Tema Oil Refinery

What Tema Oil Refinery does

Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Ltd. is a Ghanaian state-owned oil refinery, fully owned by the Government of Ghana since 1977, originally incorporated in 1960 as the Ghanaian Italian Petroleum (GHAIP) Company and commissioned on September 28, 1963 as one of the first eight refineries in Africa. Following over six years of dormancy from approximately 2019, TOR resumed crude oil refining operations on December 19, 2025 at 28,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) under regulatory clearance from the National Petroleum Authority, against a Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) nameplate capacity of 45,000 bpsd revamped in 1997 from the original 28,000 bpsd design. The technical configuration is a hydroskimming CDU with Naphtha hydrotreating and Premium Reforming (PRF), coupled to a Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit of 14,000 bpsd commissioned in 2002 that catalytically converts atmospheric residue into lighter products using zeolite catalyst at high temperature and moderate pressure.

TOR produces seven core petroleum products: Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), motor gasoline (Mogas), kerosene, Aviation Turbine Kerosene (Jet A1), gas oil (diesel), premix fuel for two-stroke outboard motors, and cracked fuels (Light Cycle Oil, Heavy Cycle Oil, Clarified Oil). It holds the exclusive domestic position for ATK production and is the sole producer of premix fuel for Ghana's fishing sector. Operations are supported by the largest petroleum storage footprint in Ghana (66 product tanks plus 6 LPG spheres), Single Point Mooring and Conventional Buoy Mooring offshore facilities at Tema Port, and interconnecting 6-18 inch pipelines to all major oil depots. The facility sits on a 14-hectare industrial plot in the Heavy Industrial Area of Tema and employs approximately 520 people.

TOR sells refined products to licensed Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) under import parity pricing, with the company also offering tolling/processing, terminal storage, product swap, loading gantry, product quality certification, agency/trading, maintenance, and training services. Revenue is generated through product sales and borrowings, with no direct government financial support but indirect support via the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA). TOR has disclosed USD 517 million in accumulated debt and is pursuing a phased ~USD 150 million modernization plan to lift CDU capacity to 60,000 bpsd, expand RFCC to 18,000 bpsd, and add a new 10,000 bpsd Continuous Catalytic Reformer, positioning the refinery as a potential hub for sub-regional refined product exports when combined with the private Sentuo Oil Refinery.

Name

Tema Oil Refinery

Legal name

Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Ltd.

Website

https://torghana.gov.gh

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Ltd. is Ghana's state-owned oil refinery, established in 1963 and restarted in December 2025 after six years of dormancy, producing LPG, gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel, premix, and cracked fuels for domestic OMCs, BDCs, and the fishing sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oil Refining

NAICS

Petroleum Refineries (32411), Petroleum Refineries (324110), Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing (324), Pipeline Transportation of Refined Petroleum Products (486910), Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil (4861)

SIC

Petroleum Refining (2911), Wholesale-Petroleum Bulk Stations & Terminals (5171), Oil & Gas Field Services, Nec (1389)

akta.pro primary industry

Distillation & Fractionation (Crude, Condensate & NGL Splitters) (EUALAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refinery Blending & Product Quality Control (Gasoline/Diesel/Jet Blending, Additives) (EUALAGAJ), Refinery Turnarounds, Maintenance & Reliability Services (EUALAGAL), Refined Products Pipeline Terminals & Breakout Storage Operations (TLAGABAJ), Liquid Bulk Petroleum Terminals (Crude, Refined Products) (TLAHABAH)

Keywords

• Crude oil refining
• Petroleum product manufacturing
• Aviation turbine kerosene
• Oil storage terminals
• Premium motor gasoline

Headquarters

HQ city

Tema

HQ country

Ghana

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Petroleum Product Sales: TOR refines crude oil and sells refined petroleum products (LPG, gasoline, kerosene, Jet A1, diesel, fuel oil, premix) to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs). Products are sold at import parity pricing. The refinery also exports surplus products including cracked fuel oil, LPG, and naphtha.
2. Tolling/Processing Services: TOR originally operated as a tolling refinery, processing crude oil from multinational oil companies for a processing fee. Third parties can consign crude for processing, with TOR acting as 'exporter of record' for export sales and providing administrative services for a fee.
3. Terminal and Storage Services: TOR provides storage tank services for crude oil, LPG, condensate, naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and fuel oil. Also offers loading rack services to BDCs, product quality analysis and certification for third-party products, and maintenance services to industry.
4. Agency/Trading Services: TOR provides marketing, sales, and trading agency services for clients' petroleum products stored at its facility. TOR acts as agent, issuing invoices to off-takers and facilitating product swaps and transfers for a fee.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) refines crude oil into petroleum products including LPG, motor gasoline, kerosene, Aviation Turbine Kerosene (Jet A1), diesel, premix fuel for the fishing sector, and cracked fuels, selling to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs). Beyond refining, TOR provides terminal and storage services, loading rack services, tolling/processing services for third-party crude, and agency/trading services for petroleum products, supported by direct pipeline access to Tema Port and offshore mooring facilities.

