Prices of petroleum products are to rise significantly after Cabinet’s approval of a 100 per cent increment in the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) Margin.
According to a statement released by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) over the weekend, the BOST Margin has been increased from 3 pesewas to 6 pesewas for a litre of petroleum product.
The increment, however, did not apply to LPG, MGO Local and Premix fuel.
The release signed by Chief Executive of the NPA, Alhassan Tampuli said, ” We write to inform you of a review of the BOST Margin in the Price Build-Up (PBU) of petroleum products effective 1st June, 2020. This is in line with a decision taken by Cabinet and communicated to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) by the Ministry of Energy. “
The BOST Margin has remained at 3 pesewas per litre since 2011.
The government in December 2019, raised the margin to 6 pesewas per litre but the decision was quickly reversed after intense pressure from the public.
Managing Director of BOST, Edwin Provencal, however, raised the issue about the increment again in March when he appealed to the government to move the BOST Margin from three pesewas per litre to nine pesewas.
According to Mr Provencal, the increment would help them maintain the deteriorating facilities at BOST.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah said consumers should brace themselves to pay more for fuel at the pumps.
According to him, it is anticipated that fuel prices will go up by between five and eight per cent.
“Consumers will most likely have to pay more for fuel because world market prices, crude alone have done about 40%. With finished products such as gasoline, gas oil has also seen a sharp jump on the international market. It is quite certain that we will be doing between 5% and 8%,” he said in an interview.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri