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

Ghana’s state-owned fuel distributor BOST Energies has cut diesel and ‌gasoline exports to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali since August, prioritising domestic demand, Managing Director Afetsi Awoonor said on Wednesday.

Conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East has tightened oil and gas supplies globally, ​driving fuel prices to record highs in some countries ahead of peak harvest ​and winter demand.

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Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger depend heavily on fuel imports ⁠from coastal neighbours including Ghana and Ivory Coast. The three Sahelian countries are ​ruled by military governments that seized power in coups and are battling Islamist insurgencies linked ​to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

BOST managed to supply only half of the 80,000 metric tons of fuel Burkina Faso requested in July and August, Awoonor told Reuters on the sidelines of an ​energy conference in Bangkok.

During the same period, BOST exported 10,000 tons of fuel to ​Mali, though the country had requested an extra 40,000 tons for August and September, he added.

In Ghana, where fuel importer and distributor BOST holds a 30% market share, diesel consumption continues to grow as economic activity expands, Awoonor said.

“Supply is available, but it’s at a high cost,” Awoonor said, adding that sharp increases in demand had strained supplies and complicated efforts ​to keep domestic fuel ​prices stable. Diesel accounts ⁠for two-thirds of BOST’s supplies.

Ghana’s fuel prices rose earlier this year on global supply fears but have since eased, helped ​by a stronger currency and government intervention.

Awoonor also said BOST plans to build a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal in the industrial city of Tema by the fourth quarter next year and to start importing cooking gas.

The company plans to build an LPG ⁠storage ​facility in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, to distribute the ​fuel, he said, adding that the plan was to build terminals at six locations in phases.