Bulk Oil Distributors Warn Against Fuel Monopoly

Dr. Patrick Kwaku Ofori, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), cautioned government against allowing Ghana's downstream petroleum sector to evolve into a monopolistic market in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show. He warned that such a development could leave the country vulnerable to supply disruptions and price manipulation. Dr. Ofori noted, "If we are able to operationalise the full capacity, we are looking at about 50 per cent of our domestic fuel consumption being produced locally."

He stressed that increasing local refining alone should not come at the expense of supply diversity. Dr. Ofori cited recent developments involving the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, where changes in payment arrangements reportedly altered market dynamics when the refinery announced it would only accept US dollar payments instead of the Nigerian naira. He argued that Ghana must preserve a competitive market structure that guarantees multiple supply sources, even as government pushes to revive the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and expand domestic refining capacity alongside Sentuo Oil Refinery.