ACCRA – Ghana’s state-run Tema Oil Refinery has been shut down due to the breakdown of critical equipment, two sources close to the 45,000 barrels-per-day plant said on Tuesday.
The sources said both the main crude distillation unit and the residual fuel catalytic converter were shut down about a month ago.
“The changers (a component of the plant) were blocked and needed to be replaced but lack of funds has delayed the work,” one of the sources told Reuters.
He said some boilers had also worn-out, adding that work had almost been completed on replacing them.
The Tema refinery has been hobbled by repeated shutdowns in the last four years, often due to shortages in available crude after its main lender Ghana Commercial Bank cut off support due to unpaid debts.
Ghana’s government repaid the debt to the bank early last year, but officials said the refinery still remained indebted to some bulk oil suppliers. Its most recent shutdown was on May 23, this year.
The same source said although the issue of crude shortages still remained unresolved, it was not the reason for the latest shutdown.
“We are still grappling with issues over crude availability, but for now, that was not the key reason for the current shutdown,” the source added.
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In May, TOR’s managing director Ato Ampiah announced that management had secured some $900 million in financing from banks BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered to help the plant clear its debt backlog and purchase crude supplies.
Ampiah said ahead of the bailout, the government was required to provide $56 million to retool the plant and keep it running.
But an official of the energy ministry said government had yet to release the funds which has been reduced to $30 million.
“We know efforts are still ongoing to release some money… about $30 million to the refinery. We expect that to happen soon,” the official told Reuters, requesting not to be named.
