The Corporate Affairs Officer at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in charge of External Affairs, Godwin Mahama Ayaba, has disclosed that the company’s new management inherited a debt of approximately $517 million.

According to him, "They (new management) came to meet a debt of about $517 million, which is quite huge," he claimed.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Wednesday, Mr Ayaba said that despite the significant financial burden, the management team is committed to clearing the debt using internally generated funds.

"So far, they have exhibited that they are not into mismanaging but rather managing the resources very well," he said.

This comes as TOR prepares to ramp up its daily production to over 4,000 barrels per day, signalling efforts to restore the refinery’s operational efficiency and financial stability.

Read also: Tema Oil Refinery plans capacity boost to 45,000 barrels per day

Mr Ayaba emphasised that the company’s focus remains on leveraging its internal resources to meet obligations while ensuring continuous improvement in production and service delivery.

In December 2025, TOR officially resumed crude oil refining operations after several years of inactivity.

The resumption follows the successful completion of major Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) works on the refinery’s Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), carried out between August 1 and October 30.

The maintenance exercise, completed within three months, was undertaken in line with international engineering, safety, and operational standards, the Managing Director of TOR, Edmond Kombat, disclosed on Facebook.

After the maintenance works, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) conducted comprehensive regulatory inspections and confirmed that TOR met all mandatory safety and operational requirements.

The authority has since granted clearance for the refinery to recommence refining activities.