Fuel discharge at the Tema oil jetty has surged after the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) introduced round‑the‑clock berthing and unberthing of vessels. The move, which began last year, followed technical fixes and upgrades to lighting and security at the facility.
GPMS Operations and Maintenance Manager Francis Owusu said the improvements now allow vessels to berth and depart at any time, improving overall efficiency. He revealed the changes during a Thursday visit by civil society organisations to GPMS’s offshore mooring sites, including the Single Point Mooring, Conventional Buoy Mooring and the oil jetty itself.
The NPA led the upgrade in partnership with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and the Ghana Standards Authority. NPA Chief Executive Godwin Kudzo Tameklo explained that the jetty previously could not accommodate ships after 5 p.m., forcing vessels to queue and wait for discharge.
The Conventional Buoy Mooring, located about 2.7 nautical miles from Tema Fishing Harbour, uses four permanent mooring chains anchored to the seabed to keep vessels secure. The multi‑purpose jetty handles crude oil, fuel oil, aviation turbine kerosene, gasoil, gasoline, naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas.
Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Policy and Research, Kwadwo Opoku, praised the NPA Chief Executive for his open‑door policy, which gives stakeholders deeper insight into downstream petroleum operations.
With 24‑hour operations now in place, Tema’s oil jetty is expected to handle higher volumes and reduce waiting times for vessels, strengthening Ghana’s position as a regional petroleum hub.
