Yesterday – Thursday, March 12 – the International Energy Agency (IEA) said war in the Middle East was “creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.
It said that Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have cut total oil production by at least 10 million barrels per day.
Global oil markets have been extremely volatile since the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on 28 February, with Brent crude reaching almost US$120 a barrel earlier this week.
Amid the supply disruption, Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) says it possesses technical capability to refine domestic crude oil – disputing suggestions that the country’s only refinery cannot process output from the nation’s offshore oil fields.
TOR says technical studies and crude assays have confirmed that Ghana’s light sweet crude, particularly from the Jubilee and TEN fields, is compatible with the refinery’s existing configuration.
Thus, the facility can process the crude efficiently to produce refined petroleum products required by the domestic market. According to TOR, the refinery is capable of producing gasoline, diesel, jet-fuel, kerosene and other petroleum derivatives from Ghanaian crude.
The refinery had previously processed crude from the TEN field in 2016, providing operational precedent for processing locally produced oil. This follows recent public debate over whether Ghana’s refinery is technically configured to refine crude produced from the country’s offshore oil fields.
However, Ghana exports most of its crude production from the Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa fields while importing refined petroleum products to meet domestic fuel demand.
The refinery resumed crude oil processing in late 2025 after several years of inactivity caused by financial constraints, accumulated debt and aging infrastructure. TOR is currently operating below that level as it gradually ramps up output following maintenance and operational stabilisation.
The refinery aims to restore full capacity and pursue further upgrades that can expand processing capability and strengthen its role in Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.
Refining crude locally will provide several strategic and economic benefits for the country. These include reducing reliance on imported petroleum products, strengthening national energy security and conserving foreign exchange that would otherwise be used for fuel imports.
Also, domestic refining will enhance value addition within Ghana’s petroleum sector and stimulate broader industrial activity. Tema Oil Refinery remains committed to playing a central role in the energy sector.
thebftonline
