TOR had GH¢10bn in losses, $570m debt when we took over in 2025 – MD

The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) had accumulated losses of about GH¢10 billion and debts of approximately $570 million when the current management assumed office in 2025, Managing Director Edmond Kombat has disclosed.

He said the refinery was in a severely weakened financial and operational position, with major processing units shut down for years and its activities largely reduced to renting storage facilities to petroleum service providers.

Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, October 26, Mr Kombat said the management had since taken steps to revive the refinery and restore its operational capacity.

He explained that the assessment conducted after President John Dramani Mahama directed that TOR be brought back into operation revealed the extent of the challenges facing the facility.

“When the President came back and asked that the refinery be brought back, when we went there to do the assessment, this was the TOR we met. By the time the current management took office in 2025, TOR’s position had deteriorated.

“The company had accumulated losses of about GHS10 billion and its debts had risen from $300 million in 2016 to about $570 million. The crude distillation unit had been out of operation since April 2021 while the Residue Fluids Catalytic Cracker had been shut down since 2019.

“These major units had not received the required maintenance and TOR had been reduced largely to renting out storage space to petroleum service providers.”