The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has debunked down claims fuel shortage is imminent in Ghana.
According to the Institute for Energy Security (IES), there is an impending shortage of petroleum products in the coming weeks. This is due to the shutdown of the Tema Oil Refinery and the congestion at the ports which has compelled many oil companies to postpone their imports.
A statement released on Tuesday, February 14 by Richmond Rockson, Principal Research Analyst at the Petroleum Unit of IES said: “Ghana’s fuel supplies are expected to face serious disruptions due to the unanticipated shut-down of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and port congestion facing the oil companies, which is compelling them to postpone their import and export programmes amid acute discharge and loading constraints.”
However, the NPA in a statement said Ghana has “sufficient supply of fuel to meet domestic demand contrary to some speculations.”
“The NPA wishes to assure all motorists and consumers that there is no imminent shortage of fuel in the country,” the Public Relations Outfit of the NPA said in a statement.
Below is the full statement:
NO FUEL SHORTAGE
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) wishes to assure the general public that there is sufficient supply of fuel in the country to meet domestic demand contrary to some speculations in sections of the media.
The current stock position in the country indicates there is over 200 million litres of gasoil and more than 100 million litres of petrol at various depots throughout the country.
These stocks are expected to last up to 6weeks. Additionally, over 73 million litres of gasoil and 46 million litres of petrol are expected to be delivered into the country from the 13th to 18th February 2017.
The NPA continuously monitors the weekly schedule of fuel imports to ensure that there is constant supply of fuel for the country.
The Authority wishes to assure the general public that there are no challenges at the discharging terminals at the country’s ports and ensures that there is fairness in the process leading up to the discharge of cargoes of all importers.
We therefore encourage the media and the general public to disregard any projections being put out in the public domain as merely speculative without any empirical basis. We further encourage all such interested organizations to crosscheck their information with the NPA before making public statements about this matter.
The NPA wishes to assure all motorists and consumers that there is no imminent shortage of fuel in the country.
SIGNED
Yaro Kasambata
Manager, Public Relations & Consumer Service
National Petroleum Authority