The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) resumed crude oil processing in December 2025 after years of inactivity, with Managing Director Edmond Kombat outlining the maintenance and operational changes that enabled the state-owned refinery to return to refining.
Speaking during a press briefing, Kombat said management inherited a refinery whose Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) had been out of operation since April 2021, while the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) Unit had been shut down since 2019.
“We met a refinery that was not refining and a tank farm used only for limited storage,” he said, describing the condition of the facility when the current management took office in May 2025.
According to him, much of the refinery’s infrastructure had deteriorated, with 18 of its 59 storage tanks out of service. The major processing units had also missed the maintenance required to restore reliable operations.
Management subsequently made the rehabilitation of the CDU its immediate priority under Project Restore TOR, a programme aimed at returning the refinery to operation and improving its long-term sustainability.
The turnaround maintenance ran from August 1 to October 30, 2025, and was funded entirely from TOR’s internally generated funds. The work was carried out by the refinery’s own engineers and technicians.
Following the maintenance, the National Petroleum Authority inspected the plant, confirmed that it met the mandatory safety and operational requirements, and cleared it to resume refining.
Crude processing began on December 19, 2025, with the resulting product streams directed into storage.
Kombat said safety remained a priority throughout the work.
“We recorded no fatalities or disabling injuries during the CDU turnaround,” he stated.
Management also resumed work on critical infrastructure projects, including Boiler No. 8, the F-61 Crude Heater, the Residue Air Cooler and the Steam Turbine Generator.
The refinery’s crude supply has since improved, with management reporting the receipt of cargoes including Bonga, Baleine, Ghana’s Jubilee Medium Sweet crude and Sankofa crude.
On July 15, 2026, TOR received the Jubilee cargo aboard the MT Apache and paid for it in full. Kombat described it as the refinery’s first Jubilee cargo in a decade. A 950,000-barrel Sankofa cargo arrived on September 25, 2026.
President John Dramani Mahama commissioned the refurbished CDU on August 1, 2026.
Despite the progress, TOR is not yet operating at its full nameplate capacity of 45,000 barrels per stream day. Current throughput stands at approximately 28,000 barrels per day.
Kombat said engineers from Verga Engineering were working with TOR’s technical team to complete and commission the F-61 Crude Heater, a step expected to allow the CDU to reach its full nameplate capacity.
He maintained that the refinery’s recovery was still ongoing, with further work planned to increase processing capacity, improve supporting infrastructure and modernise operations.
