The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has provided an update on Ghana’s progress toward achieving fuel sufficiency.
Mr. Dominic Aboagye, Head of Planning at the Authority, stated that systems and interventions to ensure an uninterrupted supply of oil, such as the innovative Gold for Oil Policy, contributed to the nation’s reputation as a fuel supply hub in the sub-region.
Speaking to the media in Ho’s Volta and Oti Regions, the planning head stated that special international oil trading licenses, forex auctions, and the gold-for-oil policy ensured a constant supply, while efforts were made to expand the nation’s oil refining capacity.
He stated that a total of ten shiploads of oil had been delivered to the country under the Gold for Oil program, which was championed by the Vice President to help the sector survive suffocating foreign exchange demand. He also mentioned that the NPA had been facilitating the construction of a new oil refinery that is expected to meet 50 percent of the country’s demand.
Mr. Aboagye stated that the Authority actively supported the revitalization of the troubled Tema Oil Refinery.
“Therefore, we should gradually move toward fuel sufficiency,” he said.
The NPA utilizes a Lycan Allocation Programme to ensure the availability of fuel, which Mr. Aboagye said assisted in monitoring the distribution and consumption trends for on-time delivery.
He added that the success of the programme helped increase the fuel supply to West African nations.
Aboagye stated that the combination of policies and interventions enabled the smooth operation of the downstream petroleum sector in the face of growing supply threats and risks, including geopolitical and climate action policies as well as the threatening forex liquidity risk.
Using the Gold for Oil initiative, various BOG interventions, and “rigorous monitoring” of the Laycan programme, he explained that supply threats were being mitigated.
Edwin Yaw Konu, The Volta Regional Manager of the NPA, stated that the region experienced a rise in fuel smuggling from neighboring Togo, which negatively impacted the industry and, consequently, State revenue.
The danger to vehicles, he said, was a concern, and the NPA was partnering with the police and other security agencies to combat the illicit trade as well as seeking the assistance of the Togolese government.
The media engagement is an annual event that keeps practitioners current on the downstream petroleum sector of the nation.
Throughout the period, it is anticipated that the Authority’s consumer management team will educate the public in the Region about fuel consumption.
