The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) had accumulated losses of about GH¢10 billion and debts of approximately $570 million before the current management assumed office in 2025.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, October 26, 2026, Managing Director Edmond Kombat said the refinery was in a deteriorated financial and operational state, with years of inadequate maintenance and prolonged shutdowns of critical processing units undermining its core refining business.
He said the scale of the challenges inherited by management required deliberate measures to restore the refinery’s operations.
“When the President came back and asked that the refinery be brought back, when we went there to do the assessment, this was the TOR we met. By the time the current management took office in 2025, TOR’s position had deteriorated.
“The company had accumulated losses of about GHS10 billion and its debts had risen from $300 million in 2016 to about $570 million.”
Mr. Kombat said the refinery’s challenges extended beyond its financial position to the condition of its major processing facilities.
He disclosed that the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) had been out of operation since April 2021, while the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) had remained shut down since 2019.
“These major units had not received the required maintenance and TOR had been reduced largely to renting out storage space to petroleum service providers.”
The prolonged shutdowns limited TOR’s ability to process crude oil into finished petroleum products, leaving the refinery largely dependent on revenue from renting storage space to petroleum service providers.
Located in Tema, the refinery was commissioned in 1963 to process crude oil into petroleum products for the domestic market.
However, years of operational and financial difficulties have affected its ability to operate consistently and maximise the use of its infrastructure.
Efforts to revive the refinery gained momentum after the current management took office in May 2025.
According to TOR’s October 2026 management briefing, turnaround maintenance on the crude distillation unit was carried out between August and October 2025, paving the way for refining to resume on December 19, 2025, following clearance from the National Petroleum Authority.
The management has also reported progress in addressing the refinery’s backlog of audited accounts, with reports covering 2019 to 2025 submitted to the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA).
Despite these developments, restoring TOR’s financial health remains a major challenge.
Mr. Kombat said deliberate steps had been taken to revive the facility and restore its operational capacity.
The success of the recovery efforts will depend on the refinery’s ability to sustain production, improve its financial position and overcome the operational challenges that have constrained it for years.
