Tema Oil Refinery Not On Verge Of Collapse - Management

The managers of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), has refuted claims that it is on the verge of a shutdown due to the debts owed some utility providers in the country. Some media reports too had suggested that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) had cut water supply to TOR for almost close to a month due to its inability to pay

accumulated water bills that had amounted to GHC 4 million in arrears. It was also alleged that TOR owed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) about 2.3 million Ghana Cedis in arrears. The Managing Director of the company has also been accused of engaging new workers despite the financial challenges TOR is facing.

The TOR in a statement however denied these claims, saying the company is currently taking some measures to ensure its strategic turnaround. We all wish to refute what is recently being circulated in the media to suggest that the TOR is on the verge of shutdown. Such publications from all the anonymous sources create an

unwarranted negative impression of the organization and hinder the progress of our revitalization and also the expansion plans as well as the business operations at large. We hereby state categorically that TOR is not on the verge of shutdown, but rather been positioned for its effective turnaround and revitalization through

the support of its shareholder, excerpts of the statement said. TOR, which is Ghana’s first and only refinery has not been operational for a while now due to many challenges. Several Civil Society Organisations such as the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers and the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), had been at the

forefront of calls on the government to do all it can to get the refinery back on its feet. The Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, during a tour of the refinery, expressed the government’s commitment to ensure the facility is up and running as soon as possible. There have been suggestions that the continuous redundancy of TOR may lead to human capital challenges.