The CEO of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, has warned that geopolitical tensions remain the biggest threat to fuel price stability in Ghana.

Speaking on PM Express on Joy News, he said global conflicts are a constant concern for regulators, especially because of their direct impact on crude oil prices.

“I can tell you that in this role, I think one of the things that I’ve always prayed against is any of these geopolitical conversations that have an impact on pricing of, particularly, as you said, crude,” he said.

He pointed to past global tensions as examples of how quickly oil markets can be disrupted.

“And I remember last year, around June, when Israel and the US launched the 12-day war, I went through a similar situation. However, because that one just lasted for 12 days, the impact wasn’t that much.”

He explained that even threats to major global supply routes can trigger anxiety, but noted how international dynamics can sometimes prevent escalation.

“And you know, immediately, even though Iran threatened the closure of the street of homos, what happened was that, because Kuwait and Oman are on the other side of the street, they also came out and said, Look, they are not going to allow a unilateral closure.”

He added that other global developments, including events in Venezuela, also had a limited impact on prices despite their potential to disrupt supply.

“Then came the extraction of Nicholas Maduro, and that one to the impact was not so heavy, because remember that Venezuela does so well with crude production. I think he has one of the world’s largest, or so it is proven, crude reserves.”

Mr Tamakloe stressed that such geopolitical developments remain a major concern for Ghana because of its dependence on imported petroleum products.

“And so these geopolitical issues are always a huge matter for us within this principally because you notice that about, and currently we have about 30 to 40% of our national consumption coming from local refineries.

"Tema oil refinery and Sentuo are two modular refineries that process about 5,000 to 6,000 barrels of crude.

"But those are very small refineries, and so 60% is still dependent on imported products, and so anytime pricing, in terms of price of crude or anything that can impact it, it becomes a huge thing.”

He explained that fuel pricing in Ghana is largely driven by two key factors.

“In this country, there are two principal determinants of pricing, the forex and the FOB. Now you notice that the fob pricing of petroleum products is obviously dependent on the price of crude.”