By Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo
Tema, Oct. 25, GNA — The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has briefed a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its operational recovery efforts, inherited debt obligations and plans to improve financial sustainability.
The delegation, led by Dr Adrian Alter, IMF Ghana Resident Representative, visited the refinery to familiarise itself with ongoing rehabilitation works and management’s efforts to restore sustained operations and strengthen the facility’s financial position.
Mr Edmond Kombat, Managing Director of TOR, said the current management, which assumed office in May 2025, 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 stated that the refinery inherited a debt burden of approximately US$517 million, including about US$120 million owed to the government.
He said management was engaging the government on possible debt restructuring and the reconciliation of historical financial obligations between the refinery and the state.
TOR was also discussing outstanding obligations with other state institutions, with management exploring possible netting-off arrangements to establish the actual financial positions of the parties involved.
On its financial performance, Mr Kombat said the refinery recorded a profit in the previous year and expressed optimism that it could maintain profitability in the current and subsequent years.
He said management was also considering a potential listing of TOR on the Ghana Stock Exchange to attract investment and raise additional capital to support its recovery and expansion.
Mr Kombat told the delegation that TOR had processed approximately five million barrels of crude oil, including about two million barrels sourced from Ghanaian oil fields, with the remainder coming from external sources.
He said the refinery’s first domestic crude supply came from the Jubilee field through a transaction with Vitol, which was fully paid for, and acknowledged the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for supplying its share of Ghana’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 said domestic refining could help improve petroleum product availability and reduce Ghana’s exposure to disruptions in international oil markets, particularly during periods of geopolitical tension.
He also highlighted the commercial potential of TOR’s storage infrastructure and distribution network, saying the refinery had approximately one million metric tonnes of storage capacity.
He said TOR was connected to eight privately operated depots through which it could pump petroleum products directly, creating additional revenue opportunities. Other commercial activities included laboratory services for petroleum product testing.
The discussions also covered corporate governance, financial accountability, and efforts to clear a six-year backlog of unaudited accounts.
Mr Kombat said the Ghana Audit Service had undertaken the audit exercise, while management intended to appoint an external audit firm at the refinery’s next Annual General Meeting to undertake subsequent audits. He said KPMG had previously conducted audit assignments for the company.
He said management was also pursuing improvements in financial reporting and internal controls, staff-related reforms and measures to sustain crude supply.
The IMF delegation was briefed on ongoing efforts to increase processing capacity, rehabilitate critical units, and restore facilities required for more reliable operations.
Following the meeting, the delegation toured parts of the refinery to observe rehabilitated facilities and ongoing engineering works.
The visit formed part of the IMF team’s engagements with government authorities and selected state-owned enterprises to understand their operations, financial positions, challenges, and contributions to the national economy.
GNA
Edited by Knneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo, GNA
Email: [email protected]