Energy experts are worried the rising oil prices will impact negatively on consumers, though the country will benefit significantly from the windfall of the commodity price.

Brent crude crossed the $100 mark 24^th February, 2022, selling at $105 per barrel on the world market, far more than the $65 dollars budgeted by the government in the 2022 Budget. It has since fallen marginally, hovering around $100 per barrel.

The rising price of crude oil has been precipitated by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, two biggest producers of crude oil.

Speaking to Joy Business, Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security, Nana Amoasi VII, said government must intervene to cushion consumers against the shocks, calling for a revitalization of the Tema Oil Refinery.

“We expect government to put in measures to stop the consistent rise in fuel prices on our local market. Of course there are ways to deal with this.”

“There are three factors that account for prices we see at the pumps. One will be the taxes, levies and margins they slap on the price build-up. Two is the value of our local currency against the US dollar- the major trading currency and finally the international prices”. Government can say they don’t have answers to this for the price exposure; the BOST system, the TOR system can manage those prices and supply shocks to some extent”, he added.

“Then in terms of the depreciation of the cedi, we still count on government to ensure that there is enough dollars in the system so we are good at that end”, Nana Amoasi VII further said.

The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, Duncan Amoah, also believed although consumers’ should embrace price hikes at the pumps, an alternative measure can be put in place by government.

“We’re not surprise that crude oil move from $96 overnight to $102 currently. We are certain that by weekend if these tensions continue, we could be hitting $110 and probably $120 in no time. What that means is that Ghanaian pump prices which takes major exports from Europe could also cross ¢8.50 or ¢8.70 by the first day of March 2022; these are real numbers and these are things that we cannot run away from”.

“We expect the authorities to sit immediately and devise a proper containment strategy as far as pump prices is concerned. Once international market prices go up, Ghana as an oil producing and exporting country is simply going to get a lot more revenue”, he stressed.