The demand for petroleum products in country increased from an average of seven in 2019 to 41 per cent in 2021, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has said.
According to him, the surge in consumption was as a result of various technological-based schemes and interventions being implemented by the Authority to curb illicit fuel activities over the past few months.
Speaking at the official opening of the fifth edition of the Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhIPCon) in Accra yesterday, he said, the sector currently was recording annual sales value of GHC 32.94 billion representing 7.2 percent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
It was held on the theme “Energy Transition in the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the Way Forward.”
The conference is being organised by the NPA in collaboration with the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy and the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD).
It brought together major players including Chief Executive Officers of the various agencies, experts and decision makers in the petroleum sector across the West African Sub Region.
“We are all exposed to the global energy transition, as our countries depend on oil and gas revenues. Ghana’s petroleum downstream industry which has an annual sales value of about GHS32.94 billion according to 2021 estimates contributes 7.2 per cent of the country’s GDP.”
“This represents a 41 per cent increase in demand for fossil fuels as compared to 2020. This is an unprecedented surge in consumption of fossil fuels when the annual average over the years had been between 5 per cent and 7 per cent,” Dr Abdul-Hamid added.
He said, Ghana was committed to reducing the emissions from consumption of energy products.
“We at the National Petroleum Authority are committed to reducing the emissions from the energy products we consume in Ghana, and this culminated to the reduction of sulphur content in transport and industrial fuels from a maximum of 5000ppm to a maximum of 50ppm.
Ghana is one of the few African countries that consume low Sulphur fuels, with a roadmap for local refineries to comply,” the Chief Executive stated.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Energy, a Deputy Minister of Energy, William OwurakuAidoo, said Ghana remained committed to an energy transition agenda and the development of the petroleum industry.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
