The Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST), Edwin Alfred Provencal, is advocating for an upward adjustment of the BOST margin from nine pesewas to 12 pesewas per liter.
The BOST margin is a specific tax embedded in the petroleum price build-up designed to fund the maintenance of fuel depots and facilitate infrastructure expansion.1 Mr. Provencal argued that the current rate is insufficient to sustain operations, especially given the significant depreciation of the cedi, which has increased the cost of technical maintenance.
Mr. Provencal highlighted that previous increases in the margin have already yielded tangible results, moving the company’s operational assets from a low of 17% to near-full capacity. Key infrastructure restored includes the Buipe-to-Bolga pipeline, the Tema-to-Akosombo pipeline, and four river barges on the Akosombo Dam.
He warned that without a sustainable margin, the company would be forced to abandon its mandate of serving commercially “unviable” regions and instead focus only on high-profit areas, a move he described as “suicidal” for national energy security.
As a strategic solution, the Managing Director suggested that the government’s Gold for Oil initiative provides a unique window for this adjustment. He explained that as the program helps drive down overall pump prices for consumers, a small portion of those savings could be redirected into a slightly higher BOST margin. This would provide the necessary capital to expand Ghana’s fuel storage infrastructure without significantly burdening the pockets of motorists.
