StarOil Ghana Limited has intensified its push to overhaul the governance structure of the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC), arguing that the industry body’s current arrangement gives disproportionate power to a few founding companies.
In his latest comment, StarOil Chief Executive Officer, Philip Tieku, questioned why three particular oil marketing companies should retain permanent board seats and wield such significant influence over COMAC’s decision-making.
“80% of fuel supplies around the country is done by indigenous OMCs, but COMAC cannot have a valid board meeting unless at least two of three particular OMCs are present at the meeting! And they have permanent seats! How so? Change,” Philip Tieku said.
His comments deepen a governance battle that StarOil carried back into COMAC when it announced its return to the industry body on October 1, 2026.
StarOil had suspended its participation in January amid disagreements over COMAC’s representation of members’ interests. Upon its return, however, the company made clear that it was not abandoning its concerns.
In its letter to COMAC, StarOil specifically challenged constitutional provisions granting three founding OMCs permanent representation on the board. The company argued that the downstream petroleum industry has changed considerably, with differences in market share, investment, size and contributions among OMCs evolving over time.
StarOil is calling for a more transparent and democratic system in which board representation is periodically renewed rather than permanently guaranteed on the basis of historical status.
The latest comments suggest the company intends to pursue the issue more forcefully from within COMAC.
At the heart of StarOil’s argument is that an industry body that represents hundreds of companies remains truly representative when some board seats are effectively untouchable.
For StarOil, its return to COMAC may have ended its absence, but it has not ended the fight for governance reform.
