The Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) the nation’s foremost indigenous Oil Marketing Company (OMC) has set a pragmatic target of setting up 400 active modern filling stations across the country by the end of the 2019.

As a major step towards achieving that target, GOIL opened its 360th Filling Station at Adenta-Ashaley Botwe link road with an environmentally friendly court-yard and fitted it with other services to make their customers comfortable.

Mr Patrick Akpe Kwame Akorli, Group Chief Executive Officer attributed the achievement of the nation’s leading OMC to the cooperation of present and previous board of directors, prudent and hardworking management and staff, as well as customers who had demonstrated loyalty to the GOIL brand.

Mr Akorli who is also known as Togbe Adza-Nye IV, Dutorfia of Ziavi in the Volta Region said: “As the foremost indigenous Ghanaian OMC, GOIL is proud of its achievements. We are now the country's leading OMC.

“The Ghana Investment Promotions Centre, the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana, the Association of Ghana Industries, the Ghana Entrepreneurs Association, and many other prestigious bodies and national organisations have recognised and decorated GOIL with various awards.

“We have achieved these without sacrificing health and safety standards as well as the quality of our products. GOIL means business and we have taken a significant step in attaining ISO certification and ratification,” he said.

Mr Akorli who is also the GOIL Managing Director said the future looks bright as “we take giant steps in expanding aviation fuel facilities, investing in Bunkering storage, and the building of Liquefied Natural Gas and Bitumen plants.

“We believe that with the continued support of Ghanaians through the use of their purchasing power, GOIL will continue to grow to become a successful Multinational Oil Company”.

Mr Alex Josiah Adzew, GOIL Chief Operating Officer said the company is committed to maintaining the number one spot as the leading indigenous oil marketing company.

He said, despite the stiff competition in the downstream petroleum sector GOIL is blazing the trail because of some strategic decisions, “it is a very difficult terrain.

“I must acknowledge the fact that there are very serious minded multinationals which we are competing with all their resources, but as an indigenous company, GOIL has proved that, the Ghanaian given the opportunity and given the resources can also perform just like the multinationals.

“We have a clear agenda that the board, management and every staff of GOIL has bought into. We are pursuing it and I believe that we are on the right path,” he said.

He said GOIL would this year apply new technologies to make its operations more efficient and profitable.

“We are injecting technology into our operations through automation of all service stations, in terms of stock taking, in terms of how we ensure that cash flow is improved because we don’t want to leave the money in the pocket of people.

“We have to efficiently find ways and means, by which when we sell that product, we collect the money to improve our liquidity so that we will be able to meet our various task, for instance responsibilities towards suppliers, Ghana Revenue Authority and others when they are due,” he said.

Mr Adzew appealed to Ghanaians to continue to purchase GOIL products so as to grow the economy and create jobs for Ghanaians.

“We want to thank the general public because without their support, without their patronage we wouldn’t have gotten this far. They have bought into this idea that when they buy from GOIL, they are buying made in Ghana and the money stays in the country.

“We use the money to develop the country and everything is retained here, we don’t send money anywhere all the monies that come in, we use it for various investments that everybody see around,” he averred.

He said GOIL had taken an important step to ensure value for money and ensure the quality of fuels with the introduction of a modern mobile laboratory van for quality assurance.

Mr Marcus Deo Dake, GOIL Head of fuels marketing, noted that the company would intensify efforts at improving customer care and pledged the company’s commitment to improving on product offerings that will satisfy consumers.

Mr Clement Gyato, the Dealer of the station, commended GOIL for the quality of products and importantly the company’s indigenous identity and promised to raise the bar in terms of service delivery and contribute to improving the brand.