TOR recovery creates 1,657 permanent and temporary jobs, and over 6,500 indirect jobs – Kombat

The recovery of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has created 1,657 permanent and temporary jobs, with more than 6,500 indirect and temporary workers also engaged during turnaround maintenance, Managing Director Edmond Kombat has disclosed.

He said the employment opportunities formed part of the broader economic benefits of restoring operations at the state-owned refinery after years of operational difficulties.

Speaking at the Government Accountability Series at Jubilee House on Monday, October 26, 2026, Mr Kombat said the recovery programme had created opportunities for young engineers, technical workers and local contractors.

He disclosed that 415 young engineers had been recruited into permanent positions, while 301 temporary workers were engaged for the CDU maintenance and another 287 for work on the RFCC unit.

An additional 654 workers were employed by 35 local contractors operating at the refinery.

“TOR’s recovery has created 1,657 permanent and temporary jobs,” he said.

Mr Kombat added that the refinery’s turnaround maintenance had generated wider employment opportunities beyond its direct workforce.

“In effect, direct employment for 1,657 Young Ghanaian Engineers, and more than 6,500 indirect and temporary workers were engaged during the turnaround works,” he stated.

The Managing Director said the employment figures demonstrated the potential for the refinery’s recovery to contribute to job creation and economic activity.

TOR had faced significant operational challenges before the current management assumed office in May 2025. Its Crude Distillation Unit had been shut down since April 2021, while the RFCC unit had been inactive since 2019.

The shutdown of the major processing units had limited the refinery’s activities largely to storage services, reducing its ability to undertake its core function of processing crude oil.

Management subsequently introduced Project Restore TOR, which prioritised the rehabilitation and restart of the CDU, improvements to financial controls and measures to rebuild confidence among workers and business partners.

Mr Kombat said management had also addressed more than 300 outstanding staff petitions and promotion-related cases, some of which had remained unresolved for more than a decade.

He said efforts to improve staff welfare included reviewing conditions of service, job descriptions and performance-management systems.

The refinery’s recovery programme also includes further work on the RFCC unit, boiler systems, crude-heating equipment and other infrastructure intended to improve operational capacity.

Mr Kombat said the planned expansion of TOR would support additional economic opportunities as Ghana sought to increase domestic refining capacity.

He added that management intended to pursue further development projects, including a new refinery, petrochemical facilities and additional storage capacity.

The Managing Director said the objective was to build a more sustainable refinery that could contribute to employment, industrial development and national energy security.