Government has announced plans to build a new oil refinery at Takoradi within the next three to four years.
The new facility is estimated to cost the Government of Ghana some 4 billion dollars, Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko disclosed this at a forum organized by the National Petroleum Authority.
Mr. Agyarko said the new refinery will increase the supply of refined products in the country.
“The idea therefore is to create a hub in the Western Region where we have the refining, the storage, the transportation and trading all happening within an enclave. It will be largely export oriented,” he explained.
He said the non availability of an alternative refinery beside the Tema Oil Refinery is taking a toll on the oil sector.
“We are short of petroleum products , and it reflects in the instability of the demand supply equation, which means that prices keep creeping up because they are not able manage the supply side effectively.”
The announcement comes days after the Institute of Energy security warned on some impact on fuel supply should government fail to resolve operational challenges at the Tema Oil Refinery.
Currently, TOR is able to refine crude up to 20 thousand barrels of oil per day, but Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko is confident the figure should increase by about 7 times to 150 barrels of oil with the new refinery.
According to the Energy Minister, a committee has been put in charge to ensure the project is well executed.
“We have sent out various teams to look at all the other hubs that operate in the world. I believe that in the not too distant future, we will begin to see the actual manifestations of these developments.”
By Nana Akua Mensah-Aborampah| 3news.com| Ghana