The Minority in Parliament has called on the government to sustain the supply of locally produced crude oil to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to support its operations.

The call comes amid ongoing refurbishment works and efforts to improve operations at the refinery.

Speaking to JoyNews on September 22, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Energy Committee, George Kwame Aboagye, said the government must sustain its support for TOR, including ensuring a consistent supply of crude oil to the refinery.

He urged management to sustain the work and continue taking steps to position the refinery in a manner that would serve the interests of the country.

“We’re urging him to continue and to try as much as possible to give the place a positioning that will help this country,” Mr Aboagye said.

Workers’ commitment

The ranking member also stressed the importance of the refinery’s workforce to the success of the ongoing efforts at TOR.

He called for measures to bring workers closer to the facility and secure their continued commitment to the refinery’s operations.

“And also to try as much as possible to bring the workers closer to home. We need the workers, their commitment. Without the workers’ commitment, we can’t achieve what we are looking for,” he said.

According to him, the commitment of workers would be essential to ensuring that the progress being made at the refinery is sustained.

Call for continued crude supply

Mr Aboagye further urged the government to ensure that TOR continues to receive the crude oil and other products it requires to sustain its operations.

He particularly called for greater use of locally produced crude oil, pointing to the need for Ghana to make use of its own resources to support the refinery.

“I urge the government to try as much as possible to continue to supply this company the product they need. Especially from Jubilee, so that we can continue finding our own products,” he said.

The Ranking Member linked the call to developments around the Strait of Hormuz, stressing the importance of securing Ghana’s own crude oil supply.

“We know what is happening at the Strait of Hormuz. Based on that, we have to try as much as possible to get our own crude oil for them to continue doing what they are doing,” he said.