On behalf of the Mr Boakye Agyarko, Ministry of Energy; Dr. Mohammed Amin Adams, Deputy Minister for Energy designated commended the management team of GOIL headed by Mr Patrick Akpe Kwame Akorli, for the tenacity and the financial capacity to construct the huge facility.

“Government acknowledges that GOIL has made tremendous progress...we applaud the Management Team and the Board of Directors,” in the same vein, government will continue to encourage other local companies to follow the success story of GOIL.

He said the Government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was ready to support indigenous companies to deliver; stressing that the GOIL MGS facility signified a great leap forward for players in the petroleum sector.

Dr Amin Adams who was speaking at the commission of the 13.5 million liter facility at the Takoradi Port on Wednesday described the GOIL MGS as a major contributory step towards Government’s aim of making Ghana a petroleum hub in West Africa.

The GOIL 13.5 million litre capacity MGS, which was constructed through the company’s internally generated funds within 18 months would improve the bunkering industry in the country. It started in September 2015 and was commissioned on April 5, 2017.

The GOIL MGS tank farm, the largest in the country consists of storage and dispatch of marine gas oil to upstream vessels, ships and FPSOs; had a motorised valves and automatic control systems for dispatching products to the vessels, three pumps to provide product at a flow rate of 250 cubic metres an hour, with additional extra lines to meet customer needs.

It also has a separator system to ensure any affluent from the tank farm with properly treated and fire-fighting system with foam and water.Nana Kobina Nketsiah, V Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area joined the government to commend the GOIL achievement and feat by Mr Akorli, the GOIL Group Chief Executive Officer said “the feat chalked by GOIL demonstrated how determination and can do spirit propel an individual or country into development…GOIL should continue to fly the flag of Ghana even higher.

“This is a demonstration of the need to patronise made in Ghana goods and services and affirmation in Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s declaration that the black man is capable of managing his own affairs”. Mr Akorli who is also the GOIL Managing Director attributed the achievement to prudent management and total support from the Board of Directors and Staff of the company as well as team of high level technicians of the company.

The GOIL Group CEO said the company is gradually taking hold of the bitumen sector, which is used for the construction of roads in the country. “A lot of the bitumen we use here are imported, all the roads that we are asphalting now we have to import the bitumen and some hold monopoly over and so we think as the largest oil marketing company in Ghana, we need a full hold there so we are working at things,” he said.

He added that the bitumen plant was expected to go a long way to reduce the cost of road construction in the country as we as create jobs. Mr. Akorli said some few years ago, GOIL was at the number three spot of oil marketing companies in the country but through pragmatic and strategic initiatives, GOIL is now blazing the trail ahead of all the multinationals.

Professor William Asomaning, Board Chairman of GOIL said the MGS project would position GOIL as an important player in bunkering business, redirect significant volume of business activity in the sector to the Takoradi Port and help the GOIL to recoup investment and increase revenue of the port as well.

He said GOIL already had a strategic collaborative agreement with Ghana Navy for the use of berthing facilities at Sekondi Naval Base for GOIL’s bunkering operations.He said the Sekondi Naval Base facility enabled GOIL to provide marine gas oil timeously to its clients, particularly to the supply vessels contracted by the Exploration and Production companies working in the Cape Three Points area of the Western Region.

He said, “since 2004 we have acquired major stake holdings in the Ghana Bunkering Services, and acquired extensive experience in the bunkering market and has assumed a premier bunkering operation with a global footprint”.

He said GOIL would continue to provide quality petroleum and other energy products and services in all its branches in an ethical, healthy, safe, environmentally friendly and socially responsible manner.