The Ghana National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has announced plans to consider sourcing petroleum products from the newly operational Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria to reduce the country’s reliance on costlier imports from Europe.
The potential shift was disclosed by NPA Chairman Mustapha Abdul-Hamid on Monday at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference held in Lagos.
The Dangote Refinery, which officially commenced refining crude oil on September 3, has a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) and began its initial operations in January with diesel and aviation fuel production.
Once the refinery reaches full capacity, Abdul-Hamid explained, Ghana could significantly reduce its $400 million monthly bill on European imports.
“If the refinery reaches 650,000 bpd, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone. So instead of us importing from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria, and I believe that will bring down our prices,” Abdul-Hamid noted.
He further explained that importing from Nigeria would also lower freight costs, which could positively impact the prices of other goods and services in Ghana.
Abdul-Hamid added that a common African currency could further reduce the reliance on the dollar, a move he believes would stabilize the region’s trade and currency demands.
Ghana’s Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) previously projected a slight reduction in petrol and diesel prices by mid-September if the Ghanaian cedi maintains its value against the dollar.
