The Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Edmond Kombat, has disclosed that the refinery processed 441,165 metric tonnes of crude oil in 2026 to date, marking a return to refining after years of operational difficulties.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, October 26, 2026, Mr. Kombat outlined the progress made since the refinery resumed crude processing on December 19, 2025, after nearly five years offline.
“Ten months ago, on 19 December 2025, TOR sent crude through its Crude Distillation Unit after nearly five years offline. Today we account for what that restart has meant for Ghana,” he said.
The restart followed turnaround maintenance on the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) between August and October 2025, after which the National Petroleum Authority cleared the facility to resume operations.
The CDU had been out of operation since April 2021, while the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) had been shut down since 2019.
During the period when refining was suspended, TOR relied largely on its storage facilities to support petroleum product activities rather than processing crude oil into finished products.
Figures presented by Mr. Kombat show that TOR processed 441,165 metric tonnes of crude oil in 2026 to date, compared with 35,962 metric tonnes processed in the days following the December 2025 restart.
The refinery recorded no crude processing through its CDU between 2022 and 2024.
For comparison, TOR processed 484,603 metric tonnes in 2020, its last full year of operation before the extended shutdown.
Mr. Kombat said management projects crude processing of 524,987 metric tonnes for the full year in 2026.
The figure is a straight-line projection based on production recorded so far and is not a confirmed year-end outcome.
Mr. Kombat also disclosed that the refinery had produced 432,450 metric tonnes of petroleum products in 2026 to date.
The output comprised 187,274 metric tonnes of fuel oil, 105,420 tonnes of gasoil, 80,569 tonnes of gasoline, 30,894 tonnes of aviation turbine kerosene (ATK), 26,042 tonnes of kerosene and 2,252 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Fuel oil accounted for about 43 per cent of the reported output.
Mr. Kombat identified rehabilitation of the RFCC and further process upgrades as important steps towards converting more residual products into higher-value fuels.
TOR’s planned projects include work on the F-61 furnace, installation of a 120-tonne boiler and improvements to its supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system.
Mr. Kombat said the current management inherited significant financial and operational challenges when it took office in May 2025.
The figures presented at the accountability event showed accumulated losses of about GH¢10 billion between 2017 and 2024, with debt of approximately US$517 million as of May 2025.
The refinery had also gone six years without audited accounts covering 2019 to 2024, while several creditors remained unpaid.
The resumption of crude processing marks a significant step in restoring TOR’s operations, but sustaining production will depend on reliable crude supplies, regular maintenance and the completion of further rehabilitation works.
Management has outlined a roadmap to increase processing capacity, although the planned improvements remain subject to implementation.
Summing up the refinery’s recovery, Mr. Kombat said, “The foundation is sound. The work continues.”
