Fuel Shortage: Goil, StarOil Announce Supply Challenges Over ICUMS Port Challenges
- Ghana's two leading Oil Marketing Companies reported fuel shortages caused by port operational challenges
- GOIL PLC and StarOil Ghana blamed outages on issues with the Integrated Customs Management System
- The public holiday on March 6 worsened fuel supply disruptions, affecting the entire downstream petroleum industry
Two leading Oil Marketing Companies have reported fuel shortages at a number of their service stations due to operational challenges at the ports.
GOIL PLC and StarOil Ghana, the companies in question, attributed the situation to technical difficulties with the Integrated Customs Management System.
Source: Facebook
In separate statements, the companies explained that the system has experienced an outage, disrupting the petroleum supply chain nationwide.
On Facebook, GOIL PLC said the outage, which began last week, has prevented the company from lifting products for distribution.
The company expressed regret over the inconvenience and assured customers that management is engaging relevant authorities to restore normal supply as soon as possible.
StarOil Ghana also confirmed the shortages in a statement on Facebook.
According to the company, the problem was worsened by the public holiday on Friday, which delayed planned petroleum lifting operations scheduled for Saturday.
“Unfortunately, the GRA ICUMS system was down throughout the day, preventing all OMCs from processing the necessary documentation to load products."
The company noted that the technical challenges were still ongoing as of March 9, affecting the entire downstream petroleum industry.
Ghana Link Network Services Ltd., however, refuted claims that the Integrated Customs Management System was responsible for recent fuel supply disruptions reported by some Oil Marketing Companies.
In a statement issued on March 9, 2026, Ghana Link Network Services Ltd. said allegations circulating in both traditional and social media suggesting that the ICUMS platform had been down since March 6 were “false, misleading, and wholly without basis.”
Concern over increasing fuel prices
There is anxiety about fuel prices increasing because of the Iran conflict.
Reuters reported on March 9 that oil prices hit their highest since mid-2022, surging at one point by some 30%. Benchmark Brent crude futures were up 12% at $103.93 per barrel at 1156 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 12.5% at $102.31.
Ghana's next fuel pricing window is after March 15, 2026.
Why did fuel prices previously reduce?
The January reduction in fuel prices was driven by a decline in prices of finished petroleum products and the sustained appreciation of the Ghana cedi against the US dollar.
The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies said the declines were due to global oversupply.
Source: Facebook
Petrol prices dropped between 1.26% and 2.30% in January, diesel declined by up to 2.10%, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas was projected to drop by as much as 5.09%.
Argument over fuel price floor
YEN.com.gh reported that the Chief Executive Officer of StarOil Ghana, Kwame Tieku, is calling for the scrapping of the price floor to allow dynamic pricing.
This sparked a back-and-forth with the GOIL MD, Edward Bawa, who suggested hypocrisy on the part of Tieku, claiming that StarOil could be selling at the price floor if its CEO was being sincere.
Source: YEN.com.gh
