Adnan Adams Mohammed
Energy industry actor is calling for the investigation of the management of Bulk Oil Company Limited (BOST) for under-declaring profit in 2022.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE) notes that, BOST benefited from about GHC450 million from the BOST margin which alone could give the profit declared by the company for 2022.
It is indicated that, BOST again benefited about US$88 million monthly from the Bank of Ghana at cheaper rates compared to market rates through the Gold for oil policy. In addition to BOST being a commercial entity runs tank services for BIDECs and trades Petroleum products locally and to neighbouring landlord countries.
“Although they got cheaper dollars from the BOG to import finished products, their premiums were in most cases higher than the premiums of private Bulk importers of Petroleum products It is therefore absurd for them to declare about Ghc208 million in 2022”, Benjamin Nsiah said in a radio interview last week.
The energy expert is advocating for the reallocation of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST) margin, currently charged at 12 GHp per litre of fuel, to an infrastructure fund aimed at developing Ghana’s downstream oil sector.
According to Mr Nsiah, instead of utilizing the BOST margin for the intended purpose of developing the downstream petroleum sector, BOST waits until the end of the year to declare the funds as profit.
He expressed concern over this practice and called for a thorough investigation into BOST’s activities.
Mr Nsiah also urged the Minister of Finance to take over the collection of the 12 GHp margin and rebrand it as an infrastructure fund, which he believes would better serve the interests of the Ghanaian people.
He emphasized that the current use of the margin is not fulfilling its original purpose.
“The downstream petroleum sector needs transformation, and BOST, which has the mandate to ensure this transformation, is failing to live up to its responsibilities,” Nsiah stated.
He criticized BOST’s management for simply collecting the funds and presenting them as profit, rather than using them to drive sectoral improvements.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of BOST, Dr Edwin Alfred Provencal, has clarified the purpose behind the collection of the BOST Margin on petroleum products.
His remarks come in response to Mr Nsiah’s suggestion that the BOST Margin might be reallocated to an infrastructure fund dedicated to the downstream oil sector.
The BOST Margin, a levy imposed on petroleum products, is intended to cover the maintenance and operating costs of petroleum depots and to fund expansion projects across these facilities.
In an interview with Citi Business News, Dr. Provencal reaffirmed BOST’s commitment to ensuring the continuous availability and affordability of fuel nationwide.
He emphasised that the BOST Margin is essential for sustaining the country’s energy infrastructure, which ultimately benefits both consumers and the broader industry.
“The BOST margin was voted for a purpose and that purpose was relevant when it was voted and it is still relevant today. BOST is mandated to put its resources in the most unprofitable areas of the country like a form of social service to assure price parity across the country so it is in the wisdom of the founders of the company and NPA to keep these assets in the remotest part of the country running.
“For those who advocate for the removal of the BOST margin, I say to them: ‘If you take away the revenue for operations and maintenance, then let’s close the facility down because that service which is a social service, the cost has to be socialized,” Dr Edwin Alfred Provencal said.
