President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, June 25, cut the sod for the Phase II expansion of the Sentuo Oil Refinery, reaffirming the government’s commitment to industrialisation, energy security, and value addition.

The sod-cutting ceremony, held at the Sentuo Oil Refinery Limited facility, was attended by the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor; Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare; China’s Ambassador to Ghana, Cong Song; Executive Chairman of Sentuo Oil Refinery, Xu Ningquan; as well as other government officials and industry leaders.

The expansion project is expected to increase the refinery’s processing capacity from 40,000 to 100,000 barrels per day, a development aimed at strengthening Ghana’s energy sector, creating thousands of jobs, and supporting the country’s broader economic transformation agenda.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Mahama stressed the need for Ghana to move beyond the export of raw materials and focus on building a resilient economy that processes, manufactures, and creates value locally.

The expansion of the Sentuo Oil Refinery forms part of efforts to enhance local refining capacity and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.