NPA to sanction non-compliant OMCs for sanity — Tameklo
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) will strictly compel compliance with the rules and procedures governing operations in the country's downstream petroleum industry.
The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NPA, Godwin Kudzo Tameklo, explained that while the NPA would put a human face on the law, sanctions would be applied against industry players who violated the established rules.
Mr Tameklo gave the assurance at the opening of the second edition of the NPA Downstream Compliance Workshop in Accra last Monday.
In attendance at the three-day event were representatives from the bulk oil importers, Distribution and Export Companies (BIDECS), Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), LPG Marketing Companies (LPMCs), refineries, storage depots, allied facilities operators and transport companies.
Topics covered at the workshop include unified petroleum price fund regulations and claims management, compliance in petroleum product imports, exports and distribution operations.
Others are licences, permits, legal requirements, and local content. Insights and recommendations from the sessions are expected to be consolidated into actionable strategies to drive compliance.
Protection
The NPA Boss assured stakeholders in the downstream petroleum industry that he would protect their businesses while enforcing the law to ensure industry growth and sustainability.
“As the acting CEO of this authority, I will not do anything to harm your business but if you go contrary to the law, we will ensure full compliance.
We will continue the partnership, but let there be mutual respect.
“We will ensure increased compliance. We will also ensure compliance with the rules and procedures.
The reason we have to do that is for our collective safety. Central to this is the issue of compliance in order to make the industry comfortable for all players,” he said.
Mr Tameklo cited a few fire incidents, including the Atomic Junction fire that occurred in 2017, which resulted in the loss of lives and property, and said people would want to intervene for offending companies, but he would not tolerate that.
The NPA CEO stated that regulations were the core of the work of the NPA and wondered why the setting up rules without compliance.
“Regulations come with the law, and the law is the law. Once the law is the law, non-compliance comes with sanctions,” he said.
NPA portal
Mr Tameklo announced that the authority would humanise the current system that deactivated defaulting companies from the NPA’s portal.
He stated that the companies would be given a five-day grace period to comply, in order not to disrupt their operations.
However, he warned that companies that failed to comply within the five days would have to take responsibility for their actions.
The NPA CEO also called for collaboration among all stakeholders to help shape the future of the country’s downstream petroleum industry.
Growth potential
The CEO of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC), Dr Riverson Oppong, noted that while the downstream petroleum industry held significant potential for growth, it was often burdened by excessive regulatory oversight and a lengthy bureaucratic process.
He said the obstacles led to market inefficiencies, delays in product availability and rising costs that ultimately affected consumers.
Dr Oppong urged stakeholders to prioritise timely financial obligations, noting that effective sector operations were heavily dependent on prompt payments and streamlined processes.
“For the downstream sector to thrive, we must overcome these bureaucratic bottlenecks and ensure regulatory processes are swift and transparent,” he said.
