The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has cautioned that fuel prices at the pumps could rise again this week, attributing the anticipated increase to sustained gains in global crude oil and refined petroleum product prices.
Executive Director of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, said the recent adjustment in local fuel prices reflects prevailing conditions on the international petroleum market, stressing that Ghana cannot insulate itself from global price movements.
“You cannot get it any cheaper at this time anywhere. Even in the United States, fuel prices that had declined have gone back up. What you’re seeing here is a stark reflection of the kind of prices you are seeing globally,” Mr Amoah said.
According to him, data available to COPEC indicate that international benchmark prices for petroleum products continue to trend upwards, making another increase in domestic pump prices likely during the current pricing window.
“The prices are fair based on the numbers we have in-house. These are not prices coming from people’s imaginations. Platts prices, where petrol, diesel and ATK are traded globally, have really gone up, and I will not be surprised if that goes up again in the course of this week,” he stated.
Mr Amoah also said the resumption of operations at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has not shielded Ghana from international market volatility because the refinery acquires crude oil under commercial pricing arrangements.
He explained that discussions with TOR indicated that crude oil supplied to the refinery is purchased at prevailing international market rates rather than under a preferential pricing mechanism.
“We wanted to understand whether government was supplying crude under a strategy such as Brent-minus or WTI-minus pricing. But it appears the crude supplied to TOR was strictly commercial, meaning the refinery has to pay whatever price has been locked in on the international market,” he explained.
Mr Amoah noted that because crude oil purchases are denominated in US dollars, both fluctuations in global oil prices and movements in the exchange rate continue to influence the cost of petroleum products in Ghana.
He therefore called on the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Ministry of Energy to review the country’s crude supply arrangements and explore options for leveraging locally produced crude oil to help cushion consumers against persistent fuel price increases.
