Perry Okudzeto, a former deputy sports minister and Linda Asante have been appointed deputy CEOs of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), an official statement has said.
A statement issued by the NPA on Thursday (17 February ) said the appointment takes effect from 1 March 2022.
The two are expected to complement the effort of the chief executive officer Dr Mustapha Hamid in steering the affairs of the downstream petroleum regulator.
About NPA NPA was established by an act of Parliament, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Act 2005 (Act 691), to regulate the downstream petroleum industry in Ghana.
As a regulator, the NPA ensures that the industry remains efficient, profitable and fair and, at the same time, that consumers get value for money. The downstream petroleum industry in Ghana encompasses all activities involved in the importation and refining of crude oil as well as the sale, marketing and distribution of refined petroleum products in the country.
Commercial activities of the industry include: importation, exportation, re-exportation, shipment, transportation, processing, refining, storage, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum products. The petroleum industry is one of the key subsectors and a major contributor to Ghana’s gross domestic product.
Since the establishment of the National Petroleum Authority in 2005, the Authority has supervised the acceleration of the petroleum downstream deregulation process by facilitating the removal of restrictions on the establishment and operations of facilities, as well as on importation of crude oil and petroleum products.
In June 2015, the NPA successfully implemented the final phase of the deregulation process – price liberalisation. This involved the full removal of control over pricing of petroleum products by the government.
Private importers, distributors and retailers are empowered to set ex-refinery and ex-pump prices with no intervention by the government. The Ghana downstream petroleum industry boasts over one million metric tonnes’ worth of state-of-the-art storage infrastructure.
Given the country’s position on the coast of West Africa, as well as the country’s democratic credentials, security and stability, Ghana’s downstream industry is well placed to store strategic stocks of petroleum products efficiently as well as serve as a reliable point for exportation to neighbouring, land-locked countries.
This is evident from the rising volumes of petroleum products that Ghana is exporting.
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