The management of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has revealed that the company’s total debt stock reached $517 million as of December 2024, citing a combination of operational liabilities and government accounting adjustments as the cause.
Speaking to journalists after an appearance before Parliament’s Energy Committee, TOR’s Acting Managing Director, Edmund Kombat, explained that a significant portion of the debt stemmed from trade obligations and unpaid crude oil supplies over the years.
He further disclosed that some grants initially extended by the Ministry of Finance had been reclassified as debt under the government’s ongoing agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)—a development that contributed to the surge in TOR’s liabilities.
Despite the financial burden, he assured that TOR is working to restructure the debt and engage with stakeholders to clear the outstanding obligations.
“We are doing that verification, and as I mentioned, once we do that verification and authentication of what we have been able to bring down, that will be communicated publicly.
“So what occasioned it trade debts, sometimes third parties. And then there were also debts that are legacy debts where crude was supplied, it was not paid. There were times that the Ministry of Finance in the past had given some funds to TOR. Some of it for example was grant and then when they entered into the IMF, the IMF asked them to reclassify it as debt. So those things have accumulated to that amount of money. And I think that the last time TOR traded, some of the trade were not hedged and so there was a lot of exposure which led to a lot of debt ballooning but we are here to make sure that that is stopped and it is not repeated again.”
The revelation comes amid renewed efforts to restore TOR’s operations. Earlier, management announced that the refinery is expected to resume full operations by October 2025, following a lengthy shutdown due to lack of crude.
TOR has also initiated steps to revive its key production infrastructure, including the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC)—a move management hopes will significantly reduce Ghana’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
