President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned the refurbished Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) at Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), marking the full return of Ghana’s only state-owned refinery to operation without a financial bailout from the Government of Ghana.
The ceremony, held in Tema on Saturday, also celebrated the processing of one million barrels of Ghana’s Jubilee Field Medium Sweet Crude into refined petroleum products.
President Mahama said the rehabilitation of the CDU, the restoration of the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (RFCC), the installation of the new F-61 crude heater and the recommissioning of Boiler Number Eight represented more than the completion of major engineering projects.
He said the work reflected renewed confidence in Ghana’s industrial capacity and demonstrated the country’s commitment to maintaining strategic infrastructure for future generations.
The President linked the refinery’s revival to the vision of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who established the facility in 1963 under the name Ghana Italian Petroleum Company (GHAIP).
Ghana later took full ownership of the refinery in 1977, after it had initially operated under a joint arrangement.
“Since then, its history has been cheeky. It has had periods of glory; it has had periods of downturn,” he said.
Mr Mahama said TOR’s recovery had challenged the belief that state-owned enterprises could not operate efficiently and were dependent on privatisation to survive.
He also said the refinery had narrowly avoided being leased to a private operator for 15 years under a proposed US$22 million arrangement during the previous administration. The President credited TOR’s workforce with helping to protect what he described as a strategic national asset.
“And I must say that this has been done without a single Cedi from the government of Ghana. TOR has achieved all this on their own. The government has not bailed them out. We haven’t put a single Cedi into this rebound,” President Mahama stated.
He praised the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, TOR Board chairman Nayon Bilijo, managing director Edmond Kombat and the refinery’s workforce for the achievement.
Mr Mahama said the commissioning was evidence of Ghana’s decision to restore important national institutions instead of allowing them to decline.
“Some choose the easier path of abandoning institutions when they fall into difficulty. Others choose the more demanding path of rebuilding them, restoring confidence, renewing hope and preparing them to serve future generations yet unborn. Ours has been to deliberately choose the second path.”
The President also said sustainable economic growth depended on Ghana adding value to its natural resources through industrialisation and increased local production.
He said the refinery had built considerable momentum in recent months and reiterated that the turnaround had been achieved without direct government funding.
Since May this year, TOR has received three separate consignments of crude oil, each containing one million barrels. The shipments were Bonga Crude, Baleine Crude and Ghana’s Jubilee Medium Sweet Crude, all intended to support domestic refining.
In his welcome address, TOR managing director Edmond Kombat said the refinery’s return to service was the result of a broad transformation rather than a series of isolated accomplishments.
He said the completion of outstanding unaudited financial accounts covering 2019 to 2025, the successful processing of indigenous Ghanaian crude oil and the restoration of refining operations together represented a systematic reset for Ghana’s national refinery.
According to Mr Kombat, the changes had rebuilt confidence in TOR’s operational ability and placed it in a stronger position to contribute to Ghana’s energy security and industrial development.
