Energy analyst Ben Nsiah says Ghana has so far managed the impact of the US Iran war on the petroleum downstream sector without major supply disruptions or severe shortages, despite the conflict pushing global oil prices sharply higher.
Speaking to Sweet FM Online during a one day media training organised by the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies Institute of Petroleum Studies, the Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy said the response from government, industry players and consumers had helped maintain stability.
Global petroleum markets remain under pressure from the conflict, with disruptions around major Middle Eastern supply routes contributing to elevated crude and fuel prices.
Nsiah Commends Supply Stability
Mr Nsiah said the absence of local shortages was significant given the scale of the external shock.
“Stakeholders have handled the crisis effectively, because the crisis has not led to supply disruptions, the crisis has not led to local shortages,” he said.
He argued that cooperation across the downstream petroleum industry had also prevented the international price shock from being passed fully onto Ghanaian consumers.
For him, maintaining that coordination will be important if geopolitical tensions and high international petroleum prices persist.
“We are likely going to sustain the good that we’ve earned so far in the sector with respect to product supply stability, with respect to product supply assurance,” he said.
GH¢2 Diesel Intervention Helped Cushion Consumers
Mr Nsiah also credited government’s GH¢2 per litre diesel intervention with moderating pump prices.
The government initially reduced the regulatory margin on diesel by GH¢2 per litre in August before extending the relief into September as international prices remained elevated.
“I think that prices would have been higher than what you’re observing today, but for the intervention of the two Ghana cedis per litre on diesel,” he said.
Mr Nsiah argued that the measure also helped reduce the risk of stronger transport fare pressures and wider economic disruption.
Intervention Comes With Downstream Cost
The analyst, however, cautioned that the price relief is not without consequences.
He said maintaining the intervention creates revenue losses and a fiscal gap within the downstream petroleum sector, potentially affecting resources available for regulatory and operational responsibilities.
Concerns over those costs have also featured in the wider debate over the intervention, with opposition energy policy officials arguing that suspended petroleum margins could weaken sector finances.
Mr Nsiah nevertheless maintained that the intervention had, so far, provided useful protection for consumers during an unusually difficult period for global energy markets.
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