Refining Ghanaian crude in Ghana keeps value onshore – TOR MD

Edmond Kombat, Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), highlighted the significance of refining Ghanaian crude oil domestically. He emphasized that this step preserves value within the national economy and supports President Akufo-Addo's vision of value addition in Ghana's petroleum sector. Speaking at the Government Accountability Press Conference, Mr Kombat reported that the refinery underwent a turnaround maintenance from August 1 to October 30, 2025.

Following the completion of the maintenance works, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) conducted an inspection, confirming compliance with safety and operational requirements, which allowed TOR to resume refining operations on December 19, 2025. Since May 2026, TOR has received four crude cargoes, including Ghana's Jubilee Medium Sweet crude, delivered on July 15, 2026, marking the first such delivery in a decade.

The refurbished Crude Distillation Unit was commissioned by the President on August 1, 2026. TOR's operations now signify a significant milestone, integrating Ghanaian crude oil processing within a Ghanaian refinery, thereby linking the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of the petroleum industry. Strategic offtake partnerships, such as the one with GOIL for the 2026 arrangement, are crucial for increasing the supply of locally refined products, ensuring a stable supply, and stabilizing pump prices.

Without the restoration of TOR and other government-supported domestic production, fuel prices could have escalated between GHS22 and GHS32 per litre in the last two pricing windows. Kombat emphasized that the refinery's revival ensures fuel security and availability for Ghana and its Sahelian neighbors, with TOR's collaboration with key entities like BOST and the National Petroleum Authority expanding petroleum product movement through Ghana from 15% in 2024 to 40% as of now.

The refinery is set to expand, with engineers working on increasing throughput from the current 28,000 to 45,000 to 55,000 barrels per day. Plans are underway to install a new air cooler to boost capacity further to 60,000 bpd, and replace the 6,500 barrel-a-day catalytic reformers with a 10,000 barrel-per-day continuous reformer.

Additionally, the TOR aims to raise processing capacity to 100,000 barrels a day, with aspirations to reach 200,000 barrels per day, subject to a strategic roadmap approved by the President and the Minister of Energy and Green Transition.