The Chairman of the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies, Dr. Gabriel Kumi, has expressed deep concern over Ghana’s limited capacity to store strategic fuel reserves, warning that the country is ill-prepared to withstand prolonged external supply shocks.

Speaking during a panel discussion of the Joy Business Economic Forum, Dr. Kumi revealed that Ghana currently possesses infrastructure capable of holding only about two months’ worth of fuel imports far below the ideal six-month strategic reserve target.

“Ghana currently does not have that much in fuel storage infrastructure. So we don't even have the infrastructure to hold that kind of volumes,” he noted.

“The total storage infrastructure in Ghana, assuming you add storage tanks and Tema Oil Refinery, is just about one million cubic meters, approximately one billion liters of storage capacity. And that is just about two months of our use,” he added.

He further pointed out that the government’s bulk storage infrastructure, such as that of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST), also falls short of the required capacity to support a meaningful strategic reserve.

“Post-pump storage capacity is just about 400,000 cubic meters, which is about 400 million liters out of the national storage we have,” he explained.

Dr. Kumi described the establishment of a six-month strategic fuel reserve as a long-term objective, emphasizing the need for deliberate policy direction and investment in national infrastructure.

“To increase our strategic reserve to six months will likely be a long-term goal, assuming that is something we really want to consider now,” he added.