Bloomberg warns of impending fuel shortage
BDCs not getting enough dollars, NPA
Ghana has one month supply of crude oil in storage capacity according to the National Petroleum Authority.
This comes after reports by Bloomberg predicting a looming danger of fuel shortage.
Communications Manager of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Kudus Mohammed, in a JoyNews interview also noted that even though the available stock is not entirely sufficient, it is also not advisable to have more in stock.
“We’re able to guarantee a regular supply of the product out there and that is why when you take your machine to any of the pumps across the country you would actually be guaranteed of the product to be able to buy.”
He also stated that the Planning Department of the NPA, “would not want to have a glut where we would have so much of the product in the system that could also have its implications on pricing.”
“But we have capacities at every given point in time that you don’t have to grant permission to an unnecessary number of vessels that might bring the product that you might be finding it difficult as to where to put them.
“So, I’m saying that there is a certain regular timetable that actually guarantees who brings what at what time and the Planning Department is able to gauge at what time what is the need of the consuming public, what is available across the country and who should be granted the permission,” he explained.
He also blames Ghana’s inability to store enough fuel on happenings on the global market.
“We all know that there are some bottlenecks in regards to the supply of these products. Diesel particularly is becoming a very scarce commodity out there in the market. So, in as much as you would probably have a standard that you’d wish to meet, what is of primary importance is the access to it and the regularity of which is supposed to be available to the consuming public as and when they would want it,” he said.
He also cites the Bank of Ghana’s inability to provide enough dollars for the BDCs to purchase fuel as a reason for the inability to store more fuel in the country.
“I’ve heard a lot of the BDCs for example complaining of access first of all to forex and a competitive rate for that matter because whatever it is they will certainly be passing on if there is any excess, they will be needing to pass to the consumer. They’re not able to get as much of the forex as they desire. The quantity ordinarily they would have wished to bring into the country will certainly suffer.
“And we’ve heard their complaints, for example of how they’re not able to get all of what they need from the Bank of Ghana, equally they’re not able to get what they need from their respective commercial banks and obviously it will affect the quantity that they will be wishing to bring into the country. So, it is a combination, but probably a lot more tilting to the availability of forex,” he said.
SSD/FNOQ
Fuel of fuel pump