The Chief Executive of Star Oil Ghana, Philip Tieku, has emphasised that the company’s rise to become Ghana’s number one oil-marketing firm was not driven solely by offering lower pump prices. Instead, he said the ascent is the result of a mix of operational discipline, innovation, and customer focus.

Speaking recently, Tieku explained that while competitive pricing played a role, it was far from the full story. Key elements behind the company’s growth include efficient resource management, strict overhead controls, elimination of leakages, a strong emphasis on fuel quality, and proactive service-station and dealer engagement.

“There’s a level that price can take you, but sustaining it comes with a lot of strategies, and we worked hard to achieve that,” Tieku said.

He highlighted specific innovations such as the “20 °C temperature compensation system,” which rewards tanker drivers for efficient deliveries and ties performance incentives to station outcomes.

Tieku also noted that savings from operational discipline have been reinvested into employee welfare, ensuring that attendants are direct hires (not outsourced) and receive higher wages and performance incentives than many peers in the industry.

Likely helping the company’s rise, data from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) revealed that Star Oil sold over 602 million litres of petroleum products from January to September 2025, overtaking the previous market-leader.

The company also reported paying GH¢1.1 billion in taxes during the first half of the year and maintaining a workforce of 2,546 across 240 service stations nationwide.

Tieku dismissed suggestions the growth was a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon, asserting that Star Oil’s model is sustainable because it is built on solid fundamentals, not just price-cuts. He added that the company plans to expand further into bulk-fuel distribution to deepen its presence across the value chain.