The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) has decried the rising level of bad fuel that its members are consuming across the country from some Oil Marketing Companies in the country.

In a statement issued by its Executive Secretary, Mr Duncan Amoah on Thursday, November 16 2023, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana lamented over the development and called for an immediate solution on the matter.

According to Mr Duncan Amoah, the situation has caused the vehicles of some of its members to develop faults, thereby affecting their daily activities.

“The past few days have seen a surge in complaints by large users of gasoline across the country of having been served by one Oil Marketing Company or the other of some suspected bad fuel.
“ From what began as the usual suspicions by consumers of not receiving the expected quality or quantity at the pumps, the chorus has sadly grown increasingly louder over the days, with users of particularly Honda make vehicles complaining the most though some other cars have also complained one way or the other over suspected bad fuel which for a good number of consumers had led to them ultimately replacing their car plugs and forced maintenance routines even on vehicles whose dates for going for maintenance were not due”
Duncan Amoah , Executive Secretary COPEC

Again, Mr Duncan Amoah explained that a good number of gasoline users have complained of delayed acceleration, delayed changes in the gears, jerking, and misfiring of plugs, leading to very poor performance of such engines altogether.

He noted that the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana has received a good number of such complaints over the period and has largely referred such complaints to the appropriate quarters, particularly the National Petroleum Authority which is the regulator of the petroleum downstream.

Furthermore, Mr Duncan Amoah indicated that the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana has also helped some of its members by providing solutions that seem to have averted the ‘apparent changing of spark plugs and maintenances’ which are undue.

“We are also aware of strenuous efforts by the NPA to follow every single one of these complaints by picking samples from the stations named by the affected consumers, some of whose complaints have been officially documented and addressed”.
Duncan Amoah , Executive Secretary COPEC

COPEC Threatens Suit Against NPA

Moreover, the Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana, Duncan Amoah indicated that despite all the measures it has put in place following the various complaints from its members, the problem persists.

According to the group, while it commends the National Petroleum Authority for its swift response in getting to promptly investigating the menace, it is very appalled by the seeming unending phenomenon as complaints from consumers affected by the situation continue to come up daily.

Mr Duncan Amoah further indicated that it is demanding the National Petroleum Authority to take immediate steps to address the worrying issue and ensure that it identifies the direct causes of such a problem within the shortest possible time.

According to Mr Duncan Amoah, failure on the part of the National Petroleum Authority would give the group no option but to file a suit against the Authority for reneging on its core mandate of ensuring that every ‘litre of petroleum products being sold at the various pumps meet the minimum standards’ requirement.

Additionally, Mr Duncan Amoah indicated that their findings on the issue over the period revealed a possible high count of manganese in the fuel which in itself could be dealt with by the application of some ‘additivities’ to control any adverse impacts it could have on the vehicles far affected.

He thus entreated the public to seek such ‘additives’ that could help correct the issue as opposed to resorting to rather ‘expensive plug changing’ and ‘undue maintenance routines’.