Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid (seated 3rd right) and other participants
GHANA’S DEMAND for petroleum products has increased significantly from an average of 7 to 41 percent in 2021, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has said.
The unprecedented surge in consumption is as result of various technological based schemes and interventions being implemented by the downstream regulator to curb illicit fuel activities over the past few months.
Speaking at the official opening of the 5th Edition of the Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhIPCon) in Accra on Wednesday, Dr. Abdul-Hamid said the sector currently has annual sales value of GHC32.94 billion representing a contribution of 7.2 percent to Ghana’s Domestic Gross Product (GDP).
“Africa’s petroleum downstream sector is entering a new era. As the world looks to accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels, the pressures on our industries are mounting,” he said.
“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% of the country’s GDP.”
“This represents a 41% 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% and 7%,” the NPA boss added.
He emphasised that Ghana is 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.”
“As previously mentioned, Ghana is one of the few African countries that consumes low sulphur fuels, with a roadmap for local refineries to comply,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Energy Minister, a Deputy Minister of Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo, said “Ghana remains committed to both an energy transition agenda and the development of its petroleum industry, including downstream sector.”
He further charged players in the West Africa Sub region to improve refinery capacity to produce high-quality fuels to reduce Green House Gas emissions.
The 3-day conference is on the theme “Energy Transition in the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the Way Forward”.