The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has advocated for the sale of fuel with improved standards among Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to give consumers value for money.
The Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah explained that the current fuel grade of Ron 91 for petrol, is relatively lower in quality as it contains lower octane levels compared to Ron 95 and others above it.
The comments come at a time that one of the market leaders, Goil, has started the distribution and sale of Ron 95 which didn’t translate into an increase in prices.
Though Duncan Amoah admits that other OMCs selling the minimum standard of Ron 91 are not flouting any laws, he told Citi News they need to be encouraged to help protect the engines of vehicles of consumers.
“We will want to see a national effort where every fuel station is at least upgrading the quality of fuel to its customers so that people’s cars and engines can be preserved much longer than they currently are. The [Ron] 95 is used in the UK and across Europe. So most times you import a car from them, after 10 years, these cars smell as good as anything.”
“This is what Ghana is gravitating towards and for me, it’s the best news Ghanaian consumers can get in a long time and we think that there should be a national effort by the Oil Marketing Companies to also gravitate towards the 95 so that it’s not only customers of Goil or some few other stations but everybody that buys fuel in Ghana is served something of significant quality,” he said.
COPEC urges OMCs to deliver value for money
Duncan Amoah had earlier called on Oil Marketing Companies nationwide to ensure that Ghanaians get the best grade of fuel to protect their cars and the environment.
This follows GOIL’s introduction of higher-grade petrol, RON 95, fuel type unto the market.
Mr. Amoah gave the advice after the Chamber visited selected GOIL fuel stations to confirm that the station is serving Ghanaians with RON 95.
“When GOIL notified us that they are moving to the Octane 95, we were happy, but we needed to find out if they are going to charge more as other stations have done over the period. We came to verify the numbers and nothing has changed. This means that something is being done for the Ghanaian public. We are happy, but we will not be fully happy until every OMC in the country also sees the need to give their consumers the best grade of fuel for money.”