Crude oil from Russia, government must come clear - Ben Nsiah

Renowned Energy Policy Analyst, Ben Nsiah, has asked government to be bold enough and come out if Ghana is indeed dealing with Russia in crude oil transactions.

The energy expert believes it will be in the interest of the state to trade with Russia to get a cheaper source of oil to power its economy, adding that the government should do so with transparency.

Opoku in speaking on the Kumasi-based OTEC 102.9 FM's morning show Nyansapo on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, said Ghana cannot continue to follow the interest of the western world at the expense of its development.

"Ghana as a sovereign country has some interest, which is to get cheap source of crude products to support the economy.

"Let me emphasized that, there is nothing wrong if the government decides to deal with Russia and get much cheaper source, i believe its a call in the right direction", he said.

His comment follows reports that some fuel from Russia has been stored in Ghanaian tanks.

International business news network, Bloomberg says about 600,000 tonnes of fuel from Russia have been shipped and stored in Ghanaian tanks.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union and US barred fuel imports from the former Soviet leader.

Bloomberg reports that its tanker tracking data show that “The last signal from the vessel was on Sunday evening, by which time unloading had not begun. Its cargo was due to be pumped into storage tanks in Tema.

Meanwhile, there have been mixed signals as to the real owners of the 600,000 tonnes of Russian fuel, which have been shipped and stored in Ghanaian tanks revealed by the international business news network, Bloomberg.