Page 14 - DMEA Week 39 2021

DMEA FUELS DMEA

Biden reviewing waiver for

Iranian fuel sales to Afghanistan

MIDDLE EAST THE Biden administration is reportedly review- the global financial system by the “maximum
ing a 2018 sanctions waiver that okays Afghan- pressure” campaign brought in by the former
istan’s purchases of Iranian fuel. The review Trump White House. Howard Shatz, a senior
started following the takeover of the country by economist at the Rand Corporation, told MEE:
the Taliban. “These transactions are not insignificant. If they
A US State Department spokesperson told are cut off, the effect would be felt in Tehran.”
Middle East Eye (MEE) that the waiver policy However, Shatz also noted that even if Wash-
put in place by the former Trump administration ington wanted to enforce sanctions on Iranian
“remains under active review”. A threat to with- fuel sales to the Taliban, it could prove difficult.
draw the waiver could add to the leverage the US “We don’t have a lot of leverage with Iran and
has as it seeks to pressure Tehran to set a date for Afghanistan,” he said.
a resumption of the Vienna talks aimed at find- Shatz was also cited as saying that if the Biden
ing a path to reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. administration decided to end the waiver, one
Afghanistan is heavily reliant on Iranian fuel effect would be to cut off third parties involved
to meet its energy needs. Since the Taliban seized in the purchase or sale of the fuel from the US
power in August, cross-border trade with Iran financial system.
in petroleum products has boomed to roughly “It would likely discourage businesspeople
$5m a day, according to The Wall Street Journal. in the Gulf from facilitating any transactions,”
That makes fuel sales to Afghanistan a sig- he added, observing also that individuals from
nificant source of US dollars for Iran’s economy, countries like China or Russia could step in to
battered as it is by US sanctions and cut off from fill the void.™

Ghana’s BOST dismisses

claims filed by fuel distributors

AFRICA BULK Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), debt load, thereby bringing operational debts
Ghana’s state fuel import concern, has revised down from $624mn to $39mn and domestic
the total amount of compensation payments debts down from GHS248mn ($102.65mn) to
owed to various bulk distribution companies GHS61mn ($10.03mn).
(BDCs) downward by $26mn following an audit BOST has also succeeded in boosting the
of its accounts. performance of its operational assets, he added.
According to Edwin Alfred Provencal, the This is evident in the fact that the company has
CEO of BOST, the company has received about resumed fuel deliveries to neighbouring land-
15 claims for compensation worth $37mn since locked countries such as Niger, Mali and Burkina
early 2017, when President Nana Akufa-Addo Faso, he said. Provencal also stressed, though,
was elected, defeating incumbent John Dram- that BOST still faced significant challenges.
ani Mahama. These claims raised further ques- Many of the company’s key infrastructure facil-
tions about BOST’s viability, as the company was ities – including the Tema-Akosombo and Bui-
already carrying $624mn in operational debts, pe-Bolgatanga fuel pipelines, as well as the barges
$109mn in capital expenditure liabilities and used to transport fuel across Lake Volta from
GHS100.284bn ($16.5mn) in legacy debts as of Akosombo to Buipe – are currently out of opera-
early 2017, he said during a government brief- tion, he reported. As a result, he explained, BOST
ing on September 26. In response to these ques- has no choice but to deliver fuel to downstream
tions, Provencal told reporters, BOST initiated a operators by truck, which is more expensive.
forensic audit to assess the validity of the claims Conditions are expected to improve in
for compensation. This audit indicated that only the near future, he said. He noted that Ghana
$11mn of the $37mn worth of claims submitted had ordered new pipes in 2011 but had never
were truly valid, he said. received them because previous governments
This lower number indicates that BOST is a had failed to complete the payment process.
more viable business than previously believed, he The matter has now been settled, and the
said. He also noted that the company had used its replacement pipes are due to arrive in the coun-
own funds to eliminate more than half its total try in November, he stated.™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 39 30•September•2021