“Instead of us importing”: Ghana gives simple condition to buy petrol from Dangote refinery

• Ghana is considering buying petroleum products from Dangote Refinery, according to the head of the country’s oil regulator
• This might remove $400 million in monthly petroleum imports from Europe, according to the chairman of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority
• He said that importing from Nigeria rather than Europe would reduce the cost of other goods and services by removing freight charges

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The head of Ghana’s oil regulator stated that once Nigeria’s Dangote Oil Refinery reaches full capacity, Ghana may purchase petroleum products from the plant.

Reuters reported that Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the chairman of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority, stated at the OTL Africa Downstream oil conference in Lagos that this may eliminate $400 million in petroleum imports from Europe each month.

“If the refinery reaches 650,000 bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices,” Hamid said.

He said that by eliminating freight costs, importing from Nigeria instead of Europe would lower the cost of other goods and services. He predicted that African nations will eventually settle on a single currency, which would reduce demand for US dollars.

In the second quarter of 2024, Ghana’s GDP rose 6.9% year over year, primarily due to the robust growth of the extractive industry, which increased demand for petroleum.

According to analysts, the Dangote Oil refinery, which was constructed by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, is anticipated to reach nearly full capacity by the end of the year and may be fully operational by the first quarter of 2025.

Why fuel prices remain high

Legit.ng reported that petrol prices in Nigeria will be influenced by global factors, local market conditions, and production costs, rather than local production alone.

Smart Opeyemi, an independent petroleum marketer, explained this while discussing why petrol cannot be cheap in Nigeria.

Recently, there has been significant concern in some circles over the rising costs of petroleum products.

Source: Legit.ng