Product overview

Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) operates Ghana's premier crude oil processing facility with a multi-unit refining architecture consisting of a Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) with Naphtha hydrotreating and Premium Reforming (PRF) as the primary hydroskimming section, and a Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit as the secondary conversion plant. The refinery produces seven core petroleum products: Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Motor Gasoline (Mogas), Kerosene, Aviation Turbine Kerosene (Jet A1), Gas Oil (Diesel), Premix fuel for the fishing industry, and Cracked Fuels (Light Cycle Oil, Heavy Cycle Oil, Clarified Oil). Supporting operations include terminal business services (LPG trading, product swaps, storage), product quality analysis, storage tank services, loading rack services, maintenance services, and training services. The facility has a nameplate CDU capacity of 45,000 bpsd (targeting 60,000 bpsd) and RFCC capacity of 14,000 bpsd.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

Quantifiable outcome

• Supplies 60% of Ghana's domestic fuel demand, saving approximately USD 400 million monthly in fuel import costs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 24-Hour Economy AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2026MOU signed between the 24-Hour Economy Authority and the National Petroleum Authority to expand continuous 24-hour operations in the downstream petroleum sector. TOR and BOST are advancing internal plans toward 24-hour operations under this initiative to boost Ghana's energy productivity.
• National Petroleum Authority (NPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPA is the industry regulator overseeing procurement, storage, and distribution of crude oil and finished products. TOR works with NPA for regulatory compliance, operational approvals, and implementation of 24-hour economy policy in the downstream sector.
• Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBOST oversees strategic petroleum storage for Ghana while TOR refines crude oil into finished products. Both entities are advancing plans toward 24-hour operations as directed by the Ministry of Energy. BOST executives have visited TOR to strengthen collaboration.
• Ghana Port Mooring ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGhana Port Mooring Services runs the offshore mooring facility at Tema Port with TOR, including Single Point Mooring (SPM) for crude oil receipt and Conventional Buoy Mooring (CBM) for white product handling. This partnership enables efficient vessel operations and product transfers.
• Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOMCs are licensed by NPA and purchase refined petroleum products from BDCs who source from TOR. TOR's Distribution Department facilitates loading and coordinates product transfers to OMCs as the link between TOR and the market.
• Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBDCs forge strategic alliances with TOR for import and export of products, buy-back sales, and revenue forecasting. They store products in TOR's tanks, use loading services, and facilitate swaps between BDCs.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Warri Refinery and Petrochemicals Company: NNPC-operated refinery in Warri, Nigeria with approximately 125,000 bpsd capacity. Comparable as another state-owned African hydroskimming-plus-conversion refinery targeting domestic fuel supply, with similar age and modernization profile to TOR.
• Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR): State-owned refinery in Côte d'Ivoire with approximately 60,000 bpsd capacity located in Abidjan. Comparable as a West African state-owned refinery of similar scale serving domestic and regional fuel demand with similar crude sourcing and product slate.
• Port Harcourt Refinery: State-owned Nigerian refinery complex operated by NNPC with a combined capacity of approximately 210,000 bpsd. Highly comparable as a publicly owned African refinery that has undergone extensive rehabilitation to restore refining operations, facing similar structural challenges around aging assets and operational reliability.
• Kaduna Refinery: State-owned refinery in northern Nigeria operated by NNPC with approximately 110,000 bpsd capacity. Comparable as a state-owned African refinery of similar vintage serving domestic fuel demand and undergoing turnaround efforts to restore operations.
• Sentuo Oil Refinery: Private-sector oil refinery operating in Ghana with a planned capacity exceeding 100,000 bpsd. Most directly comparable peer as it competes for the same domestic crude feedstock and refined-product demand that TOR targets, and is explicitly referenced as the partner in Ghana's combined 165,000+ bpsd national capacity.

Others

• Sahara Group: Pan-African energy conglomerate with significant downstream petroleum trading, storage, and distribution operations across West Africa. Comparable as a major downstream operator in the same regional fuel supply chain that TOR targets for export.

Emerging players

• Mocuba Oil Refinery (planned): Planned refinery development in Mozambique associated with Sonangol. Comparable as an emerging African refinery project targeting domestic and regional fuel demand in Sub-Saharan Africa, similar to TOR's planned sub-regional export positioning.

Regional players

• Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST): Ghanaian state-owned strategic petroleum storage and transportation company. Comparable as a state-owned Ghanaian downstream petroleum entity; TOR and BOST coordinate on national petroleum logistics and are jointly advancing 24-hour operations under the Ministry of Energy.

Broad incumbents

• Indian Oil Corporation (refining division): Major global refining major with over 1.6 million bpsd of capacity across multiple refineries. Comparable as a large-scale refining operator pursuing multi-product slates (LPG, gasoline, diesel, ATF, fuel oil) similar to TOR's seven-product portfolio.
• Dangote Oil Refinery: Africa's largest oil refinery (650,000 bpsd) located in Lekki, Nigeria. Comparable as a large-scale African refinery serving regional fuel demand and pursuing import substitution, though materially larger and privately owned rather than state-owned.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookm.facebook.com/profile.php?id=231525646872082
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/torghana
• Instagraminstagram.com/temaoilrefinery?igsh=MWx0NWNqYmVhd2w3dA==
• TikToktiktok.com/@tor_ltd?_r=1&_t=ZS-92ehcqmrLzF
• Xx.com/temaoilrefinery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tema Oil Refinery