The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs, according to Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, have developed criteria for the distribution of the next shipment of petroleum products imported under the Gold for Oil (G4O) program.
He says that this is to make sure that the G4O program has an effect on customers all over the country.
This was said as he addressed the AOMCs’ concerns regarding the lack of clarity regarding the allocation of program-supplied products.
The criteria take into account the top 25 OMCs that distributed gasoline and diesel across the country in 2022 and had at least 45 retail locations.
He promoted the execution of the G4O saying it has marginally brought down costs of oil based goods and diminished forex risk.
The NPA Boss stated that the country had received three cargoes thus far, including 41,000 metric tonnes (MT) of diesel in January and another 40,000 MT of diesel and 35,000 MT of petrol that had just arrived and were being discharged at the meet-the-press in Accra on Wednesday.
“Better results are expected as more G4O cargoes arrive,” he emphasized.
The NPA participated in the Ministry of Information’s meet-the-press event, which focused on developments in the downstream petroleum industry and had the following theme: Oil in the Downstream: Prospect and Reflection.”
“The average monthly cost of importing petroleum products ranged from $350 million to $400 million in the context of the situation that existed prior to the implementation of the G4O program.” He revealed
He stated that 20% of the nation’s demand was for petroleum downstream dollar.
The NPA Manager noticed that the Bank of Ghana (Lowland) started a unique conversion scale closeout program for the petrol downstream in April 2022, and showed that the extraordinary sale program couldn’t meet 100% of forex request in the country.
He explained that the gold payment was proposed as a solution to the pressure that petroleum downstream put on the cedi. “Inadequacy of BoG supply pushes BIDECs to speculate forex rates arbitrarily based on proposed rates from commercial banks,” he said.
According to Dr. Abdul-Hamid, the NPA regulates G40 product prices (Ex-ref and Ex-pump prices) in the interim.
He stated that the Authority had increased its price monitoring efforts and implemented penalties for service providers who defaulted.
The NPA Boss mentioned the supply of low-sulfur fuels (cleaner fuels), a maximum of 50ppm for imports, and a maximum of 1500ppm for domestic production when discussing measures taken to guarantee product integrity and quality.
Additionally, the NPA collaborates with security agencies to prevent illegal imports, exports, and product dumping, as well as conducts fuel marker monitoring and quality monitoring of fuel standards (Quality Control), which includes checking for water in fuel.
“The Authority made use of technology such as the Automatic Tank Gauge system, the National Fuel Monitoring System (NFMS), and the Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) to guarantee that petroleum products would be delivered as planned throughout the petroleum downstream value chain. “He added.
He listed the actions taken to maintain order in the downstream petroleum industry as the revocation of licenses, publication of the names of defaulting Petroleum Service Providers (PSPs), and allocation and monitoring to ensure adequate supply.
