By Celestine Avi and Seth Eyiah
The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has received its first one-million-barrel shipment of crude oil from Ghana’s Jubilee Field for domestic refining, as President John Dramani Mahama commissions the refurbished Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) at the refinery.
The milestone marks a major step in Ghana’s efforts to restore its petroleum refining capacity and strengthen energy security.
President Mahama, speaking at the ceremony in Tema, said the revival of TOR proves that strategic national assets can be restored through competent leadership, professional management and the commitment of Ghanaian workers, without direct government financial support.
He said TOR’s turnaround had disproved the perception that state-owned enterprises could not survive without being sold to private investors.
“TOR has disproved that theory because, as the minister told you, if not for the bravery of the workers and their resistance, this refined strategic national asset would have been leased out for 15 years for 22 million dollars. But today, a very determined management and board, very talented and efficient workers working with strategic partners, has turned the fortunes of this refinery around.”
The President stressed that the recovery of the refinery was achieved without a government bailout.
“TOR has achieved all this on their own. Government has not bailed them out. We haven’t put a single cedi into this rebound,” he stated.
President Mahama said the commissioning of the refurbished Crude Distillation Unit represented more than an engineering achievement, describing it as a demonstration of Ghana’s determination to restore and protect its strategic national assets.
He said TOR’s revival forms part of the government’s Reset Agenda, aimed at rebuilding confidence in institutions and positioning them to support economic transformation.
The President disclosed that since May this year, TOR has received three separate one-million-barrel crude oil cargoes, including Ghana’s own Jubilee Medium Sweet crude, which the refinery fully paid for.
He added that TOR has already processed two million barrels of crude into products including gasoline, gas oil, aviation turbine kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas and residual fuel oil.
President Mahama said the improved operations of TOR, together with Sentuo Oil Refinery, have helped Ghana reduce the impact of global fuel supply disruptions.
“Because of the role of TOR and Sentuo in refining local crude and making sure that petroleum products are available on the markets, Ghanaians have hardly felt the effects of the disruptions,” he said.
He announced plans to expand TOR’s capacity to 100,000 barrels per day and restructure the refinery to improve efficiency and eliminate political interference.
President Mahama said the revival of TOR aligns with government’s broader 24-hour economy initiative, under which institutions that operate round the clock will receive support and incentives to boost production.
He noted that TOR is already operating on a 24-hour basis and announced that government is developing incentives for businesses running multiple shifts, including tax breaks, favourable energy tariffs and duty-free importation of capital goods for plant expansion.
“I was very happy when the Managing Director indicated that TOR is operating 24-hour already. Government is working on the incentives for enterprises that are running 24-hour shifts,” President Mahama said.
President Mahama said the broader vision is to transform Ghana into a leading petroleum refining, storage and logistics hub in West Africa.
“We do not intend merely to keep TOR operating. We intend to make TOR more competitive, more efficient and more commercially viable,” he stated.
He commended the TOR Board, management, workers, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transitions and strategic partners for their contribution to restoring the refinery.
President Mahama officially commissioned the refurbished Crude Distillation Unit and described the achievement as another milestone under the government’s Reset Agenda.
