ACCRA, Ghana, 26th October: The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is working towards increasing its refining capacity to 100,000 barrels per day as part of plans to strengthen domestic petroleum production and reduce Ghana’s dependence on imported finished fuel products.
The refinery’s Managing Director, Edmond Kombat, disclosed this during the Government Accountability Series at the Presidency.
He said President John Dramani Mahama had directed the Minister for Energy and Green Transition to work with the TOR Board and management to develop a strategic roadmap for the expansion.
According to Mr Kombat, the immediate objective is to raise TOR’s processing capacity from its nameplate capacity of 45,000 barrels per stream day to 100,000 barrels per day, with a longer-term ambition of reaching 200,000 barrels per day.
He said the government was targeting about 70 per cent of national fuel demand to be met through local refining by 2028.
Current capacity expansion
Mr Kombat said the refinery is currently processing about 28,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Engineers from Verga Engineering are working with TOR’s technical team to complete the tie-in and commissioning of the F-61 Crude Heater, a project expected to enable the CDU to increase its throughput.
He said the immediate objective was to raise throughput to between 45,000 and 55,000 barrels per day.
In the medium term, management plans to install a new air cooler to increase capacity to 60,000 barrels per day.
The refinery also plans to replace its existing 6,500-barrel-a-day catalytic reformers with a 10,000-barrel-per-day continuous catalytic reformer.
Mr Kombat added that a new 120-tonne boiler had been installed, while work on the RFCC turnaround and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system was continuing.
New refinery and petrochemical facilities
Beyond the rehabilitation of the existing plant, TOR is advancing plans for a new greenfield refinery and petrochemical facilities.
Mr Kombat said the company’s Restoration and Legacy Projects programme for 2026 to 2029 proposes expanding the existing refinery from 45,000 to 85,000 barrels per stream day and constructing a new refinery with a capacity of 115,000 barrels per stream day.
Together, the two facilities would provide a combined capacity of 200,000 barrels per stream day.
The plans also include additional storage capacity designed to meet current environmental standards.
According to Mr Kombat, the projects will be pursued with strategic partners and in line with the climate-compliance principles set by the President.
Legacy debt under consideration
The Managing Director also disclosed that the Ministry of Finance was working with TOR to consider writing off US$120 million of the refinery’s legacy debt owed to the Government of Ghana or converting it into equity.
He said President Mahama had also announced plans to restructure TOR to enable it to operate on sound commercial principles without undue political interference.
The proposed restructuring is intended to support the refinery’s long-term commercial sustainability.
Energy security and local value addition
Mr Kombat said expanding domestic refining capacity would reduce the volumes of finished petroleum products Ghana needs to import and strengthen the country’s resilience when international supply chains are disrupted.
He cited the refinery’s renewed processing of Ghanaian crude as an important step towards retaining more value within the domestic economy.
TOR received a cargo of Jubilee Medium Sweet crude on July 15, 2026, which the Managing Director described as the refinery’s first Jubilee cargo in a decade. A further 950,000-barrel cargo of Sankofa crude was received on September 25, 2026.
He said collaboration among TOR, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, the National Petroleum Authority, GOIL and other stakeholders had helped restore refining operations.
Mr Kombat maintained that the planned expansion would position TOR to play a greater role in Ghana’s petroleum supply chain, industrial growth and energy security.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️) Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭
