GHANA – The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has revealed that it is seeking a capital injection of 150 million US dollars to revamp its operations.

The company revealed that about half of the funds would be used to upgrade and rehabilitate the company’s infrastructure and the other half would be deployed as working capital.

Managing Director of BOST, Mr Edwin Nii Obadai Provencal, whiles speaking during an interview with to the Ghana News Agency said that the new funding would help the company to become economically viable and begin paying dividend to government within the next two to three years.

Mr Provencal explained the needed funds could be sourced from an increase in the BOST Margin in the petroleum product Price Build-up, Government support; or funding from Investors.

He noted that should the option of BOST margin be implemented, it would result in the immediate increase in the prices of fuel but would in the medium-to-long term, be of great benefit to consumers as BOST’s effectiveness would reduce the price at the pumps.

He further noted that the capital injection would enable the company to move from its current state of a loss making and low capitalization entity to a profit making and dividend paying company.

Mr Provencal said the capital injection would also help the management to refrain from underutilizing the company’s assets.

The funds according to Provencal would also enable BOST use resources fully to operationalise the dormant barges of the company, which transport oil from Akosombo to Buipe and other resources lying idle.

He said the company’s new strategy is focused on improving the operational efficiency of the company by moving from the use of outdated manual systems to a full automation system.

BOST plan to improve on its core mandate could only be limited by the non-availability of the funds to support the ideas, as the staff within company had thrown their weight behind new strategies, the company’s MD said.

“If the regulator does not regulate well and allows cross zonalization, then, our dreams may be delayed,” he said, adding that, the vision to transform BOST would not be materialized if we don’t do effective stakeholder management.

The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Ltd (BOST) was incorporated in 1993 as a private Limited Liability Company with the Government of Ghana as the sole shareholder.

BOST has the mandate to develop a network of storage tanks, pipelines and other bulk transportation infrastructure throughout the country and to keep Strategic Reserve Stocks for Ghana.

The company also has an additional mandate as the Natural Gas Transmission Utility (NGTU) to develop the Natural Gas infrastructure throughout the country