Kwame Jantuah
As the price of Brent crude oil continues to rise in the international market, reaching US$86 per barrel on January 17, 2021, the government is being urged to use the additional revenue from the sale of Ghana's oil to provide relief to Ghanaian citizens at the pumps.
In the 2022 budget, the government had set the price of a barrel of crude oil at just over $61, but in the last two weeks, the price of Brent Crude Oil has risen from around $77 to over $80 per barrel.
The current price increase shows that the government is generating additional revenue from the sale of Ghana's crude oil.
Speaking to Citi Business News about the recent price increases, the chairman of the oil and gas sector of the Association of Ghana Industries, Kwame Jantuah, said the government must use this windfall to ease the burden on citizens.
"In Ghana today, we are moving toward stranded oil fields because we have not explored for some time. If we get what we are exporting today for US$80 to US$90, that means the price will go up. That means the government will have a windfall. What would it be like if we used that windfall? Can we use some of that windfall to cushion the price of gasoline? If prices go up, how can we cushion oil prices, because that will affect us?" he asked.
Research by Citi Business News at 9 p.m. on Sunday, January 16, 2022, showed that a liter of gasoline and diesel cost GH¢6.50 at Goil, while Shell sold both for GH¢6.80.
Total, on the other hand, sold a liter of gasoline for Gh¢6.99 and a liter of diesel for Gh¢7.05.
This development is expected to spur other smaller OMCs to revise their prices upward in the coming weeks.