Tema Oil Refinery resumes operations after years of inactivity
- Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has resumed crude oil refining after years of inactivity, following successful maintenance on its Crude Distillation Unit
- The revival is credited to government support, with management praising staff, the board, and stakeholders for their role in the refinery’s recovery
- Social media users who saw the video of the flare thronged the comment section to share their varied thoughts and praise the government
The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has resumed crude oil refining operations after many years of inactivity, marking a major step in efforts to revive Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.
The resumption follows the successful completion of extensive Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) works on the refinery’s Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), carried out between August 1 and October 30, 2025.
Source: Facebook
The maintenance works were completed on schedule and in line with international engineering, safety, and operational standards.
Following the completion of the maintenance works, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) conducted regulatory inspections and subsequently cleared the refinery to resume operations, indicating that TOR had met all mandatory safety and operational requirements.
As part of a phased return to full capacity, TOR will operate over the coming months to stabilise its systems and optimise performance ahead of its official recommissioning. Management says this approach is aimed at ensuring the reliability and sustainability of operations.
In a statement signed by management, TOR disclosed that the refinery has also completed the installation of a new furnace, F-61, which is expected to be commissioned soon and integrated into the CDU.
“In addition, TOR has completed the installation of a new furnace, F-61, which will soon be commissioned and integrated into the CDU. This critical upgrade will enable the refinery to restore its original nameplate capacity of 45,000 barrels per stream day, up from the current operating level of 28,000 bpsd, with a clear strategic pathway to expand capacity to 60,000 bpsd in the medium term following the installation of a new air-cooler.”
The government is expected to officially commission the new furnace on a date yet to be scheduled. TOR stated that details of the event would be announced in due course.
The statement attributed the revival of TOR to sustained government support and commended President John Mahama and the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, for their leadership and oversight in restoring the refinery to operation.
Management also praised the board, staff, and other stakeholders for their roles in the refinery’s recovery.
Watch the video of the flare at TOR below:
Reactions to TOR's resumption
YEN.com.gh collated some reactions to the statement and video shared by TOR on Facebook. Read them below:
Abdul Hakeem said:
"Kudos to President John Mahama and the entire team behind the revival of Tema Oil Refinery…..👏🏽 This is a huge win for Ghana's energy sector and economy."
Abraham Mahama wrote:
"Lovely 💕. Ghana is working again under good leadership."
Mantey Samuel said:
"Good job, Kombat, keep going. For God and country ❤️ 🇬🇭."
Olivia Dan wrote:
"Congratulations. At least we can process some of our crude, reducing the pressure on our cedi. Ghana is indeed moving forward."
Issahak Awal said:
"Some people are somewhere saying, they want to win and save Ghana oo. Have we created a Ghana annex or which one are they saving 😅😅🏃🏃."
ETnuell Tiyumba Atiseh wrote:
"Back for Good. May Allah make it possible for Ghanaians. Amen!"
Abudulai Ibrahim said:
"God bless John Dramani Mahama. This is the change we voted for."
Francca K Bazaa wrote:
"And these people just wanted to sell it out for a peanut. Ghana is working again."
Kablan Augustin Adzakey said:
"The problem we have in Ghana is leadership. When some people decided to sell TOR for the mere amount of 22 million dollars, some people too decided to put it back into operation, and they have generated more money than it was intended to sell. Leadership is the key to this success."
Andrews Nii Armah wrote:
"Because they were the owners of the Sentuo refinery, they deliberately wanted to collapse TOR to pave the way for the Sentuo refinery to operate freely. Herrrrr, these people are very wicked."
Source: YEN.com.gh
