The Ghana National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has announced plans to explore sourcing petroleum products from Nigeria’s newly operational Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a strategy to reduce reliance on more expensive imports from Europe.
NPA Chairman Mustapha Abdul-Hamid revealed this potential shift on Monday at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos.
The Dangote Refinery, which began refining crude oil on September 3 with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd), initially started operations in January, focusing on diesel and aviation fuel production.
Abdul-Hamid noted that once the refinery operates at full capacity, Ghana could see a substantial decrease in its $400 million monthly expenditure 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.
