PRESS RELEASE :  Full implementation of the Gold for Oil Programme

1. The implementation of the government's Gold for Oil (G4O) programme commenced with the arrival of the first consign­ment of about 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel on January 15, 2023, valued at about US$40 million.

2. The prime objective of the programme is to use additional foreign exchange resources from the Bank of Ghana's Domestic Gold Purchase(DGP) programme to provide foreign currency for the importation of petroleum products for the country which currently stands at about US$350 million per month.

3. Payment for oil supply is to be done in two channels: by way of barter trade where gold is exchanged for oil or via broker channel where the gold is converted into cash and paid to the supplier.

4. The first consignment of 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel constitutes about 10 percent of the country’s combined monthly demand for petrol and diesel.

5. The plan is to gradually increase imports under G4O to constitute about 50 percent of the country's total demand of petrol and diesel by March 2023.

6. The implementation of the G4O will ease pressure on the dollar (the currency used for the importation of petroleum products) and avoid the occasional increases in petroleum prices resulting from the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.

7. The programme will ensure that the cost of importing the products from international oil traders to be comparatively cheaper.

8. The consequent reduction in foreign exchange pressures and premiums charged by international oil traders as well as efficiency gains from the value chain will lead to lower ex-pump prices in the country.

9. To ensure that the price of petroleum products imported under the G4O programme reflects at the pumps to benefit the consumer, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) will regulate the prices of the products in the interim until the volumes increase significantly.

10. NPA will work with Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) to negotiate prices with the international oil traders to ensure that the landed cost of products procured under the programme are always competitive.

11. The price at which BOST will sell the products to Bulk Import, Distribution, and Export Companies (BIDECs) will be approved by the NPA. The price at which the BIDECs will sell the products to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) will also be approved by the NPA.

12. The applicable exchange rate for pricing the products supplied under G4O will be based on the average rate at which the gold was purchased from the licensed gold exporters by BoG. The BoG ordinarily purchases the gold aggregated by the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC)

14. The NPA will put measures in place to ensure that OMCs that lift products supplied under the G4O programme pass the price on to consumers accordingly. In this respect, BIDECs and OMCs who lift and supply G4O products will sell at the ex-refinery and ex-pump prices that will be determined by the NPA. If there must be a comingling of products supplied under G4O and other sources, the ex-refinery and ex-pump prices will be computed using a weighted average.

14. All BIDECs and OMCs who wish to purchase products under the G4O programme will be required to sign off an undertaking confirming their willingness to comply with the terms and conditions for partaking in the purchase and sale of G4O products.

Signed

Corporate Affairs Directorate

Sunday, 5^th February 2023

GHANA TO HOST LARGEST INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CONFERENCE

West Africa industry leaders, experts, and decision makers in the petroleum downstream industry are gearing up for what is anticipated to be the largest Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhipCon) yet as organizers reveal another milestone for the West Africa’s most influential oil and gas event.

The conference which is been organized by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in collaboration with the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) and under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy and the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), will take place at the plush Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra from the 28th -30th September 2022.

Ghana’s Vice President Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia is expected to deliver a keynote address at this year’s conference dubbed; “Energy Transition in the African Petroleum Downstream Context: Prospects, Challenges and the Way Forward”.

The conference is designed to actively bring to the fore, the downstream petroleum industry’s perspective and guidance on issues of Energy Transition and how government policy and regulatory framework could drive the Transition process.

It also highlights best practices for the advancement of the industry, not only in Ghana but across the West African sub region and beyond.

For the first time, the conference will have a regulator's workshop on the third of this conference. The workshop is expected to share best practices amongst ECOWAS regulators in  Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire and Togo and other key stakeholders on progress made thus far on adoption of the mandated AFRI-5 (50-ppm Sulphur) Fuel Specifications and promote collaboration on the implementation going forward.

Panelists would discuss issues of governmental and regulatory policy, and best practices for the advancement of the industry.

NPA shuts down Atimpoku Shell filling station for selling Petrol Laced with water

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has shut down the operations of the Shell Filling station at Adomi Bridge (Atimpoku) in the Eastern Region for selling water–laced petroleum product to unsuspecting customers.

Following a widely circulated video on social media and subsequent complaint made to the Authority on 29th August, 2022 about a suspected contaminated fuel purchased at the aforementioned retail outlet, a team from the Eastern Regional office of NPA was immediately dispatched to ascertain the veracity of the report.

The team immediately undertook a water content presence test and a dip into the well of the outlet indicated the presence of water.

Management of Vivo Energy in a letter addressed to the Authority posited there was water ingress into the underground Super tank after a heavy downpour in the area which was corroborated by the investigative team sent by the Authority.

However, a sample has been sent to the head office laboratory for further investigations with other segments going for forensic audit at the Ghana Standards Authority. The station will only be allowed to resume operations after all remedial actions have been taken and confirmed by the NPA.

We wish to assure all impacted customers whilst investigations are still ongoing that, the NPA’s remedial action would be for the station to fix the affected vehicles and compensate the customers.

While we applaud the gesture of the customer who filmed the incident and shared on social media, we will encourage consumers of petroleum products to immediately call the NPA hotlines 0545006111/0545006112 or file the complaint on the NPA website; www.npa.gov.gh immediately a suspected adulterated product has been purchased.

The customer should report within 48hours: any delay after 48 hours risks the loss of evidence. The petroleum product in question could have been sold out or co-mingled with fresh like product.

NPA donates to Chief Imam towards Eid Al-Fitr

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has presented food items to the National Chief Iman, Dr. Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu towards the celebration of the Eid Fitr or the end of Ramadan.

The items include bags of rice, cartoons of lele tuna chunks, cartons of sunflower oil, cartons of ideal milk, cartoons of brown sugar, cartoons of supper tea, cartons of assorted drinks, cartons of tomatoes, boxes of date and boxes of bottled water.

Presenting the items, the Chief Executive of NPA, Dr. Sheikh Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said NPA recognizes the contribution of the Muslim community towards the country’s development and solidarizes with them in their 30-day spiritual journey.

The donation, he stressed, was part of the Authority’s corporate social responsibility support towards a good cause”.

The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Sharubutu, thanked NPA for the gesture and prayed for the continued success of the Authority and all employees of the institution.