No immediate hike in fuel prices — NPA

There are no immediate plans to increase the prices of petrol and the other fuel products, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has disclosed. The Chief Executive of the NPA, Mr Moses Asaga, confirmed that there were no plans of increasing fuel prices on July 1, 2014, as had been speculated. “We have been focused on resolving the challenges arising out of last week and also completing our reconciliation with the bulk distribution companies (BDCs) in relation to payments for their under-recoveries and forex exchange losses. It is important that we resolve this to prevent future occurrences,’ he said. News of a possible increase in fuel prices is suspected to have pushed some oil marketing companies (OMCs) to resort to what was suspected to be hoarding of the products. Earlier, officials of the BDCs had also issued warning of a possible shortage because of the government’s inability to pay them for overdue under-recoveries. The shortage of petrol on the market worsened during the weekend but started improving markedly yesterday following the release of about seven million liters of petrol last Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information & Media Relations has assured motorists and the public that enough petrol has been supplied to the various OMCs and is also available at the service stations. According to the ministry, 50 million liters of the product would be pumped into the system, starting today, to end the shortage. On the average, Ghanaians utilise 30 million litres of petrol per week. The statement said the NPA and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum would continue to dispatch products every day. While apologizing to the motoring and the general public for the inconvenience and anxiety created by the shortage, it urged the public to cease panic buying because there was enough stock which was being released onto the market. The statement urged the fuel service stations to prioritize the selling of fuel directly into vehicles, instead of in containers, since some unscrupulous people had been reselling the product to motorists at exorbitant prices. ‘Service station owners must endeavor as much as practicable to serve fuel directly into cars and vehicles and not into jerry cans and gallons,’ it stated.