The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is considering a listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to attract investment and raise additional capital to support its recovery, rehabilitation and expansion plans.
Mr Edmond Kombat, Managing Director of TOR, disclosed this when a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by its Ghana Resident Representative, Dr Adrian Alter, visited the refinery to assess its operations and ongoing rehabilitation works.
Mr Kombat said the proposed listing would create opportunities for Ghanaian institutions and other investors to acquire shares in the company, providing an alternative source of funding to strengthen its operations and long-term financial sustainability.
He noted that the initiative formed part of management’s broader strategy to reposition the refinery following years of operational and financial challenges.
He explained that since assuming office in May 2025, the current management had relied on internally generated funds to sustain operations and rehabilitate critical facilities.
“Since this new management took over, we have not received a dime from the government. Every single thing is done through our internally generated funds,” he said.
Mr Kombat explained that the refinery was also engaging the government on restructuring its outstanding debt obligations and reconciling historical financial commitments between the two entities.
He disclosed that TOR inherited a debt burden of approximately US$517 million, including about US$120 million owed to the government.
Management was also engaging with other state institutions to reconcile outstanding obligations and explore possible netting-off arrangements to establish the actual financial position of the respective parties.
On its financial performance, Mr Kombat said TOR recorded a profit in the previous year and expressed optimism about sustaining profitability in the current and subsequent years.
He attributed the positive outlook partly to improved macroeconomic conditions and management’s efforts to strengthen operational efficiency and financial discipline.
The Managing Director said the refinery’s recovery was critical to Ghana’s energy security, particularly in reducing the country’s exposure to disruptions in international petroleum markets.
He said domestic refining could help improve petroleum product availability and mitigate the effects of external supply shocks, including those arising from geopolitical tensions.
Mr Kombat disclosed that TOR had processed approximately five million barrels of crude oil, including about two million barrels sourced from Ghanaian oil fields.
He said the refinery’s first domestic crude supply came from the Jubilee field through a transaction with Vitol, which was fully paid for, while the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) had also supplied its share of the country’s crude allocation.
He expressed hope that GNPC would make its full crude allocation available to TOR for refining the following year to improve feedstock availability and support more consistent operations.
Mr Kombat also highlighted the refinery’s commercial potential, citing its tank farm, storage infrastructure and product distribution network.
He said TOR had approximately one million metric tonnes of storage capacity and was connected to eight privately operated depots, allowing it to pump petroleum products directly to those facilities.
The arrangements, he indicated, offered additional revenue opportunities alongside other services, including laboratory testing of petroleum products.
On corporate governance, Mr Kombat said the Ghana Audit Service had undertaken an exercise to clear a six-year backlog of unaudited accounts, while management intended to appoint an external audit firm at the refinery’s next Annual General Meeting to handle subsequent audits.
He said other measures included strengthening internal controls, improving financial reporting, undertaking staff-related reforms, and rehabilitating critical processing units to enhance operational efficiency.
The IMF delegation was briefed on the refinery’s operational and financial position before touring selected facilities to observe rehabilitation works and assess progress towards restoring reliable operations.
The engagement formed part of the Fund’s interactions with selected state-owned enterprises and government authorities to understand their operations, financial positions, challenges and contributions to Ghana’s economy.
TOR is Ghana’s principal oil refinery and plays a role in the country’s petroleum supply chain and energy security.
