President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned the refurbished Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) at Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), marking what he described as a major step towards restoring the state-owned refinery’s operations.
The ceremony also saw the official receipt of Ghana Jubilee Crude for refining in the country, as TOR continues its efforts to return to a central role in Ghana’s petroleum industry.
The Crude Distillation Unit is the refinery’s primary processing facility. It separates crude oil into different petroleum fractions according to their boiling points, allowing those materials to undergo further processing into finished products.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, President Mahama praised TOR’s management, board and staff for reviving the refinery without direct financial assistance from the Government of Ghana.
“Let me state again that whatever TOR has achieved in this success story has been without a single cedi from the Government of Ghana,” the President said.
He said TOR had received three separate cargoes of crude oil since May 2026, with each shipment containing one million barrels. According to the President, the refinery paid for all three cargoes itself.
“I wish to state again that TOR fully paid for the Ghanaian crude. It was not given to TOR on credit,” he stressed.
President Mahama said the refinery had already processed two million barrels of crude oil into a variety of refined petroleum products. Those products include gasoline, gas oil, also known as diesel, aviation turbine kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), kerosene and premix fuel.
He said the results showed the government’s commitment to refining Ghana’s petroleum resources locally, rather than relying solely on processing elsewhere. The policy, he said, was intended to create value, support job creation and strengthen Ghana’s downstream petroleum industry.
The President described the refurbished CDU as another important stage in TOR’s recovery. He said its commissioning demonstrated that the refinery was steadily moving back towards its central position in Ghana’s energy sector.
The CDU’s role means the facility is essential to the first stage of turning crude oil into usable petroleum products. By separating the crude into its various components, it provides the materials needed for the production of fuels and other refined products.
The official receipt of Ghana Jubilee Crude alongside the commissioning was presented as evidence of the refinery’s renewed ability to process locally produced oil. TOR’s processing of the crude has so far produced fuels for several areas of the economy, including road transport, aviation and household energy use.
President Mahama’s remarks focused on the refinery’s financial independence during its recovery. He reiterated that the crude shipments were not supplied to TOR on credit and that the refinery had met the cost of the oil itself.
The commissioning therefore represents both the reopening of the refurbished processing facility and the latest public milestone in TOR’s return to operations, following the processing of two million barrels and the receipt of three one-million-barrel crude cargoes since May 2026.
