Dr Mustapha Abdul Hamid, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National Petroleum Authority (NPA), says the Authority retrieved 889,650 litres of petroleum products from diversion and smuggling gangs in 2023.
That, he said, nearly occurred due to violations of the regulatory framework by several Petroleum Service Providers (PSPs), who diverted loaded products from depots.
“Such supplies of petroleum products to unlicensed PSPs have fueled adulteration and contamination of petroleum product.” Dr Hamid disclosed this at the opening of the 6th Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GHIPCON), in Accra, on Wednesday.
Held on the theme: “The Petroleum Downstream: Building a Future for Growth, Efficiency, and Sustainability,” the two-day conference brought together local, regional and international petroleum downstream experts, leaders, and innovators.
The key objective was to discuss the regulatory frameworks and other related issues in Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.
It was organised by the NPA in collaboration with the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC), and the Ministry of Energy.
He said the PSPs and other individuals usually falsified documents to cover the consignments, adding that such practices and misrepresentations led to wrongful claims on the UPPF fund and distorted national consumption statistics.
Dr Hamid also noted that some 322,729 litres of smuggled petroleum products, notably AGO and crude, were confiscated from 12 specialised canoes popularly known as “dende” along the shores of Sekondi-Takoradi, Prampram and Tema.
“The arrested seacrafts had on board fictitious documentation in respect of the source of the product. The arrests were effected by the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) and Ghana Navy, and I must commend these two institutions for their collaborative efforts in protecting the public from the activities of these criminal elements,” he added.
Despite these challenges, Dr Hamid said the country’s downstream petroleum sector had evolved into a vibrant and dynamic industry with increased private sector participation, adding that it had become a key contributor to the growth and development of the economy.
“We estimate that the sector’s monetary value stands at over GHC 71 billion, representing about 8.4 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2023, representing about 8.4 per cent of the country’s 2023 GDP,” he said, adding that over the past seven years the industry returned an average annual value of over GHS35 billion.
Additionally, he said, the annual growth in consumption of petroleum products increased by 6.4 per cent in 2023 to 4.49million Mt, having recorded a decrease of 9.0 per cent in 2022.
“Consumption is projected to further recover in 2024 from the peak of 4.64million Mt recorded in 2021.” Dr Hamid indicated.
He also noted that as a result of improvements in the performance of the economy driven by deliberate Government policy initiatives, which were aimed at expanding the productive sectors of the economy, neighbouring countries, including Mali, Niger, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso, were importing petroleum products from the country’s petroleum downstream industry.
“The volumes of petroleum products re-exported and transited to these neighbouring countries totaled 385,154,100 litres in 2023. The increase in volumes of the exports is a testament of significant successes in the NPA’s efforts towards curbing illicit fuel activities in the country.
“I am glad to announce that Senegal and Gambia have also begun importation of petroleum products from Ghana,” the NPA boss said.
Dr Hamid expressed NPA’s commitment to formulating and implementing innovative strategies and policies that would ensure that the industry remained efficient and profitable while providing value for money for consumers.
Dr. Riverson Oppong, CEO of the AOMC, said this year’s conference embodied the power of collaboration, innovation, and change, and his outfit was proud to be part of this collective effort to shape the future of Ghana’s downstream sector.
He said the downstream sector was marked by rapid technological advancement, energy transition, energy transformation, and sustainability.
Therefore, his outfit will embrace innovation and best practices, which are paramount to the development of the downstream sector.
Dr. Patrick Kwaku Ofori, CEO of the CBOD, urged stakeholders and international partners to leverage the conference and establish partnerships to unlock new investment opportunities.
GNA