Tema Oil Refinery Limited has officially resumed refining operations with the commissioning of its rehabilitated Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), ending years of dormancy at Ghana’s only state-owned refinery.
The event was held on 1st August 2026 at TOR in Tema and was attended by President John Dramani Mahama, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, the Minister for Finance, Board Members, and other stakeholders.
“Could TOR Refine Again?”
Delivering the welcome address, TOR Managing Director Edmond Kombat, said the commissioning answers a question that had “lingered in the minds of Ghanaians for many years”: Could TOR refine again?
He noted that years of operational inactivity, ageing infrastructure, financial distress and deferred maintenance had weakened confidence in the refinery.
“During your campaign, you assured the people of Ghana that Tema Oil Refinery would refine again… Today, that promise has become reality” Mr. Kombat told President Mahama.
He described the day as “more than the commissioning of equipment. It is the commissioning of confidence. It is the restoration of national pride”.
Mr. Kombat said the successful completion of the Turnaround Maintenance of the CDU led to the resumption of refining on December 19th, 2025.
He credited the turnaround to President Mahama’s “RESET AGENDA”, the support of Dr. Jinapor, the Board, technical partners Triangle Commodities Trading and Fujairah, and the TOR workforce whose “technical competence had never diminished”.
The MD also thanked Dr. Jinapor for facilitating the release of nearly 400 solar street lighting poles, which have “significantly improved nighttime visibility, enhanced operational safety, and strengthened our capacity to operate effectively under the Government’s 24-Hour Economy initiative”.
Mr. Kombat said the CDU commissioning is “an important milestone, but it is not the end of our journey”.
Plans ahead include: Rehabilitation of additional processing units, modernization of facilities and to strengthening financial position and operational excellence.
The goal, he said, is to build “a refinery that is safe, efficient, commercially sustainable and globally competitive.
A refinery that creates value for Ghana. Supports industrialization. Strengthens national energy security”.
“Today’s commissioning is the confirmation that Ghana’s refinery is back”
In his conclusion, Mr. Kombat said: “Today’s commissioning is not a declaration that our work is complete. It is the confirmation that Ghana’s refinery is back. That TOR is refining again. That confidence has returned”.
He added that with continued government support and workforce dedication, “the best days of Tema Oil Refinery still lie ahead”.
The ceremony ended with: May God bless Tema Oil Refinery. May God bless our homeland Ghana”.
