US$63 million oil pipelines for BOST to arrive in Ghana after 12-year delay

• Ghana is set to take delivery of some oil pipelines from the US after a 12-year delay

• The pipelines were first procured back in 2009 for BOST to use

• The delay is however as a result of some managerial setbacks at BOST

The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) is expected to take delivery of some pipelines from the United States of America by the end of August 2021.

This follows a twelve-year delay in the delivery of the equipment as a result of some managerial setbacks and cost the country a total $63 million dollars.

Managing Director of the BOST, Edwin Provencal in an interaction with Citi Business News said an additional US$8 million was used to repair some of the pipelines that were damaged as a result of exposure to weather conditions over the lengthy period.

“We started the procurement of these pipelines in 2009 with an EXIM facility. Fast-forward to today, the pipelines are still stuck in the United States of America, Houston to be precise. My two predecessors started sandblasting and repairing the pipelines. The good news is that by the end of August 2021, the shipment of the pipeline will commence.”

“We have procured a logistics provider to visit the site for the pipes and assess the facilities, and the firm tells us that the pipes are good and ready to be shipped to Ghana. Unfortunately, a hundred and nine of them have been damaged and an additional US$8 million had to be used to repair them, but the remaining are all in good shape,” the BOST MD explained.

Edwin Provencal said an additional set of pipelines are set to arrive in September 2021 which will increase the Tema Akosombo pipeline capacity from a current six inches to 12 inches in a bid to improve the efficient delivery of petroleum products.

Meanwhile, the process for the pipelines first commenced in 2009 under the Exim Bank in the U.S after it offered a guaranteed loan of US$79.4 million for the procurement.

The amount was expected to cover the export sale of the pipeline from the American Tank & Vessel Inc. (AT&V) in addition to related local projects undertaken in Ghana. Read Full Story