Tema Oil Refinery halts production

According to local press reports, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in Ghana has been shut down due to a major fault in the residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) plant. The shutdown of the unit was attributed to unstable power supply by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), as well as delays in carrying out maintenance works on the RFCC plant due to insufficient funds.

The facility cannot process crude until the problem is resolved. This could have a serious impact on supply, as TOR provides around 30% of the petroleum products to the domestic market.

Director of Communications at TOR, Aba Lokko, said the company was hopeful that the problem would be resolved as quickly as possible, as the management is working to secure credit from the Ministry of Finance. According to Lokko, TOR urgently requires around US$37.7million in government funding to resolve the RFCC problem and begin a second phase of stabilisation and enhancement projects, which are designed to ensure the reliability of operations at the refinery.

Edited from various sources by Rosalie Starling

Sources: GhanaWeb, Hellenic Shipping News

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