Petrol to rise, diesel will be same - IES

Within the first week of the second pricing-window for September 2016, petrol and diesel prices fell by an average of 0.78% and 0.84%, respectively. Three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) namely: Puma Energy, Glory Oil and Frimps Oil effected these changes, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) has said.

The Institute said on Monday, 3 October, that the average price for petrol and diesel is GHS3.621 and GHS3.604, respectively.

Radiance Oil maintains the top spot on the IES’ top-10 chart as the OMC selling the cheapest petrol on the market, whereas Puma Energy sells the cheapest diesel fuel.

IES said the release of the Public Eye report on sub-standard diesel being sold in Ghana and many parts of Africa generated a lot of debate among the general public and industry experts. “What is left now is how the country intends to advance from the Ghanaian standard towards the European standard which has a lower sulphur content for diesel.”

IES said it is of the view that the country can progressively move towards that standard starting with 1000ppm as the benchmark without any cut-throat cost to the consumer.

World Petroleum Market Indices

Over the pricing-window, average Brent crude slipped 2.42 per cent to $46.58/barrel on account of renewed worries of supply glut, Iran’s determination to reach its market share prior to the ban, and low consumption in fossil fuel across Asia and Europe for the month of September.

Platts price for petrol shot up by $13.33/metric tonne (2.74%) to close at $496.64/metric tonne, while the price of diesel saw an upward adjustment of $2.34/metric tonne to close at $410.50/metric tonne, representing a rise of 0.57 per cent.

Local Market Index and Inventory

The cedi lost marginally against the U.S. dollar over the pricing-window by 0.40% according to data obtained from the Bank of Ghana. The combined petrol and diesel stock in the country rose from 287 million litres to 379 million litres over the pricing-window. The diesel stock in the country “still remains quite low at 154 million litres” capable of meeting three-and-a-half weeks of national consumption.

The stock of petrol in-tank and on vessels offshore is projected to be 225 million, which is capable of meeting eight weeks of national consumption.

Projections for October 2016 first pricing-window

On the basis of Platts prices, which saw petrol taking an upward adjustment while diesel remained fairly stable, and the depreciation of the cedi against the U.S. dollar by 0.4%, IES said it expects petrol prices to rise marginally while the price of diesel on the local market will remain stable for the next pricing-window which took effect from Saturday, 1 October.