UBI Petroleum has opened a new fuel outlet in Kumasi to afford motorists access to its petroleum products and services. The oil and gas services company is the first and only indigenous company in the upstream oil sector, mostly providing support services for the exploration firms. UBI had been providing the fuel needs for the rigs, supply vessels and other facilities at the Jubilee Oil fields, long before Ghana struck its first oil. The company ventured the downstream sector four years ago and is targeting to set up at least three ultra-modern, high standard fuel stations in each region of Ghana. Chief Executive Officer, Selma Okonkwo tells Luv Biz Report the company will open its second fuel station in Kumasi at the end of this month, emphasizing the company’s commitment to environmental protection. “We do our little bit to protect the environment as much as we can, so we use fibre optic tanks – what that means is all the underground tanks that are here are made of fibre glass – the normal tanks are made out of steel or metal. Sometimes after a couple of years they can leak but with these ones [fibre glass], there are no leakages and when you don’t what the filling station here anymore, you can take the tanks out and you can actually plant and you’re saving and preserving the ground or land”, she stated. Mrs. Okonkwo says UBI is putting up an ultra-modern tank farm in Takoradi to store strategic fuel for the rigs at Ghana’s Jubilee Oil Fields. An oil depot or tank farm is an industrial facility for the storage of oil and other petrochemical products and from which these products are usually transported to end users or further storage facilities. The oil-storage trade is a trading strategy where oil tank owners and companies that lease storage buy oil for immediate delivery and hold it in their storage tanks, then sell contracts for future delivery at a higher price. UBI’s corporate mission is to be a leader in providing petroleum oil, gas and petrochemicals competitively in Ghanaian markets. Meanwhile, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has welcomed the increased investments in petroleum marketing outlets. Northern Zonal Manager, Samuel Asare-Bediako, says the NPA is collaborating with the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport Company (BOST) to decentralize the lifting of petroleum products. He however noted the fuel outlets are essential to get the products to the final consumer, “so with what UBI has done we are very happy with it and we encourage a lot more people to come into that”. Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh/Luv Fm/Ghana