Alex Mould – CEO of National Petroleum Authority
Ghanaian authorities are talking to their Beninois counterparts over the possibility of securing a barge that would deliver Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) at the point of delivery directly onto supply vehicles.
The option has been necessitated by the inadequacy of storage facilities at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and the attendant shortage of the energy source on the Ghanaian market.
Although negotiations between the two parties are ongoing CITY &BUSINESS GUIDE can confirm that in the next three to six months there could be headway in that direction.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Alex Mould, in an interview with this paper, noted that Ghanaians do not understand the challenges impeding the supply of the energy source to the local market.
This is a challenge fueled by the dearth of investment in the sector, a shortcoming which has impacted negatively on the supply situation too. The subsidy policy as it stands is a bit unclear and until there is a reversal of the situation, investors would continue to shy away from putting their money into that sector, he indicated.
The Beninois barge option, according to Mr Mould, is a short term solution and by no means an intervention that could offer a long-term succor to the anomalous situation.
The delivery of LPG faces stiff competition from other petroleum products at the jetty, CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE gathered.
Ghana’s main supplier of LPG is Equatorial Guinea, the NPA CEO said, adding that the regularity of supply is dependent upon certain factors some of which as aforementioned is the capacity of facilities at the reception point and the diameter of the pipeline.
The prevalent situation where demand of LPG is vehicle driven is worrying, he noted, as he took a look at the government subsidy of the commodity.
Many commercial vehicles, taxis specifically have resorted to the use of LPG, a situation domestic users have often complained about wishing that something could be done to reverse the trend.
The three Northern Regions, Mr. Mould said, currently attract just three per cent of the total LPG supply and if the idea of subsidy on LPG is to conserve the nation’s forest perhaps another look has to be taken at the subsidy regime, he noted.
The aforementioned part of the country provide most of the charcoal used in the country and if the LPG supply there is this low then there is a problem, a petroleum industry watcher observed.
Mr. Mould stated that providing such target areas with matching stoves would assist in the realization of the goal of providing subsidy for LPG.
Many Ghanaians are unable to tell the cost of LPG because of the relatively low price of the commodity, he said adding that firewood remains the largest source of energy in the country.
The six main metropolises in the country consume 65 per cent of LPG supply, according the NPA Chief.
This suggests that those parts of the country where deforestation is rife are not benefitting from the subsidy on the commodity.
It has been noted that there has never been any serious follow-up to determine the success or otherwise of the subsidy regime on LPG in the country.
Petroleum economists have charged government to take a bold decision as to what to do with the issue of subsidy and arrest deforestation given the fact that firewood remains the largest supply of energy in the country’s rural areas.
By A.R. Gomda