Ghana’s demand for petroleum products has increased significantly from an average of 7 to 41% in 2021, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has said.

The implementation of interventions and the extraordinary surge in consumption is a result of various technological-based schemes by the downstream regulator to curb illicit fuel activities over the past few months.

Dr. Abdul-Hamid says the sector currently has an annual sales value of ¢32.94 billion representing a contribution of 7.2% to Ghana’s Domestic Product (GDP). He said this at the official opening of the 5th Edition of the Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhIPCon), in Accra.

“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 ¢32.94 billion, according to 2021 estimate, contributes 7.2% to the country’s GDP.”

“This represents a 41% increase in demand for fossil fuels as compared to 2020. This was an unprecedented surge in consumption of fossil fuels when the annual average over the years had been between 5% and 7%,” the NPA Chief Executive added.

He emphasized that Ghana is committed to reducing the emissions from the 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 in the reduction of sulfur 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 consume low Sulphur fuels, with a roadmap for local refineries to comply,” he said.

Dr. Mustapha Hamid further charged participants at this year’s conference to deliberate on the key issues with a focus to devise strategies for deployment.

Speaking on behalf of the Energy Minister, a Deputy Minister of Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo, said Ghana remains committed to an energy transition plan and the development of the petroleum industry.

“Ghana remains committed to both an energy transition agenda and the development of its petroleum industry, including the downstream sector. We believe that the way forward is to strike an important and fair balance between the two without compromising our determination to maximize the benefits we need for our industrialization,” he said.

“I am convinced beyond measures that the conference will provide significant outcomes to guide us on the way forward, and I look forward to furthering engagements in this direction,” he added.

 He also demanded 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”.

The conference is being organized by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in collaboration with the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy and the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD).

It has attracted major players including CEOs, experts and decision-makers in the petroleum sector across the West Africa Sub Region.