Gas Shortage Hits Accra &Tema

An acute shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has hit the national capital, Accra, Ashaiman and Tema with long queues at filing stations causing consumers a lot of anguish as they frantically roam about in search of the commodity, Today can report.

Today gathered that areas such as Achimota, Tema, Ashaiman, Adenta, Santa-Maria Last Stop, Dzorwulu,

Madina, Dansoman, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, East Legon, Kaneshie and Sege have all ran out of LPG.

This paper also understands that the shortage has affected some parts of the Volta and Eastern regions.

Today’s checks revealed that the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) had a challenge with the facility that produces LPG for onward supply to other parts of the country.

And as a result of that, Today learnt that users of LPG in Accra, Tema, Ashaiman and parts of Eastern and Volta regions who thronged to  various filling stations for gas yesterday, had to go home with empty cylinders, as the product was short in supply.

At various gas filling stations in Tema and Ashaiman including Star Gas Filling Station, Keyses Gas Filling Station, Engel Gas Filling Station, Ashaiman Fitter Line Gas Filling Station, Stop Oil and Trinity Oil, this reporter observed that the signs of “No Gas” had been boldly displayed at the entrances.

For instance, at the Go Gas filling station at Santa-Maria Last Stop in the Ga Central Municipality and the Kawukudi Junction, near the Accra Girls’ Senior High School, the same “NO GAS” sign was boldly displayed to alert customers.

The attendants of the above-mentioned gas filling stations told Today that their outfits ran out of stock on Monday, September 28, 2015, adding that they expect supplies from next week.

Meanwhile the shortage is biting hard on taxi drivers and food vendors who depend on the product for their operations.

Some disappointed taxi drivers in Tema and Ashaiman Messers Kwame Agbesi, Agbenyo Agbavitor and Isaac Asare, whose cars run on LPG, told this reporter in an interview that they used the little gas they had in their car while searching for some to buy in Ashaiman, Tema and Accra.

“We had to drive our cars from Tema to Accra to search for gas but could not get some to buy so we had to park the vehicle and stay at home until we get some,” the drivers noted.

Sellers of fried yam near Achimota and Santa-Maria Last Stop Lorry Parks were not left out of the frustration as they told Today that because of the shortage they had to fall on charcoal so as to stay in business after a fruitless search for gas yesterday.

The situation was not different at the Dzorwulu LPG Station, Shiashie Goil Station and Rootsener Gas Filling Station at Ashaley Botwe which did not have gas at the time ofToday’s visit, with no attendant to speak to.

At the Amoh Gas Limited Station at Achimota-Apenkwa, there was a long queue of gas cylinders waiting to be filled.

Also at the Naadab Gas Station located at Tesano, Trinity Gas at Alajo and two other stations located at Achimota, there was no gas as of 12 noon yesterday.

In the Volta region, consumers from Sogakope through to Abor, Denu, Segbe Junction, Dzodze and Aflao had no gas supplies, according to reports received by Today on Tuesday, September 29, 2015.

But the shortage appeared not to have affected Western, Ashanti, and Central regions which receive gas suppliers from the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant which was officially commissioned this month.

The plant currently supplies 50% of the country’s gas demand.

Source: Today