The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies has proposed a West African Fuel Passport, an ECOWAS-wide digital tracking system aimed at tightening petroleum product quality controls and improving cross-border fuel trade.
COMAC Chief Executive Officer Dr Riverson Oppong presented the proposal at the OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week 2026, where he also joined a plenary discussion on the future of the region’s fuel market.
The proposed passport would certify petroleum products against agreed regional quality standards and track individual cargoes and truckloads from refineries or ports through storage depots and borders to retail outlets.
Tracking fuel across borders
Under the proposal, regulators would have a clearer view of where petroleum products originate, how they move and where they eventually enter the retail market.
COMAC believes the system could curb unrecorded product movements, improve revenue protection and reduce concerns over differences in fuel quality across West African markets.
It could also make legitimate cross-border petroleum trading easier as regional refining capacity grows and trade routes shift.
Dr Oppong raised the proposal during a session themed, “West African Fuels Congress: What’s New and What’s Next?”
The discussion examined fuel supply security, pricing, product standards and the reforms required to build a more connected regional market.
Hormuz crisis exposes supply risks
Dr Oppong also pointed to the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis as evidence of the vulnerability facing countries heavily dependent on imported petroleum products.
Disruptions to traffic through the Strait forced longer shipping routes and contributed to higher crude oil prices, putting additional pressure on importing markets.
His presentation also examined Ghana’s continued dependence on imported fuel, regional differences in pump prices and the need for stronger storage and product traceability.
For COMAC, the proposed Fuel Passport forms part of a broader push for a petroleum market where products can move across West Africa with clearer standards, stronger oversight and better information on their origin and destination.
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