Member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) National Communications Team, Nana Kojo Agyei Yeboah, has called for Ghana’s crude oil to be supplied to local oil companies and subjected to import duties instead of being exported.
Speaking on ‘Anopa Bofo’ on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, he indicated that exporting crude oil only for it to be refined abroad and re-imported at higher costs is not beneficial to the country.
He explained that crude oil extracted in Ghana, particularly from the Cape Three Points area, is often sold to Chinese companies, which refine it and sell it back to Ghana at higher prices.
“If it’s import duty that we want, we should give our own to Sentuo, we should give our own to GOIL, we should give our own to TOR and charge them import duty so that we stop selling,” he stated.
He stressed that supplying crude oil to local companies such as GOIL and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) would allow Ghana to retain more value and generate revenue through import duties.
He further noted that despite producing crude oil, Ghana still imports refined petroleum products sometimes from its own exported crude while paying import duties on them.
According to him, this situation leads to Ghana selling crude at lower prices and buying refined products at higher costs.
He therefore called for increased investment in the local oil sector and policies that prioritise domestic utilisation of crude oil.
“If we have the crude, why don’t we invest in our crude. Let’s sell it to them at the price that we sell to the Chinese so we can profit as a nation. What stops us from doing that,” he questioned.
Source: Bertina Ofosu
