The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is on track to resume full operations by October 2025, a move officials say will significantly reduce Ghana’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.

Appearing before Parliament’s Energy Committee, the Acting Managing Director of TOR, Edmund Kombat, disclosed that the country currently spends approximately $400 million monthly on fuel imports. A fully operational TOR, he noted, could slash that figure by more than half.

“We spend $400 million every month importing refined petroleum products. When TOR is running, we will need less than 60% of that money to import refined petroleum products,” Kombat told the committee.

He explained that the refinery’s nameplate capacity stands at 45,000 barrels per stream day. However, with the installation of a new furnace, TOR can now process up to 60,000 barrels daily. Given Ghana’s daily consumption of around 100,000 barrels, the refinery could potentially meet between 45% and 60% of local demand.

Kombat clarified that TOR’s shutdown in 2021 was not due to operational inefficiencies but rather the unavailability of crude oil.

“The refinery is a profitable enterprise; it is capable of refining. There have been many turnaround maintenance works that have taken place at the refinery. The reason it was shut down in 2021 was actually because of a lack of crude,” he emphasised.

To oversee the recovery process, TOR has established a Turnaround Maintenance Committee, led by the General Manager of Maintenance and supervised by the Deputy Managing Director. The committee meets weekly to monitor progress toward full restoration.

“From the timeline that we are seeing, between September and October, we should get the CDU [Crude Distillation Unit] back on stream,” he added.

Kombat also revealed that TOR has not had audited financial statements since 2019 but is currently addressing the gap.

“Another key thing is that for the past six years, the refinery has not had audited accounts since 2019. We’ve brought in external auditors and they are busily working. We are hoping that by next month, we’ll have all six audited accounts to present to SIGA and also give copies to members of the committee,” he stated.

Looking ahead, TOR’s 2025 work plan includes efforts to revive its secondary unit—the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC)—by December or early next year. Kombat described the RFCC as TOR’s “cash cow,” capable of converting atmospheric residue into high-value products such as premium gasoline and LPG.

“The CDU is easier to bring on stream. The RFCC may come around December or early next year, but the CDU will be on stream between September and October. Our target is ambitious, but achievable,” he concluded.

He appealed to Parliament to support TOR’s revitalisation efforts.

“It’s the people’s refinery, and we are praying that you add your voices to get this plant back.”