IMF team assesses TOR’s recovery efforts

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has visited the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to familiarise itself with the refinery’s operations and also assess ongoing rehabilitation works.

The visit was also to gain insight into management’s efforts to restore the facility to sustained operational and financial stability.

The discussions covered corporate governance and financial accountability, particularly efforts to clear a six-year backlog of unaudited accounts.

It formed part of the IMF team’s engagements with relevant government authorities and selected state-owned enterprises to understand their operations, financial positions, challenges and contributions to the national economy.

The IMF delegation was led by the Country Resident Representative, Dr Adrian Alter, while the TOR team was led by the Managing Director, Edmond Kombat.

During the meeting, Mr Kombat outlined operational and financial challenges inherited by the current management, as well as measures introduced since May 2025, to restore confidence in the refinery’s operations and revive its major processing plants.

“Since this new management took over, we have not received any investment from the government. Every single thing is done through our internally generated funds,” he said.

The MD explained that management had prioritised financial discipline, operational improvements and rehabilitation of critical facilities as part of efforts to reposition the refinery for long-term sustainability.

Mr Kombat also said that TOR was engaging the government over its outstanding debt obligations, with discussions focused on possible restructuring and the reconciliation of historical financial commitments between the refinery and the state.

“Out of the $517 million debt we inherited, we owe about $120 million to government, and we are trying to restructure it,” he said.

The refinery is in talks with other state institutions on similar outstanding obligations, and management said possible netting-off arrangements could be considered.

Mr Kombat, however, said that despite the challenges, he and his team were able to work hard and recorded some profit last year.

He expressed optimism that the company could maintain profitability in subsequent years.

The MD said that, as part of its long-term strategy, management was considering a potential listing of TOR on the Ghana Stock Exchange to attract investment and provide additional capital for the refinery’s operations and expansion.

On the volume of crude oil processed by TOR, particularly supplies sourced from Ghana’s domestic oil fields, Mr Kombat said that the refinery had processed approximately five million barrels of crude oil, including about two million barrels sourced from Ghanaian fields, with the remainder coming from external sources.

“Our first domestic crude came from the Jubilee Field through Vitol, and it was fully paid for.

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) also gave us its portion of the country’s allocation,” he added.

The MD said the country produced approximately 38 million barrels of crude oil annually, with about 11 million barrels representing the government’s share.

He expressed the hope that GNPC would make its full crude allocation available to TOR for refining by next year to improve feedstock availability and support more consistent refinery operations.

Mr Kombat highlighted the refinery’s contribution to domestic petroleum product availability, price stability and the country’s ability to withstand disruptions in the international petroleum market.

He said that domestic refining could help reduce the nation’s exposure to external supply shocks, particularly during periods of geopolitical tension and uncertainty in global oil markets, including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Highlighting the refinery’s commercial potential, Mr Kombat drew attention to TOR’s tank farm, storage infrastructure and product distribution network.

The delegation later toured parts of the refinery to observe some of the rehabilitated facilities and ongoing engineering works.

They expressed appreciation for the engagement and the opportunity offered to them to better understand the refinery’s operations and recovery efforts.