New Guidelines On Quality Of Petroleum Products Coming - Minister

Minister for Energy, Boakye Agyarko says his ministry will in few weeks outdoor a policy draft to provide a framework for the development of guidelines, standards and regulations on the quality of petroleum products produced or imported into the country.

The national fuel quality policy, he said, is to ensure that the quality of petroleum products sold to consumers do not negatively impact the environment and the health of consumers.

He said the draft would also see to it that the assurance of quality products is discussed going forward.
Agyarko also stated the need for more active involvement of Ghanaians at all levels in the use of local materials and services in the petroleum downstream industry.

The petroleum downstream industry, he asserted, will go through changes, and industry players must embrace the change to make the industry better.

“In spite of the active involvement of Ghanaians in the petroleum downstream, it further needs co-ordinated effort towards ensuring that the sub-sector remains in the hands of Ghanaian as the industry further develops.”

Boakye who was speaking at a launch of the 2017 Ghana petroleum downstream report, put together by the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), in Accra yesterday, explained that government is implementing this policy to ensure an increase in local added value investment, create more job opportunities, expertise and technology for the petroleum downstream industry.

“The implementation policy will see to the development of local capacity in all aspects and levels of the industry to ensure Ghanaians take up jobs. The policies will also provide strategies for companies to become competitive,” he stated.

The vision of government, he added, is to ensure that Ghanaian content and participation achieve a targeted minimum of 30 per cent in all aspects of the petroleum downstream value chain.

Launching the report, he noted that, “Our role as policymakers is not simply to dream what we think or to implement things our own ways, but our role as policymakers is to understand practical aspects of industry players to move obstacles out of the way,” he stressed.

Boakye advised participants at the launch, which includes stakeholders of the petroleum downstream and industry players, to take the issue of safety very seriously.

“We can never, and should never, compromise the safety of our citizens because life is immeasurable and it will be heart warming to see industry embracing the highest form of safety,” he advised.

He lauded CBOD for the report, saying “it is a good thing that the industry has put together such a useful report to serve and guide all of us in the industry”.