The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) will from January next year commence regulation of the importation, storage, processing and marketing of bitumen in the country.
The new regulatory framework, which will have inputs from the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA), and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), seeks to streamline the bitumen supply chain and to ensure compliance with national quality standards.
The new framework spells out who qualifies to obtain a licence, the national standards for Bitumen and guidelines to follow for the supply of the product among other things.
Director of Economic Regulation and Planning at NPA, Mrs Alpha Welbeck, who made the disclosure at a media briefing in Accra, urged industry players to use the remaining period of 2023 to regularise their operations with the Authority.
"Existing bitumen facilities and new entrants will have to acquire a license before they will be allowed to operate in the industry beginning 2024," she stated.
Mrs Welbeck said that currently, bitumen which was a by-product of crude oil was sourced from both local oil producers and imported by private companies.
Despite its importance, she said, little had been done in terms of monitoring and regulation of the product as compared to the other petroleum products such as petrol, diesel, LPG etc.
"The bitumen industry possesses enormous potential to contribute to the growth and development of the economy due to its use in road construction.
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We have taken the decision to collaborate with all other stakeholders including the Customs Division of the GRA, GSA to develop a regulatory framework that will not only ensure its proper storage and processing but also enhance investments in that area," Mrs Welbeck stated.
In 2014, she said, the NPA conducted a study to ascertain the supply chain practices and to obtain some baseline information of happenings in the bitumen industry.
She explained that, following the study, the NPA together with stakeholders such as the GHA, GRA - Customs Division, GSA and some existing players, have collaborated in the development of guidelines for the supply of bitumen, culminating into a new regulatory framework set to be implemented in January 2024.
The NPA, she said, would, in the coming weeks, issue a public notice on the requirements for obtaining a license to enable existing players and new entrants to take the necessary steps in regularising their operations ahead of the 2024 deadline.
