By Ebenezer Chike Adjei NJOKU
The nation is intensifying efforts to position itself as the energy hub of West Africa, with value addition, particularly oil refining at the centre of an ambitious strategy to meet surging demand as the region’s population and industrial base expand rapidly over the next quarter century.
This formed a key takeaway from a high-level panel at the just concluded Africa Oil Week (AOW) in Accra on the theme: ‘Leveraging Upstream Oil and Gas Development to Boost the Downstream Value Chain’.
Edmond Kombat, Managing Director of TOR, said the scale of the demographic and economic transformation underway across the continent and particularly the West African region requires urgent investment in refining and distribution capacity.
“In the next 25 years, West Africa’s population will nearly double, and energy demand could grow tenfold. If we do not prepare today, we will be left behind,” he noted.
TOR, the only fully indigenous and state-owned refinery in the country, is on track to restart operations within weeks following turnaround maintenance on its crude distillation unit, its MD added.
He said management’s immediate priority is to prove the facility can operate profitably at its current 45,000-barrel-per-day capacity. But the longer-term goal is to scale output to 100,000 barrels per day and establish Ghana as a reliable source of refined products across the sub-region.
Mr. Kombat highlighted the stakes for energy security and industrial development. “Countries that invest in infrastructure now will be the Singapores of West Africa in 25 years’ time. Those that fail to act will face serious energy insecurity,” he noted.
This comes as West Africa’s population is projected to rise from around 450 million today to nearly 900 million by 2050, a doubling that will power a 24-hour economy in many countries, including Ghana.
Global forecasts by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggest fossil fuels will continue to play a significant role, with worldwide energy demand increasing by about 25 percent over the same period, even as renewables grow.
Mr. Kombat argued that crude oil will remain indispensable, not only for fuel but also for the petrochemical industry, which underpins production of plastics, fertilisers and other industrial materials. “Even if renewables expand, they cannot replace all of crude’s uses. We need to build capacity for both energy security and industrial growth,” he noted.
To achieve this, he said, TOR has launched reforms to eliminate inefficiencies such as product losses, including daily reconciliations, independent monitoring, and a tender to digitise operations. The refinery also plans to scale capacity through modular projects, which can be delivered faster than traditional builds, in partnership with international engineering firms.
Ghana’s strategic geography offers an additional advantage with TOR’s pipelines, depots, and offshore mooring facilities providing access both to landlocked states such as Burkina Faso and Mali and to coastal countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone and Senegal.
“There is ample room for Ghana to serve its neighbours, especially where we enjoy strong trading relationships,” Mr. Kombat said, pointing out that Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, though vast at 550,000 barrels per day, will be absorbed largely by domestic demand of more than 700,000 barrels per day.
Similar sentiments were expressed by the other panelists with Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, chief executive officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), highlighting the downstream logistics constraints that threaten to blunt Ghana’s competitive edge.
Mr. Tamakloe pointed to port congestion and limited discharge capacity as drivers of cost and delay, and flagged a government-backed plan for a second Conventional Petroleum Facility (CPF) that would allow the simultaneous unloading of two vessels — each of up to about 65,000 tonnes. “We cannot sustain rising demand on a single CPF. A second facility is not a luxury; it is a necessity,” he said.
He also noted that pipeline connectivity to neighbours is essential, citing a proposed 230-kilometre link to Po in Burkina Faso as “doable and potentially transformative for Sahelian supply.”
Judith Adjobah Blay, Managing Director and Chief Executive of Ghana Gas, framed gas expansion as a complementary strand of the national energy strategy. Ghana Gas is prioritising a 277-kilometre, 20-inch pipeline from Takoradi to Tema to link supply with demand centres and industrial off-takers. She stressed the role of gas in supporting industry and reducing costs.
“Gas can save our industries up to 40 percent compared with alternative fuels,” Mrs. Blay said.
“We are committed to expanding supply, cutting flaring and securing cheaper energy for Ghanaian businesses,” she added.
On his part, Afetsi Awonor, Managing Director of BOST Energies, (formerly the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company, BOST), highlighted parallel moves to expand storage and upgrade distribution infrastructure.
BOST Energies, he said, is developing a major western storage and logistics base at Takoradi, with planned capacity exceeding 100,000 cubic metres in later phases, coupled with pipeline links northwards toward Kumasi and beyond.
Mr. Awonor stressed the importance of long-term planning. “If we do not design a 30–50 year master plan, we will continue with piecemeal investments that fail to optimise the system,” he said, adding that BOST is pursuing partnerships with private investors under build-operate-transfer and co-ownership models to finance the capital-intensive programmes.
Dr. Toni Aubynn, Chief Executive of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, supplied the big-picture rationale – a coastal hub that combines refineries, petrochemical plants, jetties and tank farms can capture value beyond domestic consumption by servicing regional markets.
“Africa imports more than 85 percent of its refined products. A Ghanaian hub, especially at Jomoro, can change that equation, create jobs and establish us as the preferred location for regional energy trade,” Dr. Aubyn explained.
Source: https://thebftonline.com