Keypoints:
- Refineries could meet 70 percent of demand
- Finished-fuel imports cost about $4.36bn
- Sentuo capacity could reach 100,000 bpd
GHANA aims to meet about 70 percent of its demand for refined petroleum products locally by expanding the privately owned Sentuo Oil Refinery and restoring reliable production at the state-owned Tema Oil Refinery.
The plan could reduce the country’s dependence on imported petrol, diesel and other fuels while retaining more value from Ghanaian crude. However, the target remains a government projection that depends on both refineries completing their planned upgrades and operating consistently.
Two refineries anchor the plan
Energy and Green Transition Minister John Abdulai Jinapor outlined the strategy at the Ghana International Petroleum Conference, held in Accra on July 16 and 17, 2026.
‘Upon completion of these expansion programmes, the two refineries are expected to meet approximately 70 percent of Ghana’s domestic demand for refined petroleum products,’ Jinapor said.
The policy forms part of Ghana’s broader oil and energy investment drive, which seeks to increase upstream production, expand domestic processing and reduce exposure to volatile international supply chains.
For Ghana, refining more crude locally is also an industrial policy. The government expects additional capacity to support jobs and business activity in engineering, transport, logistics, manufacturing and related services.
Import bill sharpens the case
An Africa Briefing calculation based on Bank of Ghana monthly data puts the value of imported finished petroleum products at about $4.36bn in 2025 on a free-on-board basis.
That figure excludes freight and insurance costs. It covers petrol, gas oil, liquefied petroleum gas, aviation fuel and other finished products, but does not include imported crude oil or natural gas.
When crude and gas are included, Ghana’s broader oil and gas import bill reached about $5.13bn during the year.
The figures help explain why the government is pursuing domestic production while also exploring shorter regional fuel-supply routes through Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery.
Local refining would not shield Ghana from changes in global crude prices. It could, however, shorten supply routes, reduce freight exposure and ease some of the foreign-exchange pressure associated with importing finished products from distant markets.
Sentuo expansion takes shape
Sentuo Oil Refinery currently has a processing capacity of about 40,000 barrels per day. Its second phase is intended to raise that figure to 100,000 barrels per day.
Ecobank Ghana has formalised a mandate to arrange a proposed $200m syndicated medium-term facility for the expansion.
The financing has not been described as fully secured or disbursed. The mandate authorises the bank to bring together potential domestic, regional and international lenders for the project.
Sentuo’s additional capacity could allow it to supply a larger share of Ghana’s market while competing in a regional fuel system increasingly shaped by intra-African refining and petroleum trade.
Tema restart faces reliability test
Tema Oil Refinery resumed crude-oil processing on December 19, 2025, following major maintenance work and regulatory clearance.
The restart gives the government a second pillar for its domestic refining strategy. But TOR’s history of debt, feedstock shortages and intermittent operations means reliability will matter as much as installed capacity.
The government has not disclosed the projected cost, final capacity or completion timetable for TOR’s proposed expansion.
Those details will be necessary before the refinery’s commercial viability and contribution to the 70 percent target can be properly assessed.
Regional ambition meets hard realities
If both plants reach their planned capacities and operate consistently, Ghana could lower its finished-fuel import bill and strengthen Tema’s position as a West African refining and distribution centre.
Yet capacity alone will not deliver fuel security. Stable crude supplies, transparent financing, regular maintenance, effective regulation and commercially disciplined management will determine whether the target becomes sustainable production rather than another unfulfilled industrial promise.
