The Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), Ben Nsiah, has disclosed that competitive pricing among Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the country is creating a healthier and more positive outlook within the downstream sector.

According to him, while some OMCs are unable to price their products competitively due to high capacity costs, market forces are driving potential benefits.

His comments follow Ghana’s leading Oil Marketing Company, Star Oil, revising its ex-pump prices for the second time in August 2025.

The company attributed the adjustment to global Brent crude pricing dynamics and the strength of the local currency, the Ghana cedi, against the US dollar.

Fuel Price Changes: Star Oil announces new pump rates

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb Business on August 27, 2025, Nsiah said companies like Star Oil are using innovative strategies to influence market trends.

He noted that this shift is helping to stabilise the market, with more companies focusing on efficiency and affordability.

“Companies are not able to price their products higher than they are doing today. Star Oil has, in some ways, become a benchmark when these OMCs are setting prices. First, they are the major supplier of petroleum products in Ghana; they are number one. They are using advanced technologies and skilled human resources to attract many customers daily, and that’s causing a lot of OMCs with higher prices to lose customers.

"So, it’s become something that is helping the petroleum downstream sector. Without Star Oil and others, our petroleum product prices would have been much higher,” he stated.

He further predicted a decline in fuel prices for the first pricing window of September 2025, supported by a favorable exchange rate and increased market competition.

SP/AE

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