BOST clears GH¢237m debt to banks – Denies claims of underperformance

The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has cleared all of its GH¢237 million debt owed some domestic banks in the country.

The money, which was owed GCB Bank, Fidelity Bank, UMB Bank and UBA Bank, was paid through government’s intervention, internally generated funds and the upward adjustment of the BOST margin.

In a release issued by BOST, the company noted that it had also paid $573 million out of its $623 million debt to suppliers and related parties, and successfully vetted the $36 million claims from products lost claims from Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) down to $14.8 million.

The company believed that was an indication that it had efficiently utilised the three pesewas increase in the BOST margin.

“In January 2017, the state of the company was as follows: a debt of $623 million to suppliers and related parties; $36 million claim by BDCs for  products  lost  in  the  BOST system; decommissioned petroleum barges; non-operational Tema-Akosombo-Petroleum-Product-Pipeline since 2015; non-operational Buipe-Bolgatanga-Petroleum-Product-Pipeline; non-functional Bolgatanga and Maame Water Depots since 2015; old-fashioned pumps and meters across the depots; GH¢237 million  debt  owed a  number  of  domestic  banks; 15 tanks decommissioned out of 51 tanks.

“As we speak, thanks to the upward adjustment, continuous government support and the efficient management of BOST, the company now boasts of a functional Bolgatanga depot exporting products to the landlocked countries of the Sahel region; successful repair of nine out of 15 decommissioned tanks; payment of debts to suppliers and related parties down to $50 million; successful vetting of BDCs’ lost product claims of $36 million down to $14.8 million; fully repaired Buipe Bolgatanga Petroleum Product Pipeline; fully repaired Tema Akosombo Petroleum Product Pipeline; 90 per cent completed Bulk Road Vehicle Truck Park in Bolgatanga; outright settlement of debts owed domestic banks; successful repair of all petroleum barges; return to shipping 3.3 million litres of products per trip of the barges from Akosombo to Buipe, which is the equivalent of 62 trucks loading an average of 54,000 litres per truck; cutting down the operational expenses of BOST per year from a humongous GH¢453 million in 2016 to GH¢190 million in 2019 among others,” the release highlighted.