NPA moves to improve petroleum trade between Ghana, Burkina Faso

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is reviewing export and transit arrangements with Societe Nationale Burkinabe d’Hydrocarbures (SONABHY) to improve petroleum trade between Ghana and Burkina Faso.

SONABHY is the only institution mandated by law to import and distribute petroleum products in Burkina Faso, and the review is expected to among others strengthen the collaboration between both countries in the supply of petroleum products.

Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Chief Executive of NPA, who made these known during a courtesy call on the management of SONABHY in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, said “this would ensure that we tighten the processes on petroleum products.

I am hoping that we will be able to strengthen the process that does not allow leakages or people to carry products with the purpose of delivering it at Ouagadougou only to divert them.”

Dr Abdul-Hamid said, gasoil export to Burkina Faso has been on the decline since 2019 of about 72 per cent compared to the 2020 volume.

He appealed to SONABHY to improve on its imports from Ghana as the landlocked country currently imports 15 percent of petroleum products from Ghana as compared to the remaining 85 percent supplied from Togo and Cote d’Ivoire.

The low import of petroleum products from Ghana is attributed to the high cost of the products as a result of high specification (50ppm), compared with products supplied from other countries such as Cote d’Ivoire and Togo (3000ppm).

The Executive Director of SONABHY, Hilaire Kaboré, welcoming the NPA team, said with the adoption of cleaner fuels by ECOWAS earlier this year, its petroleum trade activities in Ghana would increase.

“In January, 2021, ECOWAS issued a directive which I believe will help activities in Ghana. Ordinarily, all the imports of petroleum products should meet the specifications (50ppm) that Ghana adopted in 2017”, he noted.

The SONABHY boss said his outfit was already in discussions with Ghanaian companies to sign additional storage agreements in anticipation of an increase in export from Ghana.

“The roads in Ghana are good, the distance is not too far…” he said, adding that “we assure you once the harmonisation of fuel specifications in the sub-region is concluded you should see volumes and export activities increase through Ghana,”Hilaire Kaboré said.

BY TIMES REPORTER