Ghana must move the debate over crude oil, fuel pricing and petroleum security beyond partisan politics and towards long-term energy resilience.
This is the call of the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Dr Patrick Kwaku Ofori. His call comes as Ghana’s downstream petroleum market continues to feel the effects of disruptions in global oil and refined-product supply chains, with international geopolitical tensions pushing up crude and refined petroleum prices and feeding into domestic pump prices.
Ghana’s fuel prices were adjusted upward from September 16, following renewed increases in international petroleum prices. For Dr Patrick Ofori, however, the recurring political arguments surrounding crude oil and domestic fuel prices are distracting from the deeper question of how Ghana can make its energy system less vulnerable to events beyond its control.
“It’s about time we look beyond the political discussions and politicians playing politics with crude oil prices,” he said in an interview monitored by The High Street Journal.
He argued that Ghana has experienced political contestation over petroleum issues for decades, referencing debates around the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), its recovery efforts and successive interventions by different governments.
“That is something that has not inured to our benefit since the days of Tema Oil Refinery, the TOR recovery levy, and other forms that various political parties and governments have played politics, depending on where they find themselves in,” Dr Ofori said.
The comments come at a time when the vulnerability of oil-importing economies to geopolitical shocks has become increasingly visible.
Recent disruptions around major oil-producing and transit regions have tightened global supplies and pushed crude and refined-product prices higher. For instance, the International Energy Agency has warned that global oil supply in 2026 could decline significantly because of continuing Middle East conflicts and disruptions to Gulf supplies.
Dr Ofori therefore believes the country needs to stop treating every fuel-price shock primarily as a political contest and instead build systems capable of absorbing external shocks.
The objective, he suggested, should be to build an energy system in which international geopolitical shocks do not translate so directly and severely into the daily cost of transportation, goods and services for Ghanaian households and businesses.
