Fueling Ghana’s Round-the-Clock Ambition: Downstream Sector Prepares for 24-Hour Pilot

Ghana’s 24-hour economy will ultimately be judged not by speeches but by systems. In a decisive move to anchor policy ambition in operational reality, the National Petroleum Authority has convened industry heavyweights and the 24-Hour Economy Authority to chart the pilot rollout of round-the-clock operations in the downstream petroleum sector — a critical test of whether the country can fuel its transformation agenda without interruption.

Accra, Ghana | February 21, 2026 - Ghana’s 24-hour economy will not rise on rhetoric. It will run on fuel.

That blunt operational reality framed a high-level strategy session between the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), the newly established 24-Hour Economy Authority, and the core architecture of the downstream petroleum industry. At stake: the pilot implementation of round-the-clock operations across Ghana’s petroleum value chain — the backbone of the country’s most ambitious economic reset in decades.

Chaired by NPA Chief Executive Godwin Kudzo Tameklo, the meeting convened deputy executives, directors, and regulators alongside the institutional pillars of the market — the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC), the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), and BOSTEnergies. Security agencies, including the Ghana Police Service and National Security, were also at the table — an early signal that the 24-hour economy in the downstream will be as much about safety architecture as supply logistics.

Why the Downstream Sector Is the First Real Test

The 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme — anchored at The Presidency of the Republic of Ghana and formalised through legislation assented to by President John Dramani Mahama — is a production-led restructuring of Ghana’s economic model. It seeks to shift the country from an import-heavy, daylight-bound economy to one capable of continuous industrial, commercial, and logistics output.

But every sub-programme under the 24-hour framework — from agro-processing to manufacturing to export logistics — depends on uninterrupted fuel supply.

If transport fleets stall at midnight, cold chains fail at dawn, or generators go dry at industrial parks, the 24-hour agenda collapses into symbolism.

That makes the downstream petroleum sector not merely a participant, but a prerequisite.

From Policy Vision to Operational Mechanics

The strategy discussions reflect a clear sequencing logic. The 24-hour economy cannot be declared; it must be engineered.

For the NPA, that engineering exercise revolves around three pillars: infrastructure readiness, supply chain stability, and security assurance.

Infrastructure readiness begins with the sober recognition that round-the-clock operations demand facilities aligned with international safety and performance standards. Deputy Chief Executive Dr. Dramani Bukari’s ongoing assessments across terminals and depots point to the practical realities involved — lighting systems that function without interruption, surveillance and fire suppression mechanisms that remain responsive through extended hours, automation controls that can withstand continuous throughput, and digital metering systems capable of preserving accuracy under sustained demand.

Supply chain stability requires the entire downstream value chain — importation, distribution, storage, and retail — to operate in synchrony. Bulk Oil Distribution Companies, represented by CBOD, must maintain predictable import flows and primary distribution schedules. BOST’s storage and pipeline infrastructure must absorb and release product with precision. Oil Marketing Companies, through COMAC, form the final interface with consumers. A 24-hour retail promise without upstream coordination would simply displace bottlenecks further along the chain.

Security assurance, meanwhile, is foundational. Night-time operations introduce elevated exposure to theft, vandalism, and safety breaches. The participation of the Ghana Police Service and National Security in the strategy meeting underscores that enforcement coordination, surveillance integration, and rapid incident response mechanisms are being embedded into the pilot framework from inception, rather than appended after rollout.

What a 24-Hour Downstream Actually Looks Like

The pilot is expected to move beyond sporadic late-closing stations toward a structured, regulator-backed framework for continuous operations. Participating stations will be required to meet defined safety compliance benchmarks, while security coverage in high-traffic corridors is coordinated with state agencies. Terminals and depots must upgrade infrastructure to sustain overnight throughput, and workforce models will shift toward structured rotations with enhanced technical supervision. Real-time monitoring and consumer protection mechanisms are also expected to feature prominently in the design.

Crucially, the NPA’s leadership has framed the 24-hour rollout not as deregulated expansion, but as regulated intensification. The Authority’s medium-term outlook emphasises minimal incidents, consistent product quality, and adherence to global best practice. The objective is not merely longer opening hours; it is higher operational maturity.

The Institutional Architecture Behind the Pilot

The downstream sector’s institutional landscape is well defined. The NPA regulates pricing, licensing, and compliance. COMAC represents licensed Oil Marketing Companies operating filling stations nationwide. CBOD represents Bulk Oil Distribution Companies responsible for importation and primary supply. BOSTEnergies manages state strategic storage and transportation infrastructure.

The pilot requires these actors to function not as discrete entities but as an integrated operating system.

For OMCs, 24-hour service implies higher labour costs, increased utility consumption, and expanded security expenditure. For BIDECs, it demands disciplined import scheduling and depot coordination. For BOST, it requires resilient storage and transfer infrastructure capable of sustained throughput without compromising safety. Without deliberate coordination, cost pressures could cascade downstream to consumers — a risk the NPA’s regulatory oversight is clearly designed to mitigate.

Human Capital: The Quiet Constraint

Beyond infrastructure and logistics lies a subtler constraint: workforce capability.

Operating safely through extended hours demands technicians, pump attendants, depot supervisors, and compliance officers trained for high-intensity shift work. Fatigue management, safety discipline, and emergency response competence become structural requirements rather than optional enhancements.

The NPA’s broader emphasis on skills development and regulatory discipline suggests the pilot will function as a stress test for workforce readiness in a more complex, higher-tempo downstream environment.

The Strategic Stakes

The 24-hour economy is Ghana’s most ambitious structural reform since the era of downstream deregulation. Its credibility hinges on visible, early operational wins.

Fuel availability is among the most visible.

If motorists can refuel reliably at 2 a.m., if logistics operators can schedule night-haul movements without supply uncertainty, and if agro-processors and manufacturers operate uninterrupted, confidence in the broader programme compounds. If not, scepticism will.

The strategy meeting between the NPA, industry chambers, and the 24-Hour Economy Authority, therefore, marks more than administrative coordination. It represents the first operational rehearsal of whether Ghana’s policy ambition can withstand the friction of real-world execution.

In energy systems, continuity is discipline made visible.

The night shift has begun.