From GOIL’s Free Breakfast to StarOil's Shade, Fuel Price Beef in Ghana Heats Up as Consumers Enjoy
Ghanaians are being captivated by a fuel price beef between the two leading Oil Market Companies, StarOil and GOIL
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Ghanaians are enjoying single-digit fuel prices per litre for the first time in years after a difficult period for the economy under the Akufo-Addo administration.
Some oil marketing companies are selling petrol below GH¢10, with StarOil advertising its petrol at GH¢9.97 per litre.
Source: Facebook
GOIL has also been selling fuel below GH¢10, joining some of the cheapest offerings from oil marketing companies.
But the appetite for lower fuel prices was whetted even further by the Chief Executive Officer of StarOil Ghana, Kwame Tieku, who is calling for the scrapping of the price floor and allowing dynamic pricing.
The current price floor is GH¢9.80.
This sparked a back-and-forth with the GOIL MD, Edward Bawa, who suggested hypocrisy on the part of Tieku, saying the StarOil could be selling at the price floor if it was being sincere.
"Some industry players are claiming that they can reduce prices further, yet in reality, they cannot even compete at the approved floor price of GH¢9.80 for PMS in this pricing window."
Bawa further said that calling for deeper price reductions while pricing above the regulated floor undermines the credibility of that claim.
How did StarOil CEO respond to GOIL?
Tieku maintained that his company has always served the public interest with its favourable prices.
He believes this has contributed to the loyalty it gets from customers and improved market share.
In the first half of 2025, StarOil has consolidated its position as the leader in Ghana’s Oil Marketing industry, as it recorded a 41.02% increase in product volumes, reaching 403.3 million litres, thereby overtaking GOIL in market share.
In a recent comment on Facebook, Tieku suggested people were out for his company, which is Ghanaian-owned.
"Always pray for us… we are the most disliked in our industry because of what we do for the customer! Without us, there would have been no serious competition at all. they claim we want to wipe them out and become a monopoly??!"
GOIL serving free breakfast at some branches
The top companies in Ghana remain StarOil with a 15% of the market share and GOIL with about 13% of the market share.
As competition heats up between the two, GOIL has reportedly been giving free breakfast to customers at some branches, drawing acclaim and sparking excited chatter about a fuel price war with StarOil.
Metro TV reported that the Nima Goil Fueling station has been serving customers breakfast for two days.
In a cheeky retort to GOIL's marketing antics on X, StarOil remained confident that customers would ultimately be swayed by lower prices.
"We encourage all our customers to pass by and enjoy breakfast there and come back home where they belong."
Arguments against fuel price floor in Ghana
The National Petroleum Authority has pushed back against calls to remove the Fuel Price Floor Programme, insisting the policy remains necessary due to persistent unfair pricing practices in the downstream petroleum sector.
According to the authority, the market conditions that compelled the introduction of the price floor have not changed, and pricing distortions continue to threaten industry stability.
The Executive Director of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, Duncan Amoah, however, argued that removing the price floor is necessary to ensure consumers benefit from recent market developments.
Source: Facebook
In comments to YEN.com.gh, the Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy, Benjamin Nsiah, also backed calls for removing the price floor.
"Intervening in the market is not the best and does not serve the interests of many of the OMCs, especially the smaller OMCs, as well as the consumers.”
There are also concerns that StarOil could aggressively lower prices below competitors' cost structures and pressure smaller marketers out of the market, ultimately reducing competition.
Price floors also provide predictability and reduce volatility in retail pricing.
Why have fuel prices reduced in Ghana?
The recent reduction in fuel prices has been 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 noted that despite a marginal increase in crude oil prices, major petroleum products recorded price declines due to global oversupply.
Petrol prices were projected to fall by between 1.26% and 2.30%, diesel was expected to decline by up to 2.10%, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas is projected to drop by as much as 5.09%.
Databank Research has suggested that upcoming foreign exchange pressures on the cedi will be limited by the gradual rollout of the US$1 billion allocation for January under the Bank of Ghana’s FX Intermediation Programme.
This is the second time this month that prices of petroleum products have declined at the pumps.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
