The Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), Benjamin Nsiah, has called on government to eliminate the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) margin in the petroleum price build-up, arguing that it no longer serves its intended purpose.
He added that it burdens consumers unnecessarily.
Speaking in an interview with 3business on April 13 3026, Nsiah maintained that, the BOST margin should be among the first cost components to be reviewed or scrapped as part of efforts to reduce fuel prices.
According to the Executive Director, “BOST currently operates as a fully commercial entity, generating revenue through services such as storage, transportation, and other terminal operations provided to private sector players.”
Benjamin Nsiah questioned the justification for maintaining a margin that is effectively paid by petroleum consumers.
He further pointed to the underutilisation of BOST’s storage infrastructure across the country, noting that some depots remain idle for extended periods, citing the Bolgatanga depot, which reportedly did not receive petroleum products throughout the previous year, as an example of inefficiency that still incurs costs passed on to consumers.
He also argued that, “despite collecting the margin, BOST has not significantly expanded or adequately maintained its infrastructure. Instead, the margin has become a source of operational income used for administrative expenses, including wage increases and frivolous expenditure.”
The CEMSE Executive Director also compared BOST to other state and private entities in the sector, which operate commercially without benefiting from similar margins in the fuel price structure.
Nsiah also dismissed suggestions that government should instead focus on removing the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy, explaining that, “under the amended Energy Sector Levies Act (Act 1141), the levy has already been consolidated into the Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy”
He cautioned that, removing such levies could undermine government’s ability to subsidise premix fuel, a key policy priority, and instead reiterated that scrapping the BOST margin would be a more practical and targeted intervention.
Meanwhile, petroleum price build-up in Ghana includes several taxes, levies, and margins that contribute to the final pump price paid by consumers.
In recent months, stakeholders in the energy sector have intensified calls for reforms to ease the cost burden on households and businesses, with particular attention on components perceived to be inefficient or outdated.
By Coffie Mawuedem Noel
