The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has appealed to Parliament’s Energy Committee to support efforts to resolve debts owed to state institutions as management works to restore the refinery’s financial stability.
TOR Managing Director, Edmond Kombat, said the refinery’s legacy debt remained a major challenge despite an earlier restructuring that reduced its outstanding obligations to about US$400 million.
He made the appeal when Parliament’s Energy Committee paid a working visit to the refinery.
Mr Kombat said part of TOR’s legacy debt could, however, be removed from its books if a planned debt write-off by the Ministry of Finance is approved.
According to him, the Ministry is expected to include about US$120 million in debt relief for TOR in the 2026 Budget.
“We do have legacy debts on our books. When we did the restructuring, the first phase brought it down to about $400-and-something million,” he said.
He explained that the proposed write-off would further reduce the refinery’s financial obligations and create room for management to focus on its operations.
“Currently, the Ministry of Finance is saying they are going to write off some of the debts owed to them. I think they are including it in this year’s budget. It’s about $120 million. So if that is taken out, it will also further bring the debt down,” he said.
Mr Kombat, however, noted that the refinery’s debt exposure extended beyond obligations to the government, with significant amounts also owed to private companies and other state-owned institutions.
He mentioned Sahara and BP among the private creditors and said management was engaging them to explore possible discounts and other arrangements that could ease the refinery’s repayment burden.
“We also owe GNPC and VRA. Because they are state institutions, we will need your help as the Parliamentary Select Committee to help net it off,” he told the committee.
He said resolving the obligations owed to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Volta River Authority (VRA) would require coordination among the relevant state institutions.
The TOR Managing Director therefore urged the Energy Committee to assist management in finding a workable arrangement for settling or netting off the debts owed to the two institutions.
While negotiations continue with private creditors, he said support from Parliament could help address the refinery’s inter-agency debts and further improve its financial position.
The proposed US$120 million write-off, together with ongoing negotiations with creditors, is expected to form part of broader efforts to reduce TOR’s legacy liabilities and strengthen the refinery’s financial sustainability.
