COPEC urges sustained funding to secure TOR’s long-term operations

The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, has cautioned that sustained financial backing will be crucial to ensuring the long-term operations of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).

Speaking on Channel One News on Saturday, December 27, Mr Amoah commended the current management of TOR for successfully restarting operations after several years of inactivity, describing the move as a positive development for Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.

He, however, stressed that the restart must be supported with adequate investment to prevent a relapse into inactivity.

“We should commend the current management for this achievement. But we must also encourage the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana to provide the necessary investment so that TOR does not process just the current cargo and then shut down again because it cannot secure revolving cargo in the months ahead,” he said.

According to COPEC, while the resumption of refining activities is welcome, significant work remains to be done to ensure sustainability, particularly in securing consistent crude oil supply through reliable financing arrangements.

“The resumption is good news, but a lot more needs to be done at this stage to guarantee sustainability,” Mr Amoah added.

The Tema Oil Refinery recently resumed crude oil refining following the successful completion of extensive Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) works on its Crude Distillation Unit.

TOR indicated that the maintenance exercise, which took place between August 1 and October 30, 2025, was completed on schedule and met international engineering, safety and operational standards.