The 24-Hour Economy Authority and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to coordinate the expansion of round-the-clock operations across Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector. The agreement establishes a framework for operational readiness standards, security coordination, and institutional collaboration to support the country’s economic transformation programme.
Under the MoU, the NPA will develop and enforce 24-hour operational readiness standards covering lighting, security, staffing protocols, digital fuel monitoring, and fire safety across fuel stations, refineries, bulk storage depots, and bulk road vehicle operations. The 24-Hour Economy Authority will coordinate the enabling environment, including security agency deployment and cross-government support for certified operators.
The partnership is designed to ensure that the downstream petroleum sector keeps pace with the broader 24-Hour Economy programme, which is developing agro-processing capacity, expanding manufacturing, and building logistics corridors across the country. Reliable, round-the-clock fuel supply is a critical enabler for each of these pillars.
Implementation will begin with a nationwide pilot covering approximately ten percent of the downstream sector, with security deployment as the immediate priority. The NPA has already constituted a Steering Committee and technical sub-committees to prepare the sector for the transition.
The partnership brings together key players across the petroleum and security value chain, including the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC), Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), BOST Energies, the Ghana National Tanker Drivers Union (GNTDU), Tanker Owners Union (TOU), refineries, the Ghana Police Service, National Security Secretariat, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Petroleum Mooring Systems (GPMS), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and private sector investors.
Mr. Augustus Goosie Tanoh, Presidential Adviser on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, said: “The programme is not only asking operators to stay open longer. We are building the enterprises and industrial capacity that will create growing demand for these services. To the factory owner in Tema, the trader in Tamale, the transport operator on the Accra-Kumasi corridor, the message is simple. If you are ready to grow, we are building the system to support you.”
Mr. Godwin Kudzo Tameklo, Esq., Chief Executive of the NPA, said: “This agreement aligns the NPA’s regulatory mandate with the national economic transformation agenda. We will ensure that the standards for 24-hour operations are clear, enforceable, and designed to protect workers, consumers, and critical infrastructure.”
