The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) is advocating urgent reforms to Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector, including the removal of dormant licences, to address growing inefficiencies in the industry.

This follows what the Chamber describes as widespread over-licensing in 2025, which it says has led to market distortions and unhealthy competition.

According to COMAC’s Industry Report, the number of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and LPG Marketing Companies rose to over 229 during the year, creating an oversaturated market. The development, it noted, triggered intense price competition and unsustainable undercutting among industry players.

The situation was further worsened by the presence of about 57 non-operational firms that continue to hold active licences despite not consistently lifting petroleum products.

COMAC argues that these challenges expose weaknesses in the current licensing regime and underscore the need for immediate review.

To restore stability and efficiency, the Chamber is proposing a comprehensive overhaul of the framework, including stricter governance standards, as well as higher capital and operational requirements for both new and existing entrants.

It is also calling for an aggressive merger and consolidation strategy to restructure petroleum service providers (PSPs) that fail to meet revised criteria, with the aim of strengthening resilience and ensuring long-term sustainability in the sector.

“Review and restructure the licensing framework to raise the entry threshold … and eliminate dormant licences. Consequently, a comprehensive merger and consolidation framework should be aggressively implemented to streamline the sector,” the report stated.