Energy Think Tank, Institute for Energy Security (IES) has charged President Akufo-Addo to look within Ghana to address the rising fuel prices instead of looking elsewhere for affordable and reliable sources of fuel to satisfy customers.
According to the IES, President Akufo-Addo’s intention to search for reliable and affordable fuel sources may be in vain at this time.
Instead, the IES believes President Akufo-Addo’s administration must do everything possible to ensure that the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is revived to commence crude oil processing to save Ghanaians from the untold hardship as a result of the rising cost of fuel.
The IES described as shocking that the Energy Ministry is leading a group roaming the world for reliable and regular sources of affordable petroleum products for Ghanaians, abandoning its role to urgently bring TOR into an operational mode to provide that reliability to an uninterrupted supply of fuel for the country.
“The search for that heavily discounted fuel price from elsewhere is an unrealistic hope, and the team may return empty-handed unless the expectation/request is exchanged with something valuable to the would-be supplier.
“It beats one’s imagination how an oil-producing country with a refinery capacity of 45,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd), would have its top government officials abandon its domestic competitive advantage, and rather seek to import refined petroleum product elsewhere, in the name of reliability and affordability,” the IES said in a statement issued by Fritz Moses, Research Analyst.
The IES said the government’s sudden appetite for imported fuel to address reliability and cost-related issues can best be described as reactionary, morally indefensible, misplaced priority and a deliberate attempt to increase the fiscal burden of the Ghanaian economy.
It argued that “the state is better off prioritising local crude refining, instead of importation of refined products.
“Once more, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) wishes to appeal to the President to look within—bring back TOR in the shortest possible time, refine Ghana’s crude domestically, work to strengthen the local currency, and ensure an adequate amount of dollars is made available to importers of fuel.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com