The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) says it has put safeguards in place to prevent private fuel companies from gaining enough control over petroleum supplies to hold Ghana to ransom.

NPA Chief Executive Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe said the country currently has adequate fuel stocks despite growing concerns about tightening global supplies.

“Currently we have not less than 6 weeks of cover. Not less,” he said on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday.

Mr Tamakloe said the volume of petroleum products on vessels heading to Ghana also provides an additional buffer for the domestic market.

“And if you look at the number of vessels even on the high seas, it is significant,” he said.

His comments come at a time when the downstream petroleum sector is facing pressure from rising international crude and refined petroleum prices.

The NPA has raised the price floor for the latest pricing window. Petrol is now subject to a minimum price of GH¢16 per litre, while diesel has a floor of GH¢16.77 per litre.

The latest developments have also included reduced fuel export volumes by BOST Energies to Burkina Faso and Mali, amid concerns over global supply conditions. BOST, however, has said there is no imminent fuel shortage in Ghana.

For Mr Tamakloe, the immediate concern is therefore not the availability of petroleum products but the pressure on prices.

“No, my major concern now is price,” he said when asked about the possibility of supply disruptions.

He dismissed concerns about an imminent supply problem, pointing to efforts by exporting countries to bring additional suppliers into the market.

“Not at all. These exporting countries are now looking at roping in. Dangote is here,” he said.

The NPA boss was also asked whether Ghana’s reliance on private stocks could leave the government vulnerable to manipulation by fuel companies.

He explained that the structure of Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector was deliberately designed to encourage private sector participation under the NPA’s enabling law, Act 691.

“The agency that I’m the CEO of, the enabling law, that’s Act 691; if you look at the very ethos of the law, it is private sector led,” he said.

He said the law created different layers of industry participation, including Bulk Distribution Companies and Oil Marketing Companies, with limited direct state participation.

“If you look at the industry architecture as seen in the Act, it is private sector led. It is to create more private sector participation in the downstream,” he said.

However, Mr Tamakloe acknowledged the concern that private companies could potentially exert excessive pressure on government.

“I think there are some buffers that we put in place to ensure that the 2014-2015 events do not happen again,” he said.

“And as I said, that’s a particular concern, a great concern, to the President of the Republic, so we don’t get to a point where the private sector can effectively hold the whole country to ransom.”