BOST cuts fuel exports to Burkina Faso and Mali to protect local supply

Ghana's state-owned fuel distributor BOST Energies has suspended fuel exports to neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali since August, in order to prioritize domestic demand, stated Managing Director Afetsi Awoonor on Wednesday. Tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East have constrained global oil and gas supplies, leading to record-high fuel prices in several countries ahead of peak harvest and winter demand.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger rely heavily on fuel imports from coastal countries, including Ghana and Ivory Coast. The three Sahelian nations are governed by military administrations that overthrew democratically elected leaders in coup d'états and are currently fighting Islamist insurgencies connected to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Awoonor informed Reuters at a press conference in Bangkok that BOST only fulfilled half of Burkina Faso's 80,000 metric tons of fuel request in July and August. During the same period, BOST exported 10,000 tons of fuel to Mali, although the country had requested an additional 40,000 tons for August and September. In Ghana, where BOST holds a 30% market share, diesel consumption is increasing as economic activity expands, Awoonor explained.

"Supply is available, but at a high cost," he added, noting that surging demand has strained supplies and complicated efforts to maintain stable domestic fuel prices. Diesel constitutes two-thirds of BOST's supplies. Earlier this year, Ghana's fuel prices surged due to global supply concerns but have since stabilized, thanks to a stronger currency and government intervention.

BOST plans to construct a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal in the industrial city of Tema by the fourth quarter of next year and to commence importing cooking gas, Awoonor said. Additionally, the company intends to build an LPG storage facility in Kumasi, Ghana's second-largest city, to distribute the fuel, he added, stating that the company will gradually establish terminals at six locations.