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Spatial location of fuel retail outlets and their level of compliance with regulations: lessons from the Kumasi Metropolitan area

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Abstract

The increasing demand for petroleum products in urban centers due to the over-reliance on automobiles makes fuel retail outlets essential to modern society. Despite the potential environmental and social threats posed by the activities of fuel retail outlets in Ghana, there is limited scholarly attention on compliance with the regulations on the location of fuel retail outlets. Relying on a mixed methods approach, the present study sought to explore the factors that influence the spatial location of fuel retail outlets and the level of compliance with regulations that guide the siting of fuel retail outlets in the Kumasi Metropolis. The study adopted the purposive sampling technique in the selection of participants of the study and the grouping of the existing fuel retail outlets. The researchers found that proximity to major transport arterials, markets, shops, banks, and industries influences the location of fuel retail outlets. The study further established a higher level of non-compliance with regulations due to land use changes, poor enforcement regimes as well as political interference. On this basis, the study recommends the need for institutional reforms that will help strengthen the enforcement of regulations that guide the siting of fuel retail outlets. There is also the need to decentralize the activities of regulatory agencies to promote sustainable urban development.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Gabriel Fordjour, Stephen Appiah Takyi, Atta Yeboah Senior, Owusu Amponsah & Anthony Kwabena Sarfo

Authors
  1. Gabriel Fordjour
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  2. Stephen Appiah Takyi
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  3. Atta Yeboah Senior
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  4. Owusu Amponsah
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  5. Anthony Kwabena Sarfo
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Contributions

Dr. SAT and Mr. GF were involved in the design of data collection instruments, data collection and data analysis. Dr. SAT, Dr. OA, Mr. GF and Mr. AKS took part in the writing and review of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen Appiah Takyi.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

This research followed the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ethical Standards. Consent was sought from all research participants before they were interviewed.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants and/or their legal guardians for participation in the study.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Appendix: Geographical coordinates of the functioning fuel retail outlets within the Kumasi Metropolis

Appendix: Geographical coordinates of the functioning fuel retail outlets within the Kumasi Metropolis

Name of fuel retail outlet

Geographical coordinates

Latitude (X)

Longitude (Y)

Bantama sub-metro

Shell

6.708078

−1.638255

Shell

6.707568

−1.637862

Unity

6.705611

−1.635787

Goil

6.704372

−1.634666

Goil

6.694487

−1.634398

Total

6.694316

−1.635392

Shell

6.694102

−1.636065

Unity

6.703355

−1.642829

Total

6.705981

−1.626363

Shell

6.699165

−1.630587

Goil

6.757702

−1.679858

Benab

6.75744

−1.679862

Benab

6.749267

−1.674215

Petrosol

6.74307

−1.66971

Top Oil

6.737243

−1.6587

Benab

6.714332

−1.64364

Total

6.7119912

−1.639792

Total

6.70795

−1.637177

Fraga Oil

6.707588

−1.626977

Subin sub-metro

Total

6.688973

−1.59691

Total

6.68873

−1.60053

Shell

6.689613

−1.606878

Shell

6.69003

−1.606738

Puma

6.689638

−1.611995

Total

6.689465

−1.613895

Goil

6.689093

−1.614667

Puma

6.641198

−1.619787

Shell

6.686798

−1.623613

Total

6.695608

−1.616322

Nhyiaeso sub-metro

Unity Oil

6.673745

−1.640068

Goil

6.673153

−1.641158

Goil

6.673165

−1.641462

Allied

6.669102

−1.64293

Total

6.66064

−1.642702

Shell

6.650278

−1.643807

Unity Oil

6.695537

−1.607332

Puma

6.682112

−1.615997

Unity Oil

6.646938

−1.619285

Shell

6.688703

−1.644557

Manhyia sub-metro

Shell

6.709612

−1.599352

Total

6.708613

−1.598852

Total

6.708937

−1.599377

Glory oil

6.708818

−1.601712

Goil

6.70822

−1.602608

Nick petroleum

6.70185

−1.61635

Total

6.705528

−1.609935

Shell

6.710552

−1.628073

Total

6.710033

−1.627765

Total

6.708665

−1.626997

Shell

6.706258

−1.623865

Total

6.713377

−1.616515

Glory

6.709513

−1.616633

Goil

6.70877

−1.617173

Shell

6.713997

−1.612153

Goil

6.714265

−1.607762

Shell

6.712435

−1.601362

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Fordjour, G., Takyi, S., Senior, A. et al. Spatial location of fuel retail outlets and their level of compliance with regulations: lessons from the Kumasi Metropolitan area. SN Soc Sci 4, 86 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00882-0

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