Vice President Dr. Bawumia has indicated the Gold for Oil policy which has contributed to exchange rate stability is projected to save the country approximately $4.8 billion annually.

Speaking at the 2023 energy sector retreat, the Vice President made the projection.

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh who was also present emphasized that the Ministry of Energy's diligent monitoring of every aspect of the Gold for Oil value chain to ensure that the program's objectives are successfully achieved without compromise.

Both leaders have assured that the government is fully committed to ensuring Ghana reaps maximum advantages from the program.

The Gold for Oil policy has been credited as one of the measures that have led to stable fuel prices.

The Head of Financial Markets at the Bank of Ghana, Steven Opata, said the government’s policy had resulted in increased competition among traders of refined petroleum products, leading to reductions in prices at the pumps.

As a result of the implementation of the policy, petroleum prices, which hovered averagely at GH¢15 in January 2023, now sells at about GH¢12 on the average and are expected to further go down in the coming months.

As of May 29, 2023, the price of gasoline in Ghana was GH¢13.2 per litre, roughly $1.19, indicating a decrease from the prices in December 2022 .

The implementation of the Gold for Oil programme commenced with the arrival of the first consignment of about 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel on January 15, 2023, valued at about $40 million.

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in a statement said the prime objective of the programme is to use additional foreign exchange resources from the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase programme to provide foreign currency for the importation of petroleum products for the country which currently stands at about $350 million per month.

Payment for oil supply is to be done in two channels: by way of barter trade where gold is exchanged for oil or via broker channel where the gold is converted into cash and paid to the supplier.

The first consignment of 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel constitutes about 10 percent of the country’s combined monthly demand for petrol and diesel.

According to the NPA, the plan is to gradually increase imports under the programme to constitute about 50 per cent of the country’s total demand for petrol and diesel.

The implementation of the programme will ease pressure on the dollar (the currency used for the importation of petroleum products) and avoid the occasional increases in petroleum prices resulting from the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.

In addition, the programme will ensure that the cost of importing the products from international oil traders will be comparatively cheaper.