously to achieve the success story of the Company.

BOST was incorporated in December 1993 as a private limited liability company under the Companies Act, 1963 (Act 179) with the Government of Ghana as the sole shareholder. BOST has the mandate to “develop a network of storage tanks, pipelines and other bulk transportation infrastructure throughout the country.”

The Company is also mandated to rent or lease out part of the storage facilities to enable it to generate income, keep Strategic Reserve Stocks for Ghana, own, manage and develop a national network of oil pipelines and storage depots, manage the “Zonalization” policy of the National Petroleum Authority and develop the Natural Gas Infrastructure throughout the country.