Tema Oil Refinery weighs listing over $517m debt

Tema Oil Refinery is considering a Ghana Stock Exchange listing while restructuring about $517 million of inherited debt, Managing Director Edmond Kombat said in a MyJoyOnline article on Oct. 25.

The financing question matters because Kombat said about $120 million of the $517 million is owed to Ghana’s government, while management has relied on internally generated funds since May 2025.

Kombat discussed the potential listing during a visit by an International Monetary Fund delegation led by Adrian Alter, the IMF’s Ghana resident representative, according to the MyJoyOnline article. The delegation reviewed rehabilitation work and TOR’s effort to restore steadier operations and financial stability.

A listing would allow Ghanaian institutions and other investors to buy shares in TOR, Kombat said. The proceeds would provide capital for operations and expansion, according to the MyJoyOnline article.

“Since this new management took over, we have not received a dime from government. Every single thing is done through our internally generated funds,” Kombat said.

TOR is discussing a restructuring of the government-related portion of the debt and a reconciliation of past financial commitments between the refinery and the state, according to the article. The refinery is also engaging other state institutions over outstanding obligations and possible offsets.

Kombat said management has focused on financial discipline, operational improvements and repairs to critical facilities. He also said TOR recorded a profit last year, though the article did not give a profit figure or audited financial statements for the period.

Crude supply remains central to the operating plan. Kombat said TOR had processed about 5 million barrels, including about 2 million barrels from Ghana’s oil fields, with the rest coming from external sources.

“Our first domestic crude came from the Jubilee field through Vitol, and it was fully paid for. GNPC also gave us its portion of Ghana’s allocation,” Kombat said, referring to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.

Kombat said he hoped GNPC would make its full crude allocation available to TOR for refining by the following year. He said that would improve feedstock availability, the supply of raw crude needed by a refinery, and support more consistent operations.

TOR is also pointing to non-refining assets as potential revenue sources. Kombat said the refinery has about 1 million metric tonnes of storage capacity and links to eight privately operated depots, allowing petroleum products to be pumped directly to those sites.

The article did not give a timeline for a listing, a proposed valuation, the size of any share sale or approvals needed before TOR could proceed. It also said the refinery is working to clear a six-year backlog of unaudited accounts.

Kombat said the Ghana Audit Service had carried out an audit exercise on the backlog. Management also plans to appoint an external audit firm at TOR’s next Annual General Meeting to handle later audits.

The IMF delegation later toured rehabilitated facilities and engineering work under way. Management said the work was aimed at improving processing capacity, restoring critical units and strengthening TOR’s role in Ghana’s energy security.