Ghana did not breach any law in receiving crude oil for a Ukrainian-owned oil refinery in Tema, a source pointed to an opinion by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
Asaase News can confirm that the receipt of that crude oil, which has since been discharged for processing at the Platon refinery in Tema, breaches no law that can attract sanctions for the country.
It would be recalled that on 21 February 2023, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) received a request from Platon Gas Oil Refinery to discharge about 80,000MT (equivalent to 600,000 barrels) of crude oil through the Tema port, to be stored in TOR’s storage tanks on behalf of Platon Gas Oil, the owners of the crude for their refinery.
Asaase News’s checks indicate that Platon is a Ukrainian-owned small oil refinery based in Tema.
Even before the vessel berthed at the Tema harbour on 24 February, news broke in the international media, notably Bloomberg, alleging that a vessel MT Theseus carrying crude oil from Russia was to be stored in tanks in Ghana.
Checks also showed that the stated origin of the crude oil is Aktau, Kazakhstan, with the shipper of the cargo being a company operating from Hong Kong.
It has also been revealed that Ghana would not have breached any EU law, notably the 6th and 8th EU sanctions, in receiving the said crude oil.
The 6th package of EU sanctions, which took effect on crude oil contracts after 5 December 2022, applies to EU Member States and EU-registered vessels which carry crude oil originating from Russia to third countries, like Ghana, and it applies only to EU countries selling Russian oil to third party countries.
The related 8th package of EU sanctions puts a cap on the prices applicable to seaborne crude oil originating from Russia.
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