By Adnan Adams Mohammed
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has committed to sweeping regulatory reforms in Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector following findings detailed in the Auditor-General’s performance audit.
The audit report, covering the period from January 2023 to May 2026, highlighted critical oversight gaps across tracking systems, fuel quality marking schemes, and depot-level monitoring.
Findings presented during a media training revealed that tens of thousands of delivery trips went untracked, while fuel adulteration and diversion risks persisted due to technical breakdowns and operational lapses.
Tracking Deficits and Fuel Diversion
According to the Audit Service presentation, 48,678 petroleum delivery trips were not tracked between 2023 and 2025 out of more than 1.09 million total trips recorded. While the percentage of untracked deliveries decreased from 35,249 trips in 2023 to 5,330 in 2025, systemic gaps remained. The audit noted that products like Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) and Naphtha were excluded from monitoring because they earn no UPPF margin, despite L.I. 2251 mandating that all products be tracked.
“The exclusion of untracked products created systemic vulnerabilities,” a civil society analyst noted during the presentation. “When product trips bypass electronic tracking, the risk of illegal fuel diversion sharply increases.”
The audit uncovered 582 confirmed fuel diversions involving 9.78 million litres of petrol and diesel between 2024 and 2025. Furthermore, during the transition from the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) to the Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) in 2023, 544 delivery trips were missed entirely.
Quality Assurance Discrepancies
The report also pointed to failures within the national fuel marking scheme. In 2025 alone, 87 million litres of petrol were distributed without being marked, out of 3.098 billion litres distributed.
Additionally, the state paid 2,688.09 (US) for 638,500 litres of petrol marked but never distributed between 2023 and 2024.
“Consumers are being exposed to substandard fuel that chemical marker tests cannot trace,” an Auditor-General representative remarked while pointing to field results showing water contamination in retail fuel. “When internal directives suspend quality marking without legislative amendments, statutory consumer protections are stripped away.”
Field inspections of 23 sampled retail outlets revealed that 11 Automatic Tank Gauging Systems (ATGS) were non-functional due to power damage, breakdowns, or poor configuration. Out of 4,000 planned ATGS units, only 3,443 were installed by March 2026, with 557 remaining outstanding since late 2023.
NPA Response and Corrective Measures
In response to the Auditor-General’s recommendations, the NPA acknowledged operational gaps and outlined ongoing corrective measures.
“Repairs across non-functional ATGS installations are scheduled for completion, pending broader regulatory reforms, contract reviews, and amendments,” the NPA stated in its official response.
The regulator further noted that it has begun deactivating non-compliant, unlicensed Bulk Road Vehicles (BRVs) from its electronic database and is expanding its tracking infrastructure to bring all petroleum products under full regulatory supervision.
