Edmond Kombat reveals state of TOR inherited

Edmond Kombat, Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), painted a grim picture of the refinery's condition when he took over in January 2025. Speaking at the Government Accountability Series, Kombat revealed that the refinery was close to collapse, having accumulated losses amounting to about GH¢10 billion. The company's debt had risen from $300 million in 2016 to $517 million.

The refinery's two major production units, the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) Unit, were both non-functional. The CDU had been offline since April 2021, while the RFCC Unit had been shut down since 2019. Their lack of maintenance had left TOR renting out storage space instead of fulfilling its core mandate of refining crude oil.

Kombat also pointed out that much of TOR's infrastructure was outdated or obsolete. Out of the 59 storage tanks, 18 were out of service, some since 2004. Regarding corporate governance, TOR had not filed audited financial statements for six years, from 2019 to 2024. The refinery was burdened with statutory debts, owing GH¢200 million to the Ghana Revenue Authority, GH¢20 million to SSNIT, and other debts to the Electricity Company of Ghana, Ghana Water Company, and other entities.

Additionally, TOR owed significant amounts to staff provident funds, retirees, and resignees, as well as commercial entities and two state-owned companies. Employee morale was at an all-time low, with staff resignations, a divided workforce, and over 300 petitions regarding delayed promotions pending review.

Most alarming, Kombat revealed that TOR had sold third-party products belonging to three Bulk Distribution Companies, valued at millions of dollars, to pay staff salaries without the owners' consent. By the end of 2024, TOR had a negative equity of GH¢7.6 billion and was on the brink of being sold or leased for a mere $21 million.