Ghana can’t be rich selling crude oil – Otabil

Dr. Mensa Otabil

Motivational Speaker, Dr. Mensa Otabil, says Ghana cannot be rich selling crude oil without adding value to it.

The International Central Gospel Church International (ICGC) General Overseer told his congregation in Church on Sunday, in a sermon that, Ghana could gain more by processing her crude oil and gaining benefits from other derivative products from the raw oil.

He said: “…Crude oil has some value, but its greatest value comes out when it is processed and refined”.

“By some accounts there are about some 6000 different products that can be made from crude oil. So when you sell crude oil, potentially you’re selling 6,000 undeveloped products. That’s just some information I throw in there for Ghana,” he said.

Some of the major products derived from refined crude include fuel oils, asphalt, diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), lubricating oils, paraffin wax, tars, petrochemicals among a raft of over 6,000 other petroleum by-products.

Pastor Otabil said: “So if you sell a barrel, you’ve just sold 6,000 potential products undeveloped and somebody takes it and develops 6,000 products and sells it back to you”.

“You can’t be rich that way,” he noted.

The West African country of 25 million people consumes about 1,800,000 tonnes of refined petroleum products yearly.

Its only refinery, Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), which has a 45,000 barrels per day output, processes close to 10,000 tonnes of crude daily, but has been dormant due to technical and financial challenges.

The installation also must be retrofitted with an estimated investment of about $1 billion to make TOR able to refine the high grade ‘sweet light’ oil produced in the jubilee oil fields. TOR was initially designed to refine low grade crude. It has an output capacity of about 6,000 metric tonnes per day.

Ghana currently produces about 100,000 barrels of crude a day. Daily oil production hit 115,000 barrels per day in June 2013, significantly higher than the projected average for that year.

Total oil revenue of GH¢1.15 billion also far exceeded the projected target by GH¢362.3 million.

The country began commercial production of oil in 2010. It could soon have a second refinery. New Alpha Refinery-Ghana, a South African-based company with a subsidiary in Ghana has started feasibility studies to establish a tank farm and second refinery in Ghana.

The 200,000 barrels per day refinery will be located in the Western Region, in addition to the establishment of a power-generation plant using gas turbines.

Source: RadioXZY 

Thanksgiving service for Komla Dumor held

Komla Dumor

 

 

A thanksgiving service to climax the three day funeral service of the late Komla Afeke Dumor has ended at Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra.
The service which brought together family and friends of the late Joy FM and BBC broadcaster was one of joy than sorrow.
Using Komla’s life as an example, the Presiding Minister for the service, Revered Father Wisdom Larwe asked Christians to strive to attain perfection as Christ.
Komla Dumor, a former Ghana Journalist of the Year, died of cardiac arrest on Saturday, January 18, 2014 at age 41 in London. He left behind a wife and three children.
He was a youth chief in his home town of Aflao in the Ketu South District of the Volta region. His chieftaincy title was Torgbui Tenuvi I.
Komla Dumor was described by many as a man of peace who had the interest of his people at heart.

Source: Ghana|Myjoyonline.com 

Komla Dumor was the standard-bearer in journalism -Sam Okudzeto

Legal luminary, Sam Okudzeto has urged young journalists to emulate the exemplary life of the late Komla Afeke Dumor, presenter of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) flagship programme, Focus on Africa.
He said Komla, by virtue of his achievements at the BBC, had become the standard-bearer in journalism, adding that “he had set a very high standard and young Ghanaian journalists must emulate his example”.
Mr Okudzeto gave the advice after the funeral of the late Komla at the forecourt of the State House in Accra.
He said Komla went about his work professionally with all humility and commitment without insulting anyone, saying; “likewise you can do your work as a journalist without insulting anyone”.
The legal luminary noted that Komla’s exemplary talents, humility and achievements were something that young people in Africa should aim at adding “we all need to be humble”.
 Mr Okudzeto said as Ghanaians we were proud to have one of our own excel to such a great height.
  Komla Dumor died on January 18, in London. He was 41years and survived by a wife and three children.

Source: GNA