The Executive Director of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, has urged a comprehensive overhaul of Ghana’s energy policy, warning that the nation’s overdependence on imported refined petroleum products renders it highly susceptible to global oil market disruptions.

In an interview with Channel One TV on Saturday, 14 June, Mr Amoah cautioned that escalating tensions between Israel and Iran are already affecting global crude prices, and Ghana’s lack of self-reliance in refining its own resources places the economy in a precarious position.

“There is a lot of geopolitical tension. We cannot continue to be price seekers; we cannot continue to be global observers. We cannot continue to allow international oil marketing companies to come down here, take our hydrocarbon resources and ship everything back to Europe, go refine and process them, and then we will go back with our cargos for the refined product to our country for $400 every month,” he lamented.

He stressed the need for Ghana to assert greater control over its petroleum value chain, from extraction to refining, in order to insulate the economy from external shocks.

“That strategy has also got to change. I think that the current Energy Minister, John Jinapor, if anybody can fix the situation, should be better placed. We will urge him to re-strategise and get Ghana to be a global observer.”

Mr Amoah’s remarks follow a directive from President John Dramani Mahama to the Ministers for Finance and Energy, instructing them to monitor the unfolding Middle East crisis and assess its implications for Ghana.

COPEC maintains that without a shift in national energy policy, “anytime the prices go up, our economy is busted completely… We should not be feeling this impact immediately.”