By Francis Ameyibor
Tema, Dec. 18, GNA – The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) Sunday denied leaked petroleum products through its pipeline at the Atimpoku area, beyond the Adomi Bridge in a village called Maame Water, saying the spillage was a purposeful operation.
“BOST carried out a purposeful operation that involved pressure testing of the line to be sure all the leakages detected earlier had been rectified.
“It is this pressure testing that resulted in the pushout of sludge in the Maame Water area, which was reported in a section of the media as petroleum leakages.
“The sludge is a combination of water, dirt, and fuel residue formed in the pipeline, which was pushed out in the pressure testing,” a statement issued by BOST’s Corporate Communications and External Affairs Department, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said.
“We wish to assure the public that the situation is under control and there are no financial cost implications of the said spillage since same was carried to check the integrity of the repaired pipeline.”
It explained that BOST owned and operated a 71-kilometre Petroleum-Product-Pipeline, stretching from the Accra Plains Depot at Kpone in Tema to the Akosombo Depot at the banks of the Volta Lake in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The statement said the spilled slop was contained within the drains in the area, which happened to be choked.
“There was no spillage into the water bodies around the area including the Volta Lake,” it said.
The spills in the drains have been recovered with the support of the BOST team that has been on site since morning.
The pipeline was decommissioned in 2015 due to vandalism of the line by unknown assailants, resulting in BOST resorting to the use of Bulk Road Vehicles, popularly known as tankers in the haulage of petroleum products from Tema to the Akosombo Depot.
That was for onward transmission using river badges to the Buipe Depot in northern Ghana.
The repair works on the pipeline commenced a year ago and was expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2022.
Due to the impact of the construction of the Railway Line from Tema to Mpakadan in the Volta Region, the line had to be re-routed, which affected the completion time.
“As a further boost, the company commissioned the installation of a leak and intrusion detection system on the line for the safety and security of its operations when it is recommissioned,” the statement said.
“For a proper assessment of the degree of damage at the commencement of the repair works, water was pumped up the line to help with the full detection of all leakages for repairs.”
BOST emphasised that the tanks at the Maame Water Depot had been empty over the last couple of years and the Company had not pumped products up the pipeline since the repair works were yet to be fully completed for a hand-over and recommissioning.
The exposed content of the line, due to the testing, had been foamed by the BOST Team with support from the Ghana National Fire Service and works were underway to ensure a clean-up of the area of the spillage, it said.
“We are satisfied with the level of work done and look forward to mending this single section of the 71-kilometre pipeline as we get ready to recommission it for utilisation by the first quarter of the year 2023.”
GNA