As oil prices on the global markets continue to fall, Energy Consultant, Dr Yussif Sulemana says the government must strive to increase its storage capacity.
He argues that this will help cushion the country when prices begin to rise.
According to him, “Ghana must have massive storage ability and the reason is that, when these oil prices dip in bearish moments, that is the best opportunity for you to store.”
“And especially as volatile as oil price can be, once you store within a period of six months, especially now, it could skyrocket again and that is where you stand the chance to making gains.”
Brent Crude Oil has recorded a drop from about 75 dollars per barrel, fluctuating below 70 dollars a barrel as of today.
The price is expected to fall further as global demands for the product continue to decline, with countries like China shutting down part of their major port.
Despite this price dip on the global market, prices at the pump recently went up from GHS6.28 to GHS6.35, a move the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) blamed on the depreciation of the cedi.
Dr Sulemana said the government must do more to protect consumers from price hikes.
He further indicated that the individuals could take advantage of this challenge and proffer solutions that he believed would be worth their while.
“Private sector can even enter into the tank building space. That is a very lucrative area. If a private person can have a tank farm that can store hydrocarbon products at this moment in time, I think that person is going to derive a lot of benefits”.
Oil prices on the world market dropped to a record low of about 40 dollars late last year before picking up to pre-COVID rates of 60 dollars a barrel and over in the first quarter of this year.
Experts argue that this presented a big opportunity for the country to cash in on the product, but due to a lack of storage capacity, Ghana lost out.