Edmond Kombat, Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), confirmed that the refinery’s revival has bolstered Ghana’s resilience against international petroleum supply shocks, including those linked to the Iran conflict.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series at Jubilee House on Monday, October 26, 2026, Mr Kombat recalled President John Dramani Mahama’s remarks during the commissioning of TOR’s refurbished Crude Distillation Unit on August 1, 2026. “On August 1, 2026, H.E. the President noted that, because of the role played by TOR, Ghanaians were largely spared the effects of the Iran conflict on fuel supply,” he said. “This is why local refining capacity matters when international supplies are disrupted,” he added.
The refinery’s Crude Distillation Unit had been out of operation since April 2021, while the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit had been shut down since 2019, limiting TOR’s core refining function to storage activities. After a turnaround maintenance programme under the current management appointed in May 2025, crude processing resumed on December 19, 2025, following clearance from the National Petroleum Authority.
Since restarting, TOR has received several crude cargoes, including indigenous Ghanaian crude from the Jubilee and Sankofa fields. Its nameplate capacity of 45,000 barrels per stream day represents roughly 35 percent of the 128,000 barrels of clean petroleum products Ghana imported daily in 2025.
Mr Kombat highlighted partnerships with the Ghana Oil Company Limited, the National Petroleum Authority and the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited as key to strengthening petroleum supply arrangements. He said TOR’s recovery will continue to focus on restoring operational capacity, improving crude supply reliability and supporting greater resilience in Ghana’s petroleum market.
With local refining now operational, Ghana can reduce the volume of finished petroleum products it needs to import and better manage crude delivery schedules to maintain adequate stocks.
