The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has revoked the licences of 13 Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for flouting infrastructure regulations and payment of licence fees.
According to the Authority, the decision which was taken in its last board meeting in May this year identified that the majority of the companies had their fuel stations sited at unapproved locations.
The Head of Public Relations at the Authority, Abdul Mohammed Kudus, stressed that the Authority will come after OMCs that fail to fulfil their obligations.
Kudus further stated that failure to pay licence fees and non-compliance with specified infrastructure requirements are grounds for licence revocation.
Speaking to Channel One News, he said, “If you are digitising your filling station in Accra, for example, the infrastructure and the requirements are different from if you are putting a similar filling station in a rural community.
“So if you are unable to fulfil that, then the board can’t revoke the temporary licenses that were given to you and you will not do business at all. Then the second one, you are required to pay for a second licence.
“If you are not able to fulfil the payment of those licences, then the authority again can revoke them after every effort to get you to pay has not been successful. So these are some of the reasons for which the licence of an OMC can actually be revoked.
“But collectively and in general terms, if you fail in the provision of a specified infrastructure, your licence could be revoked. If you fail in the complete fulfilment of the licence, your licence could be revoked.”
