In a surprising development, about one out of every seven litres of fuel sold in Ghana is handled by operators who do not fully comply with tax and regulatory rules.
This situation is quietly distorting the country’s downstream petroleum market and hurting both consumers and the state.
This is a revelation from the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC), which says an estimated 15 percent of total petroleum volumes, roughly one billion litres every year, is managed by non-compliant Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Petroleum Service Providers (PSPs).
According to COMAC, the growing focus on whether a price floor exists in the market is missing the real problem. The deeper issue is a structural weakness in the downstream sector that allows some operators to dodge statutory taxes, levies, and regulatory obligations, and then use those savings to sell fuel at unrealistically low prices.
COMAC says this situation creates an uneven playing field. Compliant OMCs, who pay all required taxes and fees, find it almost impossible to compete with operators who cut corners. Over time, this undercutting pushes compliant businesses into losses, erodes their ability to service bank loans and insurance obligations, and increases their indebtedness to the state.
“The discourse should move beyond whether a price floor exists. The real priority is a comprehensive clean-up of the downstream petroleum sector for compliant Oil marketers to operate,” COMAC said in its January 2026 Article titled, “Price Floor in Perspective: A Call for Structural Market Clean-Up”.
Sadly, COMAC warns that Ghana has seen this situation before. In past periods of weak regulation, unchecked competition led to widespread debt among OMCs and LPG marketing companies.
Banks and insurers were left exposed, while government revenue suffered from mounting arrears. The result, the Chamber says, is a fragile industry vulnerable to shocks.
The impact, COMAC adds, goes beyond business risks; consumers are also affected. While lower pump prices may seem attractive in the short term, COMAC argues that fuel sold outside proper regulation raises concerns about product quality, safety standards, and long-term supply security.
It is in view of this situation that COMAC is calling for a comprehensive clean-up of the downstream petroleum sector. The group insists that enforcement, not temporary price controls, is the key to lasting stability. Without tackling non-compliance head-on, any price floor introduced will only act as a short-term fix.
“Without addressing these structural issues, the floor price will remain a temporary stabiliser rather than a long-term solution. Deregulation has revealed significant structural and compliance-related challenges within Ghana’s downstream petroleum market, particularly the ability of non-compliant PSPs to engage in pricing undercutting. This regulatory arbitrage enables unsustainably low ex-pump prices. An estimated 15% of total downstream volumes, approximately one billion litres annually, are handled by PSPs that evade statutory taxes and regulatory obligations. undermines compliant PSPs,” the article noted.
It added, “These conditions have, in the past, contributed to periods of unchecked competition, during which weak safeguards resulted in widespread OMC and LPGMC indebtedness, elevated exposure to banks and insurance companies, and significant arrears to the state.”
The Chamber is demanding a fair market where all players follow the same rules, consumers are protected, government revenue is secured, and the industry can grow sustainably.
Until that happens, the problem of unfair pricing and market instability is unlikely to go away.
