The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR)
• Government has been urged to cede majority of its stake in the Tema Oil Refinery to private investors
•The move, Nana Amoasi VII believes will ensure the refinery is viable and successful in its operations
•TOR has over the years faced a number of operational and managerial setbacks
The Institute of Energy Security (IES) has implored government to cede majority of its stake in Tema Oil Refinery to private investors.
Executive Director of the IES, Nana Amoasi VII believes the move is necessary to ensure the viability and success of the refinery as it’s been plagued with numerous operational challenges over the years.
Reacting to the appointment of Edward Boateng as new Managing Director of TOR, Nana Amoasi VII in an interaction with Citi Business News monitored by GhanaWeb pointed a number of steps to be taken at the refinery to ensure it remains profitable through private sector participation.
“He [Edward Boateng] has to first of all, needs to bring the existing refinery capacity to its full steam at 45,000 barrels per day. Because they’ve had one of their furnace’s exploding in the past, they are doing a paltry 20,000 barrels per day if they have to run. So, he has to ensure that furnace is fixed. The second thing is to fix the boiler system. The next thing the MD needs to concern himself with is the storage capacity. Almost 50% or more is down.”
“What is most important is that you need money to revamp the refinery. It’s about time the government accepts to cede the major part of its stake to private hands to ensure we get the needed money and efficiency. Then we can be assured of fuel security and price stability to some extent.”
Ghana’s foremost oil refinery, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been faced with a number of challenges and managerial setbacks. The most recent being agitation by union workers who demanded the dissolution of the refinery’s board.
The workers said the board and its management have shown little commitment to the refinery’s operations lack a sense of urgency in improving the fortunes of the institution.