SATION CLOSED DOWN FOR SELLING PREMIX (BACK PAGE, MARCH 5, 2010)

THE Abeka Shell Filling Station in Accra has been closed down temporarily for allegedly selling premix fuel to motorists.
The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) closed down the station after investigations of the fuel showed that the colour of the petrol was dark blue, the colour of premix fuel, as compared to the wine colour of original petrol.
The acting Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Mr Alex Mould, said the BNI, which had received a complaint about the purported sale of premix fuel from a motorist, also informed the NPA about the issue last Wednesday.
According to the BNI, the motorist purchased the fuel on Wednesday night and realised that his motorcycle refused to move. After pouring the fuel out, he realised the colour was dark blue.
Mr Mould said the authority had the mandate to test the quality and the quantity of fuel served to customers.
On measuring the petrol with the GSB 10-litre can, the NPA found that not only was the station delivering adulterated petrol but it was also under-delivering. The deficit of under-delivery was 320-720 millilitres, which is equal to half a litre.
Mr Mould said every filling station needed to have the 10-litre can subscribed by the GSB to avoid over and under-delivery.
He said the NPA suspected a deliberate attempt on the part of the Shell Filling Station to sell adulterated fuel to the public, adding that the station might be buying the product from a third party.
He said the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) could not mistakenly deliver adulterated fuel to oil companies, since purchasing was done by the mother companies and delivered to their branches across the country.
He said the GSB would carry out the necessary tests on the fuel and if it proved to be premix, legal action would be taken against the station.
The acting Chief Inspector of the NPA, Nana Anyensah, who supervised the closure, said it was a violation for any oil company to purchase fuel from a third party.
He said the station refused to give out its invoice to the NPA, which was another offence on its part, adding that the necessary action would be taken against the station after investigations had been conducted.
Samples of the fuel were taken by the GSB, which said the testing would take about six hours, after which reports would be taken to the NPA for further investigations.
In a related development, the Total and Fraga Oil Filling stations at Abeka have also been closed down due to faulty pumps and under-delivery.
Nana Anyensah advised filling station operators to check their pumps regularly and report any problem with the pumps to the GSB.
He said the NPA carried out random inspection of the various filling stations to keep them in check and said it relied on information given to it by the public.